Once the source of beautiful automobiles, today this building has been reclaimed by artists. On every floor of this old manufacturing facility, you will find painters, sculptures, photographers and other artists working and showing off their art.
Every spring this building is the location of the biggest arts party in the city. You have to get there early because the parking lots fill up and the halls get crowded.
Andy and I go every year to see the art and visit with friends along the way. The building is so larger we never get to all the galleries. We have a few favorites, like Michael G. Swolsky and Lydia Burris we always make time to check in with to see their new work.
In addition to our regular stops, we love finding new artists. This year we discovered Laura Laforge. She may or may not be new to the Stutz, but she was new for us. Her work made us smile.
In addition to the subject matter which made me smile, I was really interested by her technique. In this piece, she paints the background on wood and the foreground on glass. The glass is mounted on the wood with space in between which gives a senses of depth to the piece. I found myself staring into the eyes of many of her subjects because the seem to be inserted into the paintings.
This was my favorite piece in her current collection.
