On
Friday, February 13, the Allen Street Hardware Café, located at 245 Allen
Street, will welcome another homegrown talent at the beginning of what seems to
be a promising career. “It Was The Promise Of Legend That Has Brought Us To
This Mess,” a series of enlarged Polaroid emulsion lift prints, will mark the
first solo outing by the 22-year-old Buffalo artist and educator Zack Boehler.
The
opening reception begins at 6:00PM at the Allentown hipster hangout. The show
will hang through March 8.
Simply
talking to Boehler you get the sense that this is young man on the move. He’s a
2008 Buffalo State grad–a certified teacher–who is taking his profession and
career seriously. A glance at his resume reveals that Boehler currently is an
instructor for the Ashford Hollow Foundation’s Arts in Education Program, which
services over 2,000 youth annually. Boehler is also a founding member of a
local arts collaborative called Creative Hustle Arts Collective. Somehow, he also
found time to participate in an internship at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery.
This spring, one of his sculptures will be installed at the ultra-cool Griffis
Sculpture Park out in Ashford Hollow, NY.
“I
always knew that I wanted to work in the arts, so I’ve tried to create as many
opportunities as possible,” said Boehler. “The only way to be competent at
something is to totally immerse yourself into it.”
With
all his hard work, this Friday night signifies Boehler’s first solo show. His
works have won awards in group shows, but this will be the first time when all
the focus is on his output.
The
exhibit focuses on the theme of losing youth too quickly. “There is a general promise we all
receive when we are young that we can be any thing, and we race to get there, only
to find anonymity and lackluster vanities,” Boehler said. “In the process, the
exploration and freedom of youth is lost. Each portrait leaves part of the subject’s face hidden,
colors distorted, and ghostly renderings of people who have lost their youth in
the pursuit of being legendary.”
Come
down, see it for yourself, and support a young talent who will surely help
enhance Buffalo’s arts scene for many years to come.
Feb 13 – March 8