Nova Rays exhibition; an artists first
An explosion in the sky is the definition of 25-year-old Oklahoma bred artist, Dawn J.’s first solo exhibit. Nova Rays, which coincides with the position she is now taking on within the D.C. art scene; a star that has been forced to explode and in the process emits valuable rays into the universe.
Come Sunday, March, 27th Tabaq Bistro will be open for all those who want to view this cataclysmic occurrence. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. her art will be on display with the accompanying sounds of D.C.’s own DJ Natty Boom and up and coming, DJ Prizm.
Dawn J.’s work displays a combustion of color, combining various mediums of material from aerosol, latex acrylic, water based acrylic, vinyl records and more.
“My pieces often provoke my abstract thoughts on community, humanity, spirituality and connections of present and past,” Dawn J. says. “It’s somewhat conscious but I’m definitely aware of the freedom of the subconscious.”
She often uses bright colors that contrast with each other; allowing the paint to tell a story while leaving it all up for the viewer’s interpretation.
An explosion in the sky is the definition of 25-year-old Oklahoma bred artist, Dawn J.’s first solo exhibit. Nova Rays, which coincides with the position she is now taking on within the D.C. art scene; a star that has been forced to explode and in the process emits valuable rays into the universe.
Come Sunday, March, 27th Tabaq Bistro will be open for all those who want to view this cataclysmic occurrence. From 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. her art will be on display with the accompanying sounds of D.C.’s own DJ Natty Boom and up and coming, DJ Prizm.
Dawn J.’s work displays a combustion of color, combining various mediums of material from aerosol, latex acrylic, water based acrylic, vinyl records and more.
“My pieces often provoke my abstract thoughts on community, humanity, spirituality and connections of present and past,” Dawn J. says. “It’s somewhat conscious but I’m definitely aware of the freedom of the subconscious.”
She often uses bright colors that contrast with each other; allowing the paint to tell a story while leaving it all up for the viewer’s interpretation.
Quite possibly the phrase she uses, ‘life is an art form, expose your roots’ comes from her love of art at an early age. Art carved a niche in Dawn J.’s life in high school but after taking one drawing class in college, she quickly realized the art she wanted to create could not be taught.
“Drawing 3 hours in class actually discouraged me from wanting to be creative and so I dropped art as a minor and pursued it as a hobby.”
In 2006 Dawn J. sold her first pieces at the University of Oklahoma’s student art gallery while obtaining a journalism degree. Marketing relocated her to the D.C. metro though in 2008 but after a year the itch for pushing her creations came scratching hard she says. Since then, she’s found that D.C. has a pretty healthy love for artistic locality.
“You wouldn’t think from the outside that D.C.’s underground art scene was a hit but as you move around and tap local venues, you learn the natives really love knowing where there art is coming from,’ Dawn J. says. “I’ve learned a lot in the two and a half years I’ve been here.”
She began with a wall on U street in a store called Dekka, which relocated to Florida just last year and from there she’s participated in a market on Rhode Island, Baltimore’s Artdromeda, D.C’s 1st on First annual art walk and more. Now with the help of her business Underground Tree Projects and a new pseudo name, ‘Tree’, she’s standing alone and setting the stage for many works to come.
“Life’s a journey and we should be set on taking leaps all the time,” says Dawn J.
This is a free event with happy hour specials running all night at Tabaq Bistro, which is located at 1336 U Street, Washington, DC 20009.