Welcome to GIBBIN HOUSE!




When I first started this blog about the misadventures of a nascent author, I had only a small novel under my belt, titled Gibbin House. The building that bears the name is a fictitious postwar era safe-house, as many might have existed, and the London home of my motley crew of exiles. I could not anticipate then the degree to which I would join its ranks of writers and artists, but since publishing my book in 2011, I have had the greatest privilege of opening my own art gallery and of exploring my love of the written word through visual poetry and paper sculptures. Yet much like the girl who first started blogging two years ago, I suspect I don't know what I'm doing half the time. As such, Gibbin House remains a refuge for ramblings...and on occasion a haven for little triumphs.



Monday, December 3, 2012

Carola Perla

Carola Perla

i'm officially part of the Art Takes Miami Digital Installation at SCOPE Art Fair!! weee

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

"Carola Perla" Facebook Page Launched!!!

Hi everyone!

Just launched the CAROLA PERLA official author and artist Facebook page!  Please 'like':)

http://www.facebook.com/#!/carolaperlaartist

Oh, and if you're at the Wynwood Art Walk this Saturday, October 13th, please don't forget to take photos at ATELIER 1022 and post them to the wall!


 

Friday, October 5, 2012

"Metropolis" - ATELIER 1022 Presents Susana Perla-Mendoza

After a little hiatus, figuring out lives, loves, dramas, and artistic journeys, I'm back!  Just in time to announce the latest exhibit to open at our Wynwood gallery, ATELIER 1022, featuring one of the most talented photographers I know and a personal inspiration of mine, Susana Perla-Mendoza (please do not let the fact that we share a last name detract from my praise and esteem:)) 

October 13th at 7PM, she will be unveiling the latest series of unrban-inspired shots in her signature acid impressionism style.  The series is a testament to her first year as a New York-based artist and I can't wait what the next twelve months bring!  The exhibit opening will feature an artist meet-and-greet and DJ sounds by Hungarian import Krisz Vass, so please join us!

For now, here is a sample of her exquisitely etched punk rock color explosions, on view starting next Saturday. 

"Squab's Nest" by Susana Perla-Mendoza
 

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

ASPHALT: Expressionist Photo Exhibit by Ellie Perla

This is the latest exhibit taking place at my gallery in the Wynwood Art District on June 9th, 2012.  It features spectacular new work by the amazing matriarch of our clan - Ellie  Perla!  Many of her photographs helped to guide scenes in Gibbin House and spur on the stagnating grey cells when imagination took the day off:)  Her beautiful photographs of Romania and Vienna are sprinkled throughout this blog, but if you find yourself in the Miami area the weekend of June 9th, please do check out her work in person!


ASPHALT: The Expressionist Photography Series by Ellie Perla
Launching at ATELIER 1022

      
Ellie Perla’s ‘ASPHALT’ series showcases a unique visual technique that superimposes translucent layers of urban and nature images from recent photographs taken in New York and Washington DC over portraits from the artist’s own archives.  Combined, the images are intended to evoke the idea of simultaneous thought, of how the mind can be both in the past and present, while also engaged in wishful thinking.  Ellie Perla’s photographs communicate this through expressionist compositions that are at once fractured and harmonious, abstract and organic, ethereal and concrete. The kinetic and emotional images form a nostalgic and deeply personal narrative that takes the viewer along the artists’ geographic and creative journey.  The ‘ASPHALT’ series derives its name from the texture of asphalt, which is the one constant in Ellie Perla’s continuous moving through cities and their surroundings.
Ellie Perla - ASPHALT Series
On her inspiration for this latest project, Ellie Perla says: “Sometimes we remember people's faces when looking into nature's intricate patterns. The portraits in this collection are memories that came to me and stirred my imagination while strolling through Central Park.  I liked the idea of showing transition, from the visual to the psychological, by blending ‘fleeting’ snapshots from a compact point-and-shoot camera with portraits that carry a lot of personal significance.”

Ellie Perla (b. 1957) studied animal husbandry at the Polytechnic University of Timisoara, Romania, and holds a degree from the New York Institute of Photography.  Her photographs have appeared in such renowned international publications as National Geographic Traveler Español, Vanidades, Cosas, Expansion, Glamour Español, Quien, El Comercio, and O Estado de Sao Paulo.  She also wrote a monthly Miami arts and travel column for the Mexican women’s magazine Kena. Most recently, she participated in the charitable project Art Platform (UK) with her acrylic canvas piece Iluminada. The piece was also featured in the project’s poetry and art publication ‘Inspiration Speaks’.  Ellie Perla currently lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and is a resident artist at ATELIER 1022 Gallery in the Wynwood Arts District.




Monday, May 7, 2012

My Latest Curation: Solo Show for Carlos Rodriguez-Feo at ATELIER 1022



ATELIER 1022 Gallery and Carlos Rodriguez-Feo Present

BEYOND THE VISUAL SPECTRUM: Explorations in Alternative Photography

ATELIER 1022 Studio and Fine Art Gallery is pleased to announce ‘BEYOND THE VISUAL SPECTRUM: Explorations in Alternative Photography’ – the first solo exhibit of resident artist Carlos Rodriguez-Feo, opening May 12th, 2012, 6-10 PM. 

The photographic works and accompanying rare camera collection featured in ‘BEYOND THE VISUAL SPECTRUM’ form a comprehensive expression of Carlos Rodriguez-Feo’s mantra - ‘Rescuing Photographic Sensibilities’.  The Cuban-born artist accomplishes this by taking the South Florida landscape and its landmarks on a journey through alternative processes that combine modern technology with vintage tools and techniques.  The organic nature and iconic vocabulary of Rodriguez-Feo’s subjects help them function as visual ‘controls’ by which he showcases infrared photography, silver gelatin photography, hybrid silver gelatin and digital processing, instant image transfers, and pinhole photography.   The conversation between old and new, natural light and the invisible spectrum ‘drawn’ out, is carried further with Carlos Rodriguez-Feo’s extensive collection of rare and antique cameras, used in creating the images in the exhibit, and on display to the public exclusively for the opening.

Says Carlos Rodriguez-Feo on the driving force behind his work, “I see us advancing so rapidly into the 21st Century…I want to retain the sensibilities and innocence of the 19th Century, when our (photographic) art was born, but not at the cost of ignoring the present.  By merging those vintage tools and pioneer techniques with the latest technology, I hope to create a new artistic vision that hints at what is to come.” 

Carlos Rodriguez-Feo holds doctorate and post doctorate degrees in dental and maxillofacial surgery from Georgetown University.  He perfected his dark room skills while conducting electron microscopy research there.  As a resident artist at ATELIER 1022 Gallery in Wynwood, he has conducted workshops on Advanced Techniques in Photography and 3-D Photography.  His work has been featured nationally on the ABC primetime drama ‘Charlie’s Angels’.  He currently lives in Miami Beach, FL. 

The opening night of ‘BEYOND THE VISUAL SPECTRUM: Explorations in Alternative Photography’ coincides with the Wynwood Art Walk for the month of May.  The exhibit will also be on view for the 2nd May date of the newly launched Wynwood Studio Walk – 5-9 PM, May 24th, 2012 (www.facebook.com/WynwoodStudioWalk). 

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Carola Perla

Hello readers!!  Help me get 'collected' and be part of the immense art installation in Times Square this summer!  Just follow the link and click 'collect me'.  I just need 77 votes to be official:)

LINK:  Carola Perla

Thursday, March 15, 2012

LITERA - ATELIER 1022 Gallery Indie Lit, Film, and Art Showcase

ATELIER 1022 Gallery hosts 2nd Edition of LITERĂ

An evening for independent writers, art, and documentary film


            ATELIER 1022 Studio and Fine Art Gallery is pleased to announce the 2nd edition of LITERĂ – an evening of indie book readings, documentary film, video art, and literature-inspired art installations, on April 14th, 2012, 6-11 PM.   Central to the showcase are Florida indie writers C.T. Douglas, creator of the Lore Trilogy, and Carola Perla, author of the exiled artist novel Gibbin House, both of whom will be on hand to read from their works and offer insights into independent publishing.  Other event highlights include:


·         “Homeless in Los Angeles” (2011) – an independent documentary film by Sergei Zelinsky and Taylor Golonka, exposing untold stories of LA’s itinerant street performers (Florida premiere)

·         Video poetry by award-winning German filmmaker Wolfgang Lehmann (Florida premiere)

·         “Spelling Bee” – a debuting paper art and light installation by plastic artist/author Carola Perla

·         Original illustrations for the children’s book Altavarania, by Ellie Perla

·         LITERĂ photograph series, including “Literary Walk” by New York photographer Susana Perla-Mendoza and “Extinction” by Carlos Rodriguez-Feo


Private reception for the artists to begin at 10 PM on ATELIER 1022’s newly opened terrace.  LITERĂ coincides with the Wynwood Art Walk for the month of April, and is free to the public.  ATELIER 1022 Gallery will also host a separate afternoon kids program – KINDERART – on April 14th, featuring readings from Ellie Perla’s fairytales, and an interactive art workshop led by the resident artist.  The program kicks off at 2PM.

Featured LITERĂ Indie Authors
 


C. T. Douglas – Lore Trilogy

This phenomenal young writing talent and full-time undergraduate English major at the University of Florida was most recently honored for his fantasy novels at the 2011 New York Book Festival and the 78th annual Writer’s Digest Writing Competition.  Douglas was also a keynote speaker for the Marion County Library’s CREATE program in 2010.  The Lore trilogy is a bold and exciting mesh of fantasy, historical fiction, and science fiction that starts with A Pirate’s Charm – the first volume in the tale of young Molly Bishop and her search across the seven seas for werewolves, vampires, and a magical destiny as the most powerful sorceress in the world.  www.LoreTrilogy.com

Carola Perla – Gibbin House

The Romanian-born author and plastic artist bases her historic novel Gibbin House, which depicts the struggles of exiled artists in 1949 London, on her own extensive immigrant experiences throughout Europe and the Americas.  Ms. Perla, who holds degrees in Art History and German Literature from Florida State University, extends this theme in her multi-lingual word-oriented paper and light installations, like “Off the Page”, which debuted during Art Basel Miami 2011.  Upcoming projects include the installation “Spelling Bee” (April 2012) and the novel Humboldt’s Riches, a semi-autobiographical story set in the Peruvian Amazon at the time of the first Shining Path insurgency.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

ATELIER 1022 Presents Ellie Perla's 'PolyChromatica'

MARCH 10, 2012

ATELIER 1022 Studio and Fine Art Gallery is pleased to present the first ATELIER 1022 feature show for Romanian-born artist Ellie Perla.  The exhibition PolyChromatica will showcase a comprehensive collection of mixed-media drawings on paper, and debut the completed Garden of Eden series.  PolyChromatica will be open March 10 through April 1, 2012, with a reception for the artist at ATELIER 1022 Gallery on March 10, 2012, 6-8 PM.

The title of the exhibition, PolyChromatica, highlights the luxuriant color and micro-designs that characterize Ellie Perla’s exquisite works, while also hinting at the theme of global diversity the drawings celebrate.  A seasoned traveler and photojournalist, Ellie Perla has traversed the world since leaving Communist-era Romania behind.  Along the way, her observant gaze has seized on both the splendor and the urgency of environments and cultures as varied as the Peruvian Amazon and the Bedouins of Egypt.  Her drawings interpret these images as seeds of hope, ethereal icons, saturated yet delicate, surrounded by a seemingly inexhaustible stream of otherworldly designs.  The effect is heightened by the lattice-like intricacies of Ellie Perla’s polychromatic pencil and ink compositions.  Thereby, she creates her own visual lexicon of optimism and peace that she steadily injects with luminosity, love and a dash of humor. 

Says Ms. Perla, “as I navigate in my life from pain to peace, from black to lavender…I feel responsible to share with the world something positive.  For me, art is a matter of ethics and integrity, a matter of hope…”   The Garden of Eden series is a prime example of Ellie Perla’s creative ethos. By transposing nature subjects into a surreal context, where they metamorphose and exist as ecstatic explosions of color, she reveals them to be dominant forces of life with unlimited possibilities.

PolyChromatica will also exhibit original illustrations from Ellie Perla’s debut children’s book Altavarania. In addition, the opening event marks the launch of the artist’s website: www.ellieperla.com.  It also coincides with Wynwood’s Second Saturday Art Gallery Walk for the month of March.

Ellie Perla studied biology at the Agronomic University of Timisoara, Romania, and holds a degree from the New York Institute of Photography.  Her photographs have appeared in such renowned international publications as National Geographic Traveler Español, Vanidades, Cosas, Expansion, Glamour Español, Quien, El Comercio, and O Estado de Sao Paulo.  She also wrote and illustrated a monthly Miami arts and travel column for the Mexican women’s magazine Kena. Most recently, she participated in the charitable project Art Platform (UK) with her acrylic canvas piece Iluminada. The piece was also featured in the project’s poetry and art publication ‘Inspiration Speaks’.  Ellie Perla currently lives in Miami Beach, Florida, and is a resident artist at ATELIER 1022 Gallery in the Wynwood Arts District.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

GIBBIN HOUSE: ATELIER 1022 Introduces "HOPE" to Wynwood

GIBBIN HOUSE: ATELIER 1022 Introduces "HOPE" to Wynwood: ATELIER 1022 in Wynwood Introduces “HOPE” More than a new Art Exhibit – a 2012 Aesthetic Ethos Miami Beach, January 24, 20...

ATELIER 1022 Introduces "HOPE" to Wynwood

ATELIER 1022 in Wynwood Introduces “HOPE”
More than a new Art Exhibit – a 2012 Aesthetic Ethos   


            Miami Beach, January 24, 2011 – ATELIER 1022 Studio and Fine Art Gallery in the Wynwood Art District introduces “HOPE”, an exuberant new multi-media art event on February 11, 2012, 6-11 PM, designed to celebrate beauty, harmony, and artistic fraternity - the gallery’s guiding aesthetic and communal principles for 2012.  These principles will be on joyful display during “HOPE”, with debuting mixed media and photographic works by resident artists Ellie Perla, Carola Perla, Susi Perla-Mendoza, and Carlos Rodriguez-Feo, and the experimental soundscapes of Jimmy Hoffa, Esq.  

The ethos behind the “HOPE” event also shapes the gallery’s 2012 Exhibit and Events calendar.  In addition to a series of exciting resident solo shows, ATELIER 1022 plans to extend its space for free to emerging artists during the August and September Wynwood Art Walks.  Titled “FRIENDS OF ATELIER 1022”, these special community exhibits will also feature international talent in painting, sculpture, and video art.   The polyglot experiment continues in April and November as art blends with the written word, when ATELIER 1022 stages brand-new editions of its independent writers’ showcase, “LITERĂ”, with host and author Carola Perla. These evenings will be preceded by KINDERART, afternoon children’s storybook hours and art sessions led by resident artist and children’s book creator Ellie Perla.

ATELIER 1022 Gallery is located in Miami’s Wynwood Art District, at 2732 NW 2nd Avenue. The “HOPE” event coincides with Wynwood’s Second Saturday Art Gallery Walk for the month of February.

“HOPE” EVENT HIGHLIGHTS

Ellie Perla – the ethereal quality of her seemingly inexhaustible stream of otherworldly subjects is only heightened by the lattice-like intricacies of Ms. Perla’s polychromatic pencil and ink compositions.   Saturated yet delicate, the new collection for HOPE is equally profuse with her characteristic luxuriant color and micro-designs.  This time around, Ms. Perla references global imagery, nature subjects, and romantic icons, creating her own visual lexicon of peace that is steadily injected with luminosity, love and a dash of humor.  Says Ms. Perla, “as I navigate in my life from pain to peace, from black to lavender…I feel responsible to share with the world something positive.  For me, art is a matter of ethics and integrity, a matter of hope…” 
"Love You" by Ellie Perla

Susi Perla-Mendoza – a firm believer in the electrifying power of color, this young New York-based fine art photographer uses surreal colorscapes to lift to inspirational what might otherwise dwell in the dire, industrial, and mundane.  Vibrant works like “Didgeridoo” display her characteristic ‘acid impressionism’ style - here a humble street performer is revealed to us as a rainbow of fire.  The EAST BERLIN series, shot in many of the city’s underground locations, further exemplifies Mrs. Perla-Mendoza’s keen eye for profound subject matter and her reconciliatory efforts to cast a fresh spectrum on past wounds. 

Carlos Rodriguez-Feo - the Cuban-born photographer demonstrates his sense of artistic optimism, merging vintage tools and techniques (Victorian cameras, large-format photography, and infra-red) with the latest 21st Century technology to create a catalog of distinguished South Florida landmarks that possess a reverent historic quality, and yet are captured in a transcendent, never-before light.

Jimmy Hoffa, Esq. – ‘beatific exuberance’ is how one might begin to describe the musical explorations of local indie talents Jimmy Hoffa, Esq., Jose Ignacio Rodriguez, and elegant singer Tash.   The group have tested their mettle in various South Florida bands since their early days in high school, but this one-time only performance at ATELIER 1022 promises to push the boundaries of the trio’s tonal imaginations.  As driving creative force Jimmy Hoffa, Esq. says, “Dreams and art are the same thing.”