A very special exhibition of works by our staff member Stephen Proski and our artist Brandon A.

"Silly Cups is a collection of work made by Stephen Proski and Brandon A., in which both artists ask the question, “is that shaded in properly?”

Working together in a sort of tug-o-war fashion, the two artists exchange information throughout the day, like passing notes in the classroom. Intricate yet all at once humorous.

Each individual cup contains its own secret – a deeply personal, internalized language that has developed over the course of time. To keep the joke funny, the information contained within the cup must never be repeated, but instead built upon. What makes the cup silly – according to Brandon – is the fact that they aren’t shaded in properly.

All at once abstract, decorative, and representational. The cups oscillate to the beat of chaos. A rhythmic kind of turbulence, the call and response is accelerated into action. Brandon’s work is as much of a reaction to Stephen’s and vice versa. Processing each other’s data at disparate levels and flipping it on its head. Treating the cup form as merely a surface to draw upon, as well as expand, each artist invokes color and pattern in way that creates tension through playful, yet careful consideration.

For the exhibition, Brandon will show a selection of 50 or so small-scale drawings, occupying one wall of the gallery. The other wall will be devoted to a number of hand-sewn constructions made by Stephen in response to Brandon’s silly cups. Contained in the center of the gallery on pedestals, will be three-dimensional, painted ceramic cup forms made in collaboration with another artist from the community. The introduction of the three-dimensional cup form will be the leaping off point for where this body of work escalate into the future."