It
has been seven months since painter, Kristin Abraham and musician,
Alfonso Llamas set out on a quest to connect the United States through
art! Working on their conceptual art project titled The Nomadic
Project, the two artists have camped out of their Honda Element in
order to create a body of work that will form The Nomadic Exhibit.
With the addition of the
Kirsten Gallery
in Seattle, Washington, the Nomadic Project is proud to include
twenty-four out of the fifty United States. Reaching the halfway point
took over 30,000 miles of traveling and an estimated fifteen thousand
dollars. The mid-size Honda has been through one car accident, a
battery change, and one new tire. Although their handy refrigerator has
recently quit, the determined artists continue strong. A trip to Alaska
will take place in the middle of August where The Nomadic Project will
be greeted with a reception at the Virtu Gallery in Anchorage, AK.
"We
spent some extra time in Washington in order to gain our second wind,
and now we are ready to tackle the second half of the country!"
comments Abraham as she prepares to paint a piece inspired by
Washington.
Abraham creates a new painting each week based on
her impression of the state visited. The painting is then displayed at
a gallery in the next state over. This carries inspiration from one
state to the next, and act blurs the state borders, therefore uniting
the country through art.
Llamas is composing the soundtrack
for the exhibit as he communicates his experiences through poetic
melodies. Armed with an acoustic guitar and raw passion, the composer
records on a Apple Power Book.
Some of the galleries committed to The Nomadic Project are
American Fine Art, Dallas, TX,
Crossroads Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM,
Art Encounter, Las Vegas, NV,
Carla Schmidt Gallery, San Francisco, CA,
Habitat Gallery, Denver, CO and the
Portland Art Center, Portland, WA. A full list of
participating galleries can be viewed at www.TheNomadicProject.com where all of the paintings, music and pictures are displayed.
Another important aspect of the journey is the involvement of the community. Individuals are encouraged to track the journey at
www.TheNomadicProject.com and correspond via e-mail (
TheNomadicProject@gmail.com). A new
forum
has been launched on the website to provoke conversation about travel,
art, and music. Since the exhibit is a four dimensional experience for
participants, this input from the community will be a vital part of the
project.
Upon completion of the journey, the traveling show will
spend about two weeks in each state, beginning in Florida and following
the route of the trip. The Nomadic Project exhibit will feature all the
aspects of the journey, including paintings, sketches, music, video and
even their mode of transportation.