Black Gold @ Little Pink Monster Gallery

Roshi K recently concluded her first ever solo exhibit at the Little Pink Monster Gallery  in East Austin. Whether you experienced this magical evening under the super moon or had to miss out, read on for an in-depth interview with artist Roshi K and Annie, the owner and operator of Little Pink Monster.
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Spratx: Artist name?
Roshi: Roshi K

Spratx: Where are you from?
Roshi: Everywhere, I’ve lived in too many places to claim one.

Spratx: How long in Austin, TX?
Roshi: 3 years in Feb.

Spratx: When did you first fall in love with painting?
Roshi: I’ve always drawn so it was just a gradual progression from crayons.

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Spratx: How did your show go the other night? Was this your first solo exhibit?
Roshi: The show went amazing, it was my first solo exhibit.

Spratx: What was the inspiration behind deciding to have a solo show and why Little Pink Monster Gallery?
Roshi: Interestingly enough I was invited by another gallery to have a solo show and so I prepared to show with them and when that venue fell through the first person I knew I could call on was Annie over at LPM.

Spratx: I noticed a style change in some of your newer work. What inspired you to create these? What’s the story behind them.
Roshi:  I have an array of different styles that people have never even seen, stuff no one would even expect from me. I make random stuff all the time. This year I attended & painted at Bonnaroo for the first time and it pretty much opened the flood gates for whatever preconceived notions I had let hold me back. In a sense I sat down and painted with out thinking once about all the “pretty girls” that everyone already knows I can draw. I had all this amazing energy flowing through me after Roo so I painted with it.

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Spratx: Thoughts on using a “found object” as your canvas?
Roshi: Reuse, Recycle, Reinvigorate. I love the idea of adding splashes of insane colors on to sterile Thomas Kinkadesque Grandma landscapes.

Spratx: Describe yourself in three words.
Roshi: Artistic Black Gold

Spratx: Describe your art in three words.
Roshi: Vibrant Art Magic

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Spratx: Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
Roshi: At the present moment? I can see my self anywhere and that is exciting.

Spratx: New projects/events you’re working on?

Rossi: Painting at Meeting of Styles, painting at Zen Awakening Fest in Florida, attending Art Basel for the first time.

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And now a few words with Annie from Little Pink Monster Gallery….

Spratx: Tell me about the Little Pink Monster. How did it all start? How long have you been open? What’s your story.
Annie: Our story is fated. It’s poetic. Every moment of it has been touched with wonder, grace, kindness and connectivity. It’s also had it’s mishaps, it’s miscommunications and it’s heartbreak. On a late Summer evening in 2012, I was sitting on the porch of my new home with long-time friend and Texas artist, Travis Jarrell. We were celebrating the place in which we found ourselves in life and musing about art. A young woman caught my eye. Camera and tripod in tow, she was making her way from house to house along Poquito street stopping in front of each, fine tuning her shot, and then moving to the next. She made good time and was soon standing in my yard asking me to pose for a photo on my porch. I asked her about her project. Her name is Andy Bonilla and she was a photography student at the University of Texas and was attempting to capture the changing faces of the East Side (a conversation of greater proportions surely, but in her own way she was sharing her opinion). I was captivated; inspired enough to offer my (still empty) living room to host her photography series once completed. She jumped at the opportunity. The show was a success and spawned many more including Chestnut Neighborhood alum and Nationally acclaimed political photographer, Alan Pogue, Houston based painter, Jonathan Paul Jackson, a witch, several full moon events, an installation of a indoor forest with local Austin artist Gigi Grinstad and Katie Rose Pipkin, SXSW musicians’ showcase, art workshops, a Future Foods dinner with all insects on the menu featuring the works of Warren Sawyer and several people’s first solo shows: Jiminai and Roshi K among the ranks. More of our early shows can be found in the vaults of LPM Facebook Events Page.

Since our humble beginnings, we’ve experienced many successes including International Collaborations with London based art collective Sweet Art, a residency at Canopy with Big Medium and an ever-growing list of opportunities unfolding every day.

Support for our many events has been vast including Bumperactive: Custom Stickers & Tees, WERD Recording Suite and a most recent sponsorship from Texas local winery Spicewood Vineyards.

In short, Little Pink Monster is a work of art in collaboration with Texas artists, sponsored by friendship, honesty, trust, mutual respect and enthusiasm.

Spratx: What’s the best thing about owning your own gallery?

Annie: TOTAL. FREEDOM.
Spratx: Describe LPM in three words.
Annie: Authentic. Supportive. Celebratory

Spratx: How often do you have shows and how do artists submit to be shown? Can other people get involved; volunteer, intern, etc?

Annie: We support emerging artists because we know they need it; don’t we all? We offer experiences for the Austin art community to get to know it’s artists twice a month with two new series we call YARD PARTY and SECRET SALON during which we invite the public in to view an artists’ work in their home studio and then elevate that artist’s work into a collector’s home and discuss it respectively.

If you subscribe to the belief that you, as an individual grows, when your community grows; then there are many options in which to support our gallery’s mission to grown emerging artist’s careers. Our biggest needs are event volunteers and a Social Media intern. Email us littlepinkmonster512@gmail.com to express your interest.

Share with our readers your thoughts on the Black Gold show last weekend.
Anytime someone as authentic and real and beautiful as Roshi K shares their thoughts, opinions and theories on the human condition as vulnerably as I experienced during BLACK GOLD, it is received with love and support. Last weekend’s opening was no acception.
Spratx: Why Austin, TX? Plans to expand? Upcoming events?

Annie: Why not? Art has to be grown everywhere. Why not begin in your own backyard? Why not experience the love of your community? Why not feed into it’s growth with your energy?

Spratx: Talk about where the name LPM came from. What does it mean to you?

Annie: Little Pink Monster is the brain child of late-night porch party turned into planning session. LPM in a nut-shell is a single thread in a grand tapestry of galleries, communities, events and installations. The name Little Pink Monster is everything you think it is and a little more.

Spratx: If you could be anywhere or with anyone in the world right now, where would it be and why?

Annie: My grandmother, Pat Miller Wisher, is a voice of Guidance and beacon of Grace. I think I’d be smart to spend as much time with her as possible. I think drinking coffee at her breakfast nook is as good as a place as any.

Spratx: Briefly talk about the Austin art scene and LPM’s involvement with the artist community.

Annie: It’s necessary. It’s growing. We are an active part of that.

Support Local Art:

colormeroshi.com

http://www.littlepinkmonster.gallery/events

Photo Credit: jelikalovephoto@gmail.com

Edible & Audible Refreshments were presented by:

Rolling Smoke BBQ
Kombuchamane Kombucha
Big Bend Brewing Co
DJ Irie Samurai

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