Albany Barn, Inc. will present “Go Figure,” on Friday, December 2nd, 2011, at Stage 1, Albany Barn’s headquarters and community art space located at 46-48 North Swan Street. A reception will be held from 5:00pm - 9:00pm in conjunction with the monthly “1st Friday” arts walk in the City of Albany. Refreshments will be served and the 1st Friday Trolley will provide complimentary transportation to and from the venue. The artwork will be on display throughout the month of November. Admission is free.

“Go Figure” offers meditations on the human form by Les Alexandrea, Jr., Barbara King & Grace Tatara.

Les Alexandrea was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York in the cultural hotbed of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, an area that would prove to be a seminal influence on his life and his art. Les is following his passion for art, and is currently pursuing an education in the field with the intention of obtaining a degree in Fine Arts, with the ultimate goal of being a full-time freelance artist. 

Although Les is largely self-taught, he has been trained in a number of types of studio art, including painting, photography, and figure and still-life drawing. He has worked in a number of mediums including oil pastels, pencil, sculpture in the form of ceramic busts, he has created art for websites and tried his hand at web design and is currently working on pieces with colored pencils and even crayons. He has done designing for local hip-hop artists and has even stretched his talents as far as creating totem poles. His specialty, however, is charcoal portraits, most often of the figures of hip-hop that have long been an influence on his work. Other subjects that have cropped up in his work regularly include figures from comic book art and more experimental, abstract portraits.

Barbara King has worked in many mediums in her years in the artist community, including pen and ink, pencil, and charcoal, as well as oil and acrylics.  Her primary interest is drawing figures and faces. Some of Barbara's drawings consist of little more than a line, but with one line she can convey motion, form, and feeling.  She has exhibited her work in multi-artist and solo shows including Fleisher Art Memorial, Crandall Library, Saratoga Central Adirondack Art Show, Schenectady Art in the Park, Saratoga-Colonie Art League, Rice Gallery and Spectrum Theater. 

Grace Tatara received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sage College, where she graduated with honors. She has worked in several galleries, including the Opalka Gallery and the Martinez Gallery. She has participated in over 20 group shows around the Capital Region, such as Art in the Park in Saratoga, fence shows in Troy, 1st Fridays in Albany, and her alma mater. She has also had several solo exhibitions.

"Go Figure," is produced by Albany Barn, Inc.  Albany Barn is a local nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization developing a permanent creative arts incubator and community arts center in Albany, NY called The Barn. Albany Barn has partnered with the Albany Housing Authority and the City of Albany to redevelop St. Joseph’s Academy, a long-vacant former school building in the Arbor Hill neighborhood, for that purpose. Stage 1 is located one block from St. Joseph’s Academy.

WHAT: “Go Figure” – Meditations on the human form by Les Alexandrea Jr, Barbara King, and Grace Tatara.
DATE:  Friday, December 2, 2011
WHERE: Stage 1: 46-48 North Swan Street
TIME:  5:00pm - 9:00pm in conjunction with “1st Friday”