The “”Square Foot”” art opening at Lulubell Toy Bodega, a designer toy store and art gallery, began offering pieces of art Saturday that are supposed to be a square foot in size.
Lulubell co-owner Amy Del Castil wanted the smaller pieces of art to be no more than $75, which is perfect for students or art collectors on a budget who want to own a piece of contemporary art without feeling let down by the cost.
Even with a price cap on the smaller pieces, featured artists Jerry Jordan, Melissa Fernandez, and Andrew Shuta took this concept further by not only offering cheaper prices but also showing pieces larger than a square foot.
Jerry Jordan, 31, an artist who has worked in Tucson for more than three years, has a signature adult pop cartoon style. One highlight from Jordan’s collection includes, “”Lucy,”” at $60, an acrylic and graphite piece on recycled wood that depicts a friend of his riding her fixed gear bike.
In this piece Jordan’s new direction is most clear: the figure is recognizably Lucy. She is painted with washes of gray in her clothing and hints of flesh tint on her body. The subtle use of color on her person is juxtaposed with a vivid blue background and pops of bold color like hot pink highlights on her bicycle and bright designs on her otherwise simple t-shirt.
Melissa Fernandez, 23, is back in her hometown of Tucson after completing her bachelor’s in fine arts from Stanford, which shows in her art. Her talent was presented through brightly colored figural work at Lulubell. For “”Square Foot,”” Fernandez created seven canvases that varied in size, anywhere from a square foot to a random measurement like 9.5 inches by 13 inches. These images, priced at $65, documented the current generation of artsy hipsters through one image titled, “”we all toast the same pbr [sic].”” Despite the awkward sizing of these pieces, they were still visually winning.
Andrew Shuta, a self-proclaimed “”super senior”” majoring in art, English, and creative writing, took the affordability concept to a new level with his “”Andy Warskull”” series, all less than $50.
Inspired by a trip to Target where Shuta noticed Misfits t-shirts and Andy Warhol jeans on sale, he painted an amusing critique of faux-personal style and commodified rebellion. His bright neon mixed media pieces seamlessly combined Misfit skulls on top of iconic Warhol images like the famous Marilyn (“”Skarlyn””), the shooting Elvis (“”Skelvis””), and portraits of Warhol himself (“”Andy””), all $15.
Shuta was also giving away free art, which included dozens of drawings and prints hastily taken up by lucky hands.
Why the free art?
Shuta said, “”I want people who are like myself to support artistic things.””
Besides, he said, he needs to make space so he can make more art.
