Will Roger and Crimson Rose, Burning Man Cultural Co-Founders, announce their exhibition, Beauty & The Beasties, at Sierra Arts Foundation’s Riverside Gallery from April 1, 2022 thru April 29, 2022. Nearly 30 years in the making, this exhibition of select works from Will’s series, Erotic Dance (1993-1996), Bouquets Ablaze (1997-present), and Labyrinth Walk (2015 – present), are paired with Crimson’s evocative ecological assemblages series, Endlings, which mark the first time the artists and couple have exhibited their work together.
The Beauty, selected from Will’s three series, is connected to his relationship with Crimson Rose. “This show for me is a love letter to Crimson,” says Will. Erotic Dance is a series of black and white images of Crimson from their early years in Oakland 1993-1996. When they first started dating Crimson brought cut flowers to Will’s studio. He began a daily practice of photographing them as a gift and homage to her which became Bouquets Ablaze. Will continues to photograph bouquets, some from florists but mostly from their yard and greenhouse in Gerlach. Labyrinth Walk is inspired by their move to the desert and their daily sunset walks at the Chartres Labyrinth on their property designed by Crimson, as well as a second labyrinth she designed at Fly Ranch. Often crediting her as his muse, Will says she is the “catalyst for both my personal and artistic transformation.”
Known as an endlings because with their death a species or subspecies become extinct, Crimson unveils and adorns the last of a species or subspecies, by drawing upon the beautiful and sublime to present imagined “beasties” that capture the evolution of endlings and our part in their demise. These assemblages are sculptural compositions consisting of various materials such as antique doll parts, kitchen utensils, organic matter, feathers, paint, metal, and other items. Each sculpture takes on its own personality and special characteristics which seem to gravitate into three different series: Endlings, Goddesses, and Creepy Baby Dolls. All with a sense of humor. Beauty & The Beasties is a celebration of a life committed to love, the arts, and healing the world.
ABOUT THE EXHIBIT: Beauty & The Beasties Sierra Arts Foundation / Sierra Arts Gallery Riverside Building 17 South Virginia Street Suite 120 Reno, NV 89501 Exhibition Run: April 1, 2022 – April 29, 2022 Exhibit Reception: Saturday, April 16, 2022 12- 4 PM Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Friday 10 AM- 4 PM; Saturdays 12 PM – 4 PM
ABOUT THE ARTISTS: Will Roger is an artist, teacher, innovator and environmentalist. He is a cultural co-founder of Burning Man, and author of Compass of the Ephemeral: Aerial Photography of Black Rock City Through the Lens of Will Roger (Smallworks Press) and soon-to-be-released, Handbook for a Burning Age. Roger has served as Chairman of Sierra Front, North Western Great Basin Resource Advisory Council and President of the Friends of the Black Rock-High Rock. He was an Associate Professor of Photography at Rochester Institute of Technology where he received an MFA in Photography. His aerial photography has been exhibited at the Nevada Museum of Art, The Rotunda of the United States Capitol, Sotheby’s and Renwick/Smithsonian Museum of Art. He lectures internationally on matters of environment and urban planning. https://www.willroger.com / IG @willroger1
Crimson Rose is a cultural co-founder of Burning Man, the Black Rock Arts Foundation and Burning Man Project. Her life’s passion and work have focused on the arts and artistic expression. She began participating in the Burning Man event in 1991, and developed the organization’s Art Department, including the infrastructure, financial and other support services that make possible the large-scale participatory art works that Burning Man is renowned for. With Crimson’s guidance, Burning Man serves as an inspirational limitless canvas, the works of which now find public placement in cities around the world and serve as catalytic sparks for community collaboration. https://crimson-rose.org / IG @crimson9rose
Featured Art: Bouquets Ablaze 0850, Photography, Will Roger