Domy Expands with Project Space and Hosts Two Opening Receptions [Art Preview]

Domy Books, our favorite little bookstore/gallery with a focus on contemporary art and culture, is celebrating the opening of two new shows this Saturday. Over in Domy's gallery space, illustrator Nicole Eriko Smith will be exhibiting new work in Consent to Play. Smith's suggestive black and white drawings focus on three human-like characters and her work combines elements of both Japanese and Louisianan culture with themes of fetishism. Her drawings convey a dark but intriguing narrative and many of the pieces have a surprisingly lighthearted quality to them. Smith says that "the overall tone of this series of drawings is intended to be both provocative and playful." Smith received a BFA from the University of Houston and is now pursuing a graduate degree at the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland.

Saturday's opening reception will also celebrate the premier of Domy's Project Space, an additional exhibit room at the back of the store. The first show in the space will be We Stopped Fighting for This? a collaborative installation by artists Lauren Cardenas, Carling Hale, and Alison Kuo. The three friends worked together in a studio art program and ultimately influenced each other's work in various mediums including sculpture, illustration, and photography. Domy co-founder, Russell Etchen, says of the new exhibit space, "Since we have a busy gallery schedule, we will use the Project Space to highlight projects and art that we might not be able to fit into the gallery space." After participating in the gallery's first exhibit, Alison Kuo will manage future events in Domy's Project Space. Kuo states that she would "like to offer up the Project Space as a place for people to transform in any way that they are inspired." Offering artists an alternative to a more formal gallery space will hopeful encourage even more creative headway and "because of its tucked-away location in the back of the store it will be possible for people to take their time during installation."

Consent to Play and We Stopped Fighting for This? both run through March 14th at Domy Books.