August Gallery Hop: Ryan Parrish & Joe Dallacqua

“Knights of Limb’dallah Bougher” by Ryan Parrish

Saturday, August 1st we are pleased to feature artwork from our very own Ryan Parrish and dear friend, Joe Dallacqua! Instead of the usual artist reception for Gallery Hop, Ryan and I will be at the studio all evening (4-10pm). Also, anyone coming out to the studio in person can schedule a 2009 session for just a $125 session fee plus enter a drawing for a $100 Amy Parrish Photography gift certificate. This will be a family-friendly event, but we also encourage all of you couples to swing by and spend the rest of the evening enjoying superb food and artwork around the Short North for a fabulous date night. And, without further ado, here are notes and previews from the artists:

“Comic books? Are you really still reading those?” It’s a question I get all the time. People assume that comic books are a phase you go through when you’re younger, like reading the Hardy Boys. At some point it’s time to put those toys away and pick up ‘real’ books. But the funny things is, comics have always appealed to a different part of me. There’s something about how they allow a reader to see and hear the story as it plays out. It’s like looking in between the words of a book to really see the drama play out in front of you. The pieces I’ve put together here explore the nature of storytelling in that medium, peeling back the curtain and showing the story inside the story. Sit back, relax, and enjoy the show. – Joe Dallacqua

There’s a comforting simplicity to cartoons that I’ve always found appealing. They can be as shallow or as deep as you want them to be and, as such, are a great storytelling device. You can be made to laugh along with Snoopy or even cry with Calvin when he thinks that Hobbes has run away, and both are equally great. It’s such a malleable genre that it’s impossible not to find something worthwhile in it. – Ryan Parrish