Stephanie Buer

This piece of original artwork comes ready to hang.

Opening Friday, June 30th at Detroit’s Inner State Gallery “LAX/DTW” will feature over 80 local and international artists curated by Los Angeles-based gallery Thinkspace. The massive group exhibition serves as introduction to the burgeoning New Contemporary art movement for art lovers in the Midwest, handpicked by one of the scene’s most prolific galleries.

“With roots firmly planted in illustration, pop culture, comics, street art and graffiti, put quite simply the New Contemporary Art Movement is art for the people,” Thinkspace co-founder Andrew Hosner said.

For the eleventh iteration of Thinkspace’s traveling group exhibitions, co-owners Andrew and Shawn Hosner hand picked Detroit to showcase one of their most ambitious collections to date. As part of the exhibition, the Hosners have also picked two featured artist, James Bullough for his unique cross cut portraits.

Stephanie Buer, now based in Portland, has spent over a decade observing the urban landscapes in Detroit, MI. She has an intimate appreciation of urban desolation and a love for the once prosperous buildings that have been abandoned to time and the elements. Her works in both oil and charcoal capture with photo-like detail the layers of gritty history that accumulate as these places succumb to the manipulation of vandals, artists, and the steady persistence of nature. In the juxtaposition between decay and growth, Stephanie finds a place that echoes the peace she finds in nature, with its endless cycles of change.

Part of the power in Stephanie's work comes from the absence of human figures in a place clearly marked by them. Rather than allowing distant observation as narrative, she draws viewers in to witness the space that people have left behind, compelling them to personally experience these modern relics that have been condemned by society. The simultaneously idyllic, yet derelict scenes challenge viewers to question their notions of beauty, while the detailed texture and depth that is characteristic of her work invites them to explore these places personally, as she does while taking the photographs from which she works.