Solo Exhibition With Elroy Artspace – Artist Michael Costello opening reception on January's First Thursday Art Walk @ The Original

Elroy Artspace is proud to call The Original - A Dinerant 'home' to our Modern Fine Art gallery! 
Each month we welcome the public for a First Thursday Art Walk opening reception with the artist...

Michael Costello  |  Lost on the Off-Ramp

Solo Exhibition  |  January 6 through March 30, 2011

The Original  |  300 SW 6th (Downtown PDX)

Opening Reception - Thursday, January 6th, 5-9pm

Elroy Artspace Gallery Announces ‘Lost on the Off-Ramp’, a Solo Exhibition of Fine Art Pastels by Michael Costello at The Original in Portland, OR

Portland, OR (December 10, 2010) -- Elroy Artspace Gallery is pleased to announce Lost on the Off-Ramp, a solo exhibition of fine art pastels by Michael Costello.  In the artist’s first exhibition with Elroy Artspace, Lost on the Off-Ramp, Costello presents a series of pastels featuring cross-sections of vintage hotel and restaurant neon signage, in their current states of decay, with a realism approach.  An active artist in varying medium for two decades and PNCA (Pacific Northwest College of Art) graduate, Costello applies hard pastels to his passion for “the preservation of a past not so far away,” he says.    

Raised in the Northern California hills of Monterey County but off to the road in pursuit of his artistic education at 16, Costello is “driven by long road trips and the unique stops they have to offer,” Michael shares, “and with the works in Lost on the Off-Ramp I strive to preserve the ever-so-quickly disappearing feeling of ‘Americana’ that once filled the highways.”

Training and working in commercial, sculptural and fine art pottery as well, Costello also ran a surf shop in Hawaii and is still an avid skateboarder.  He’s made his way across the United States and even France to build his education and practice of art.  The endless band of highways traveled in this enduring journey (which led him to Portland for art school in 2003) has brought Michael a love for their stories.  “Maybe it comes from a broken light or a rusty sign,” he shares, “but most of all my inspiration comes from the road.”

View pictures here: http://bit.ly/OffRampElroy

Michael Costello has been a professional artist since the age of 16, when a children’s book he illustrated was published (Island Heritage), inspiring him to Hawaii for furthering his artistic studies.  In 2003 he moved to Portland to attend the Pacific Northwest College of Art.  He was the first recipient of Nike-sponsored Global Studios Scholarship to the Pont-Aven School of Contemporary Art in France.  Upon return he graduated from PNCA with a BFA in painting. Today he works primarily in hard pastels out of his studio in Portland, OR.

Elroy Artspace is curating this show at The Original (located at 300 SW 6th Ave. in downtown Portland, OR).  Elroy Artspace is a gallery whose mission is to enhance the human experience by introducing fine, fun art to design professionals and others concerned with bringing color and beauty into the home and workspace. 

For Media inquiries, additional information regarding Elroy Artspace Gallery, Elroy Art Agency or Michael Costello artwork sales and leasing, please contact: Joe Staskerz, Owner, Elroy Art Agency: Joe@ElroyArt.com (503) 609-0503 www.ElroyArt.com.