![\"23d8d131-95d4-434f-b759-81e0b731876b\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/23d8d131-95d4-434f-b759-81e0b731876b.jpg\")
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Photos courtesy of Tokotah Ashcraft.<\/em><\/p>\n Local artist Noel Madrid will unveil his latest four paintings at The Allery, an alley transformed by the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA) into a space for public art installations. Normally serving as an alley for motorists, the space is closed to cars during events such as First Fridays Art Walk on Atlantic Avenue, to take place this Friday, February 5 from 6:30PM to 9:30PM, where Madrid will present his recent works.<\/p>\n The installation, entitled Populated Spaces<\/em>, is an arrangement of vignettes inspired by various social settings. Madrid plays the casual, unbiased observer as he sketches in different locations throughout Long Beach. The four pieces, created on 4\u2019 x 8\u2019 wood panels, compose one of the artist\u2019s largest projects to date.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause of the nature of how these were drawn, the mood is often calm or somber,\u201d said Madrid. \u201cOn occasion, when music is the subject, the images take a different tone, full of exuberance.\u201d<\/p>\n The four panels took Madrid about a month to complete and seek to represent the hustle and bustle of the monthly First Friday events, when Atlantic Avenue becomes a loud and vibrant setting for artists of all kinds to share their passions with the community.<\/p>\n \u201cIt seemed fitting to refer back to so many drawings and sketches from busy nights around the city,\u201d said Madrid. \u201cIf the First Friday is all about getting out and blending with the city we so love, I figured let these paintings be a reflection of that.\u201d<\/p>\n BKBIA First Fridays Coordinator Tokotah Ashcraft told the Post<\/em> that Madrid\u2019s work was chosen because of his very different aesthetic from the previous artists, alongside his obvious talent for the profession.<\/p>\n \u201cWe try to commission artists for each Allery installation that have different styles,\u201d she explained. \u201cNoel has a very different aesthetic than the artists before.\u201d<\/p>\n Madrid, who also works out of a studio at ArtExchange in the East Village Arts District, told the Post<\/em> he hopes to give the viewer \u201can impression of the passive interactions of the night life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike a photograph, these paintings build on observation, memory, and to some degree fantasy,\u201d he added. \u201cThere is no intended allegory, and it is fully expected that each viewer will bring their own stories and memories to the interpretation. Some will relate specifically, vividly to the images. Others may respond only to the color and energy of the painting itself.\u201d<\/p>\n Prior to Madrid\u2019s installation, Long Beach artist Rebecca Giesking, local arts advocacy organization Squeeze Art Collective\u2019s Katie Phillips and Tracy Negrete and local painter Christian Hernandez showed their paintings on the four, now coveted, panels gracing the south wall of The Allery. Populated Spaces<\/em> will be on view for three months before another artist is given the chance to create works for the outdoor art gallery.<\/p>\n \u201cNoel has shown at First Fridays many times,\u201d said Ashcraft. \u201cI love his vision and respect him very much as an artist. He is a sophisticated operator and I knew he would be up for the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n For information about this upcoming First Fridays event, visit the Facebook event page here<\/a>. For more details and updates about this recent Allery project, click here<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Local artist Noel Madrid will unveil his latest four paintings at The Allery, an alley transformed by the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA) into a space for public art installations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":67445,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1000],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-2075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-first-fridays-art-walk","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2075"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=2075"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"0ae0c926-7718-4e41-8c99-28fc4923c5f8\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/0ae0c926-7718-4e41-8c99-28fc4923c5f8.jpg\")
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