This Saturday, Work Evolution Laboratories–AKA WE Labs–is hosting an art opening featuring paintings by Dave The Rainbow. The event, Psychedelic Ping Pong, is a celebration of black light or UV art.
“I’ve always loved ping pong and glow in the dark everything my entire life,” Dave explained, “so one day 15 years ago I created a ping pong table with glow paint and glow ping pong balls. As I started to do art shows, a few years ago, I wanted to have an experience where people can come, experience art, and become involved, so I thought about creating an experience with my psychedelic paintings and glow-in-the-dark ping pong! Also, I went to Berlin five years ago and saw a ping pong bar, which gave me the idea to have ping pong as part of a great, unique social setting.”
Dave explained that there are two main things that make his paintings psychedelic.
“One, they are a creation of the aftermath of my personal psychedelic use. Two, they make people think abstractly of the other mystical energies that encompass our world. Psychedelic is a term that refers to a journey within your mind or consciousness. The colors in my artwork are also super bright and cover the spectrum of the rainbow. The UV paint I use makes my art a very psychedelic experience.”
Dave’s personal psychedelic use was inspired by his life experiences, and a search for truth and purpose.
“I always heard stories of outer body experience, kaleidoscoping vision, and transcendental experiences with god and the outer dimensions, so I was curious to see where, and how far, my mind would take me. Our Native American past in America was also strewn with shamanism and psychedelic use, which made me even more curious about our journeys from our ancestors.
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“My interest in painting arose from my change in consciousness before my psychedelic use. I was on a path of electronic arts with film and video, but was turned off by the media control, censorship, and the psychological attacks of 911 through the television. In an attempt to change the world for the better I got into face and body painting to spread love through art, which eventually lead me to painting on canvas. Painting is more organic, and I have full control of everything. Since my switch into the painting world, my motto has been to ‘Make art not war.’ However, my psychedelic use had a profound influence in the style and subject matter in my art.
“My paintings are my babies. Each of them represent a part of my consciousness during a certain time period of my life. There comes a time in every child’s life to move on and experience life away from their parents. I’ve created over 450 paintings in the past 5 years, so I have to let them go! It’s pointless to have that much art, unless I have my own museum. I also love spreading my art around the community, so I would rather have art on people’s walls, than stacked in a closet. Art is made to be seen!”
Dave says that his new exhibition is about community.
“I have a body painting room in which people engage and paint on each other, black light ping pong for people to experience, and I teamed up with some great local black light artists and other additions for the overall experience.”
Other artists include Steven Garcia, Jake Johnson, Love Chutney, GKen-E, Doctor KA, Rahfee Zahkee, and MydjDrew. To experience the overall experience, stop by WE Labs, located on the 8th floor of 235 East Broadway, On Saturday, December 14th, between 7 PM and midnight. Paid parking is available in nearby lots.
To learn more about WE Labs, visit WELabs.us. To learn more about Dave, visit DaveTheRainbow.com.