McLeod Residence Blog

New exhibit at McLeod Residence opening this Friday!

Salvage, The Laser's Edge, and Wildflowers

Opening Reception: This Friday, April 4th, 5pm - 9pm

Read the press release…

Local artist Diana Falchuk, known for interacting art with the public space, will create a site-specific installation for McLeod Residence that incorporates the gallery and lounge's signature wallpaper--and cake icing. Salvage opens with a reception April 4 from 5pm - 9pm and will be exhibited through May 31. Also opening on April 4 is a skatedeck series, The Laser's Edge curated by Kristen Rask of Schmancy and Kurt Barbee of 5280 Lasers; and Wildflowers , a series of digitally-altered Holga photographs by Jenene Chesbrough.

All exhibitions will open Friday, April 4th, from 5pm - 9pm.  At 9pm, DJ Rich Lehl and Jesse will spin some tunes.

McLeod Residence is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. In addition to the lounge that boasts a full bar (now open to everyone!), McLeod Residence's gallery space features exhibitions that rotate every two months and acts as a venue for events such as readings, musical performances, films, and parties. Proprietors Buster McLeod and Lele McLeod founded McLeod Residence in 2006. McLeod Residence gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday, noon to 6pm. The Lounge is open Tuesday-Sunday, 6pm - 2am.

Our bar is now open to everyone!

Dear Friends,

We've waited a long time to be able to say this.

That's right. McLeod Residence's bar is now open to members and non-members alike. And we'll be open 6 nights a week! Even though a lot is changing, we're going to keep the spirit of the place the same, and continue to give members a reason for being members.

McLeod Residence believes in things.

1. We believe that by combining a real art gallery with a real bar, we get something that's greater than the sum of its parts. Right?
2. We believe that encouraging creativity and collaboration can sometimes benefit with a drink or two.
3. We believe that Seattle is full of interesting people, incredible art, and brilliant ideas.  Obviously!
4. We believe in lots of other things too.  Like pandas.

McLeod Residence keeps trying to get better.

If you haven't been to McLeod Residence lately, there's a lot of new stuff to experience. We have new bar hours (now open 6 nights a week!), beautiful art that switches out regularly, our bar now accepts credit cards (charge it up, friends), our photo booth is inching up on 20,000 pictures taken (whose will it be?), we're gonna be OPEN SIX NIGHTS A WEEK! (did you get the message yet?), we have more kinds of liquor, beer, and wine stocked than ever, and we have a whole bunch of new regularly scheduled events launching soon (like Sunday night karaoke hosted by Ade!).

Thank you for helping us get to where we are. Please come and help us continue to the next thing. Six nights a week! Seriously. We're really excited about this. It's a perfect time to become a member!

Sincerely,

The McLeods

Press release: Art Opening April 4

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maggie Santolla McLeod, Press Relations
maggie.santolla@gmail.com

Lele McLeod, Gallery
leleblixa@gmail.com
206-441-3314

Spring is Time for Salvage
Diana Falchuk Creates Multimedia Installation for McLeod Residence

Seattle, WA -- March 13, 2008 -- Local artist Diana Falchuk, known for interacting art with the public space, will create a site-specific installation for McLeod Residence that incorporates the gallery and lounge's signature wallpaper--and cake icing. Salvage opens with a reception April 4 from 5-9pm and will be exhibited through May 31. Also opening on April 4 is a skatedeck series curated by Kristen Rask of Schmancy and Kurt Barbee of 5280 Lasers; and Wildflowers, a series of digitally-altered Holga photographs by Jenene Chesbrough.

Salvage will explore Diana's playful, intimate and sometimes repulsive relationship with t he degradation and reconfiguration of foods, flora and fibers. For the Conservatory, Diana will create an installation using McLeod Residence's signature black and white wallpaper. She will age and water damage a 12-foot section of wallpaper and painstakingly repair missing fragments of the pattern with homemade pink and white icing.

Echoing this piece in the same gallery will be a video narrating Diana's discovery of a dilapidated cake in the dumpster near her home, and her subsequent process to "revive it" using her hands.

"In each of these pieces, repair is an indulgent, decorative, personal act that reveals itself to be superficial and, arguably, futile," says Diana in her artist statement.

The Parlor will contain a new series of large and small drawings that continue to explore the connectivity of degraded and vital objects, with a hopeful eye toward the future outcomes of the excessive waste and decay in our current civilization.

Diana Falchuk is a multidisciplinary artist, program manager and educator based in Seattle. Diana's public installations and gallery-based artwork venerate and give new life to public utilities, food and personal objects that are degraded or past their prime or safe consumption. Falchuk has been a member of Crawl Space Gallery since 2005 and has shown widely in Seattle. In 2007, she received a visiting artist award for an exhibition and artist talk at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Since 2004, Falchuk has worked as the Lead Artist/Program Manager for Arts Connect, a partnership that she helped develop between the Museum of Glass and Pierce County Juvenile Court.

Kristen Rask of Schmancy and Kurt Barbee of 5280 Lasers have joined forces to curate a skatedeck exhibit in the McLeod Room. The pair invited local artists to create a design for a skateboard deck, which will be custom rendered in real life by Kurt. Participating designers include Shawn Wolfe, Martin Ontiveros, 2H, Parskid and Soopajdelux.

Kurt Barbee started 5280 Lasers to develop new and exciting products using the newest laser engraving technology and provide custom etching and engraving services. A fan of the "Low Brow" art scene for years, Kurt has worked with Luke Chueh, Maxx242, Gavin Strange and Alex Devol, among others.

Kristen Rask established Schmancy, a small toy store and art gallery in Seattle, in 2004. Her recent book, Plush You: Loveable Misfits to Sew and Stuff, complements the annual show she curates at Schmancy.

Showing in the foyer is Wildflowers, a series of digitally-altered photographs by  Brooklyn artist Jenene Chesbrough. Dreamy Holga  photographs of French landscapes are overlaid with stark graphics to create a new pastoral reality.  

Jenene's photography is in collection in both the United States and Europe.  She works in both fine art and journalistic photography, along with various design mediums.

* * *

McLeod Residence is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. In addition to the lounge that boasts a full bar, McLeod Residence's gallery space features exhibitions that rotate every two months and acts as a venue for events such as readings, musical performances, films, and parties. Proprietors Buster McLeod and Lele McLeod founded McLeod Residence in 2006. McLeod Residence gallery hours are Thursday-Saturday, noon to 6pm. The Lounge is open Tuesday-Sunday, 6pm - 2am. For more information, contact McLeod Residence at 206-441-3314 or visit www.mcleodresidence.com.

Everyone's Invited!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Maggie Santolla McLeod, Press Relations
maggie.santolla@gmail.com

Lauren Foster, PR Matters
laurenfoster@prmatters.com
206-310-2082

Everyone's Invited!
McLeod Residence Lounge Now Open to the Public

Have you been dying to find out what that McLeod Residence place in Belltown is all about? Now's your chance!

Seattle, WA--March 6, 2008--The McLeod Residence Lounge, formerly available exclusively to members, will be open to the public six days a week beginning March 21. McLeod Residence will kick off opening weekend with a performance by Hoquiam (featuring Damien Jurado) Friday, March 21. DJ Andrew Luck will be spinning a dance party on Saturday, March 22 and on Sunday, March 23 the place will go first-class with karaoke hosted by Adè. The public is now welcome to sip a cocktail invented by one of the members, check out the contemporary art throughout the space (including the bathrooms), and kick back on the comfy sofa. The McLeod Residence Lounge will be open Tuesday-Sunday from 6pm to 2am.

Adding to the vitality of McLeod Residence is the membership component. Our members are the heartbeat of McLeod and the reason we get out of bed in the morning. Buster and Lele McLeod have always had the goal to open up the lounge to the public without compromising the importance of their members. When the lounge opens on March 21, members will receive special drink prices and free entry to most events, in addition to retaining current benefits such as the opportunity to invent a drink for the cocktail menu and host a member party.

About McLeod Residence
Founded in 2006, McLeod Residence is a home for extraordinary living through art, technology and collaboration. In addition to the lounge that boasts a full bar, McLeod Residence's gallery space features exhibitions that rotate every two months and acts as a venue for events such as readings, musical performances, films, and parties. More than just a bar with art, McLeod Residence is a multi-purpose art space with high-quality contemporary work from a range of both nationally recognized and local artists.

McLeod Residence gallery hours will be Thursday-Saturday, noon to 6pm, March through May and will be open daytime hours five days a week beginning in June. Most art is also available for viewing during the evening as well.