The Chambers Project Announces The Opening of Dyein Man Tie Dyes-Harry Hart “DEAD TO THE CORE” 

GRASS VALLEY, CA

NEWS FROM THE CHAMBERS PROJECT

Dead to the Core 

A new psychedelic installation of cutting-edge tie-dye by artist Harry Hart at The Chambers Project in Grass Valley, California

27th September

Opening reception 6.00 – 11.00pm

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Tie-dye has come a long way since the turned-on and tuned-in 1960s. Harry Hart’s intricate and subtle patterns take the ancient art to a new level of complexity and scale in an amazing exhibit of cutting-edge art at the Chambers Project. 

Pioneering owner and curator Brian Chambers has succeeded in establishing the Chambers Project as the heart and soul of an astonishing flood of creative work created by historic and contemporary psychedelic artists. He promises his internationally famed gallery will be covered in “…head to toe tie-dye. Tie-dye is a favorite medium at The Chambers Project and over the years we have done countless limited-edition tie-dyed shirts. The response has always been very strong. With Harry and I sharing the same Southern roots and love of Grateful Dead culture this is a prime opportunity to elevate the medium to a higher level. ‘Dead to the Core’ is our first all tie-dyed show, and it’s definitely something I’m looking forward to exploring more in the future.”

The show is a refreshing acknowledgement of the cultural significance of resistance dyeing, which has ancient roots in Asian and African cultures, and is an outsider product of contemporary bohemian culture. Hart said, “I find myself gravitating to shibori, an ancient Japanese technique of binding fabric and submerging it in indigo vats. I’ve blended the shibori technique with approaches other people take, and combining the two gives me a look that stands out… I’ve taken a long time to fight the current and develop my own sense of style.” To achieve new levels of sophistication and subtlety he uses different weights of fishing line, artificial sinews, and bowstrings, lending to his work intricate complexity. Hart said tying and dyeing fabric is a unique art form, because unlike painting or sculpture which allow the artist to constantly make changes as they work, he never knows exactly what the finished piece will look like for days as he works toward completing a major piece. “It’s such an interesting thing, to not see anything you’re doing until the very end result,” he said. His skill determines the outcome, but there is always a degree of chance in the work.

Hart is sharing the opening night celebration of his show by presenting collaborative works from internationally acclaimed psychedelic artists Colin Prahl and Damon Soule, who will collaborate with Hart, and the innovative Scott Youngberg, who has brought figurative representation to resistance dyeing techniques. Artists Prahl and Soule will be painting over some of Hart’s pre-prepared works stretched on barred wooden frames like canvases, creating unprecedented collaborative mixed media images of pigment and dye. 

“Collaboration has always been the foundation of The Chambers Project,” said Chambers, who supports the Furtherrr psychedelic art collective in their production of huge and extraordinary psychedelic paintings, created during live performances at festivals and at his gallery openings. Enthusiastic about the idea, Hart added, “I’m excited to bring all sorts of mixed media collaborations under one roof.” 

At the opening, some of his largest dyes will be lit under LED lights smoothly shifting through the color spectrum, giving them an unusual sense of life and movement. “It’s going to give people a feeling I don’t think has been captured before,” he said, “I’m definitely not the first person to come across using RGB LED’s to transition pigments from one color spectrum to the other, but there’s innovation in the way I’ve created pieces of art with intention for light.”

Chambers sees Hart’s exhibit as a lead-in to the spectacular exhibit of art and artifacts of the Grateful Dead he is opening in December. The band frequently performed live sets in front of tie-dyed backdrops created by Courtenay Pollock. Chambers commented, “While tie-dye has been around far longer than the Grateful Dead, I feel it was the band’s culture and community that put the countercultural and underground spotlight on it. Harry Hart’s show felt like a proper way to lead into our ‘60 Years of the Grateful Dead’ retrospective exhibit in December, when we will further examine many more of the creative fractals that exploded through the culture of the Grateful Dead.”

Honoring his predecessor in pop-culture, Hart said, “Who knows what Courtenay would have been doing with the accessibility to the things that I have. I think that a lot of the difference is just the time and the place that we are. I have had massive inspiration from people like him.”

For more information contact: 

The Chambers Project

627 East Main St.

Grass Valley, California 95945

Phone: (530) 777-0330

 Images available on request