//BONEWERX BY ALEA BONE – VALENTINE’S FEATURED ARTIST  //

Redux is pleased to present incredible original works by Portland artist Alea Bone for a special Valentine’s Weekend art opening!

//OPENING RECEPTION – FEB 12TH 6:00-9:30//

Under the name BoneWerx, Alea creates mixed-media assemblage art from found objects and upcycled materials. Vintage beer cans, scavenged bottle caps and reclaimed denim, leather and velvet are transformed into unexpected combinations. Inspired by the alternative sub-cultural aesthetics of Day of the Dead, Voodoo, Punk and Beer, she blurs the lines between the sacred and the profane, high brow and outsider art. The result is her own edgy and irreverent version of a new American folk art.

What started as an Eco-conscious effort to rescue cast off materials from gutters and landfills, has grown into an exploration into the stories that found objects have to tell. Besides a plentiful availability, beer cans and bottle caps specifically have emerged as a featured element in Bonewerx.

Alea and her husband moved to PDX in 1995 from Yosemite National Park so she could pursue a degree from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. They chose Portland, in large part because even then, it was an emerging Mecca for beer lovers. Hops grow in the Bone family yard, and they never miss the Oregon Brewer’s Festival. Alea saw ‘Beer Art’ as a huge opportunity that hadn’t been tapped yet and the perfect way to combine her interests.

Usually considered mundane, metal pieces bearing their original maker’s logos, Alea saw a kitschy charm in the cans/caps. It soon became apparent that when elevated into creative compositions, they took on a deeper significance as people started sharing their personal stories with her. Whether you are a part of it or not, beer culture and the role it plays in our individual histories is something we can all identify with and relate to on some level. The memories connected to old beer labels tend to evoke nostalgia for simpler times, youthful rebellion, old bands, fishing buddies and pool games that got out of hand in dive bars. Perhaps it’s the brand your grandpa always had on hand or the beer you shoplifted when underage, just to see if it tasted as bad as everyone said it did, beer, in one way or another is a part of our collective consciuosness.

Objects themselves cannot tell us their own stories. It is our memories, (our secrets) that breathe life into them and give them value. It is the aim of Bonewerx to stir up a few of those stories for you.

We’re so excited to hang her new work, and to share it with you all just in time for V-Day!