Stay Gallery names Roy Anthony Shabla its artist-in-residence

DOWNEY – Roy Anthony Shabla – Downey artist, poet, and filmmaker – is the first ever artist-in-residence at Stay Gallery from December 5 to January 28, 2017.  

Shabla is a recognized painter and Stay Gallery, near the corner of Downey Avenue and Firestone Boulevard, will be his studio and exhibition space for the next two months.

Shabla is a late Abstract Expressionist and will be painting 18-ft. canvases – the largest the gallery has shown – as well as assembling junk sculptures and hosting evenings of films on art.  The public is encouraged to visit.

Shabla is Director of Collections for Downey Museum of Art and sits on the Advisory Board of Nuvein Foundation for Literature and the Arts.  His films are represented by Los Angeles Center for Digital Art.  He will be the featured artist at LACDA in January.

Shabla will perform “Travels with my Rant,” a poetry-and-improvised-music event comparing life in Downey to life in Paris, for Poetry Matters – a Downey Arts Coalition monthly poetry gathering at Stay Gallery – on January 19.  Local Downey musicians Josue Quiquivix, Andrew Ariza, and Gabriel Armenta will back him.

Shabla hosts a monthly cultural event, The Green Salon – a gathering of artists, poets, musicians, and other creative people – which will happen in January at Stay Gallery on Saturday the 28th.  The gathering will also serve as an after-party for Downey Symphony which is performing that night.

Abstract Expressionism is the important American movement in art which shifted cultural focus from Paris to New York.  It was supported by the CIA during the Cold War as a contrast to the Soviet Union’s Social Realism, demonstrating the artistic freedom of the West to the world.  The most recognizable Abstract Expressionist painters were Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko.  

Shabla will show films about these artists during his residency. Follow Stay Gallery on Facebook or Instagram for more information.

Local educators are encouraged to schedule field trips to the gallery to visit and workshop with Shabla.  See staygallery.org to start the process.

A Community Day when the public is invited to collaborate on a painting with Shabla is planned for Saturday, December 17, beginning at 11 am.  Plan to get your hands dirty!

As the first Artist-in-Residence at Stay Gallery, Roy Anthony Shabla intends to create large abstract paintings to enthrall the cultural enthusiast and also expose the community to an important American art form.