TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

One Man's Trash Is Another's Art

ADVERTISEMENT

By SARAH HOYE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Bask went green long before Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" or reusable Publix grocery bags.

The 'Burg-based artist, born Ales Hostomsky, will show off his latest recycled creations starting Saturday at the opening reception for his exhibit, "Dobre Den" ("Good Day" in Czech), at Pale Horse Gallery. The exhibit features politically-motivated and anti-iconic paintings, prints and installations and is on display through Dec. 20.

"I come around like the garbage fairy," says Bask, 31, whose family immigrated to St. Petersburg from the Czech Republic in 1984. "I relieve [people] of their burden of debris. My garage is like a salvage yard. I just collect things and know that it will work for something one day."

His work has been showcased in local galleries and across the country, such as Cleveland and Detroit, and he is planning his first solo exhibit in Prague in 2009. Best known for his over-the-top collaborations with Bay Area artists Tes One, Derek Hess and Sarah Gail Hutcherson, Bask launches "Dobre Den" as a collection of new material created during the past year.

Transforming and breathing life into garbage is a labor of love, Bask explains. A salvaged piece of wood from a house deck will make its debut appearance in "Dobre Den."

"I've been lugging it around for years, but I couldn't throw it away because it had such potential," he says. "I like the fact that these [things] aren't wanted by somebody but can be cherished again. It's quite romantic."

While Bask continues to create in the final hours before the show, his longtime friend, artist and collaborator Hutcherson, was anxious to see what works Bask would display.

"He's been working a lot. I haven't seen any of his new stuff, so I am super-excited," says Hutcherson, who co-created the installation piece, "There Once Was An Octopus From Nantucket," on display at Tampa Museum of Art's final event in January before it will be demolished to make way for its $33 million replacement. "He likes to find people's trash and turn them into artwork. He's magic. He is a true talent and St. Pete is blessed to have him."

Still, Bask's success did not come overnight. The high school drop-out spent years paying his dues and finding himself before being able to support himself on his artwork.

"You got to put in work. I work for myself and I do art full time, but those are long hours doing something related to my work," he says. "As long as you can wake up and love what you do, regardless of the frustrations, then that's what matters."

EVENT PREVIEW
Dobre Den
WHAT: New art exhibit featuring paintings, prints and installations by artist Bask
WHEN: 8 p.m. Saturday
WHERE: Pale Horse Design & Gallery, 19 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. S., St. Petersburg; (727) 823-6202
HOW MUCH: free
INFO: www.palehorsedesign.com
Reporter Sarah Hoye can be reached at (813) 259-7832.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT