Heart Of Chaos News and Events

South First Billiards and Heart of Chaos are teaming up for a South First Friday Fundraising Event at South First Billiards on behalf of Teatro Visión, San Jose’s nationally-renown Chicano Theatre Company. The event will be held on May 1st and starts at 8 pm running until 1:30 am.

It’s the 25th anniversary of this highly revered San Jose theatre company, and HOC and SFB are proud to support Teatro Visión’s history and its work for the Latino community. As Teatro’s mission states, “Teatro Vision is a Chicano theater company that celebrates culture, nurtures community and inspires vision. Our art will move people to feel, think and act to create a better world.”

Consistently recognized for its inspiring work in the community and for the arts, Teatro Vision’s artistic director, Elisa Marina Alvarado, was recently honored with the international Otto René Castillo Awards for Political Theatre.

• Live music will be provided by Jammin’ Band an oldies and Chicano rock band, and Para La Gente, an up-and-coming Latino hip hop group.|
• Live painting will be performed by Miguel Machuca, Force129, Ozzie Baron, Diana Medrano, and other special guests. Portion of the proceeds of sold art will be donated to Teatro Visión.
• Finally, there will be exciting door and raffle prizes throughout the night.

Entrance fee is sliding-scale donation. All door donations go to future Teatro Visión events and productions. Must be 21 years and up.

About South First Billiards:
Located in the SoFA District, South First Billiards is an eclectic nightlife space where art and night time entertainment coalesce to create unique, exciting forms of expression, social interaction, and events.  For more information visit www.sofapool.com.

About Heart of Chaos:
Heart of Chaos is a volunteer run and bay area based artisan collective that caters to emerging and established artists. For more information visit www.heartofchaos.net.

About Teatro Visión
Teatro Visión is a Chicano theater company that celebrates culture, nurtures community and inspires vision. Our art will move people to feel, think and act to create a better world.  For more information visit www.teatrovision.org

Heart of Chaos and Gardner Community Center present “Kaotic Electricity” an exhibit featuring the abstract art of Bay Area artist Dane Westen

In his own words Dane describes his work as follow: “I am and always have been drawn to color, bold and bright and paired unconventionally, I love drawing the viewer into the piece with the initial attraction to color. And since spring is around the corner and the valley is popping with bursts of bright colors it seemed to be a well matched theme to offer to you “Colorful Chaos.”

Learn more about Dane by visiting his artist profile http://heartofchaos.net/Dane-Westen.html

Opening Reception: Friday, April 10th from 6-8pm.

Location:
Gardner Community Center
520 W. Virginia Street
San Jose 95125

Exhibit on Display: 4/10/09 - 4/30/09

Gallery Hours: 9am-7pm M-F

Heart of Chaos and South First Billiards proudly present Girl Power, an art exhibit featuring local artists Christine Benjamin, Lacey Bryant, Lara Sophia and Marylea “Murphy” Adams. Art will be on display throughout April and May 2009. Don’t miss this exciting showcase of Bay Area talent!

For more information about the artists please visit
http://www.heartofchaos.net/girl-power-art-show.html 

Artist Receptions:
First Friday, April 3, 2009 8pm - 12 midnight
First Friday, May 1, 2009 8pm - 12 midnight
Receptions will feature live music, live painting and live belly dancing

Location:
South First Street Billiards
420 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113
21+ venue

Exhibit Dates:
April 3 - May 31, 2009

Gallery Hours :
4PM - 2AM M-Sat & 7PM - 2AM Sun

Collage Exhibit Showcases Art Created in Juvenile Hall While Mentoring Incarcerated Youth

“Cut n Paste,” an exhibit of extraordinary passion and meticulous detail, opens Friday night December 5th at Gardner Community Center. Michael Denning, a collage artist from Half Moon Bay, has recycled words and pictures to make statements about life, love, youth mentoring, art, politics, spirituality and personal revelations.

But Denning, now 28, wasn’t always an artist. For a decade he was simply another lost soul living from high to high. It began at age 13 with his first swig of alcohol. He quickly graduated into drugs including brief stints with LSD, cocaine and crack and eventually settled on crystal meth, which crippled his life for the next decade. When he hit rock bottom, Michael was at risk of losing everything, including his life. Somehow a shard of light managed to seep through his muddled brain and he realized that he should be dead and because he wasn’t, maybe God had a plan for him. He enrolled in a 12-step program in which “I accomplished more in 18 months than I had in 10 years.”

After two years of sobriety, he created a 4′ by 5′ collage, which portrayed both the brutal world of addiction and the blinding clarity of sobriety. His masterpiece provided the healing process that let him bring closure to his years of addiction and begin a new life on a path of new adventures and boundless enthusiasm. The collage entitled “The Way of No Ecstasy” has found a permanent home in the Santa Clara Juvenile Hall Courtroom lobby.

Denning has also found a new home, as a teacher in the Heart of Chaos Juvenile Hall art program sponsored by Catalyst for Youth. In fact eighty-five percent of his collages on display at the Cut and Paste exhibit were created during these weekly classes.

Denning’s passion for art comes from his desire to help others. He believes that the world can be changed through the healing power of art. In his classes with at risk and incarcerated youth he teaches through the clarity of his example, creating work after work alongside the minors.

“In a world where we are bombarded daily by words and images, I have learned to recycle and transform those messages into statements about life, love, art, politics, spirituality and my personal experiences. My goal as an artist and a mentor to youth is to provoke thought, inspire change and invoke in others the desire to create.”

Don’t miss this exciting exhibit, the first time his masterful body of work has been shown at one location. Exhibit reception begins at 5pm on December 5th and features live music, painting, belly dancing and of course Denning’s collages. The exhibit will run through the month of December.

Exhibit Location:
Gardner Community Center
520 W. Virginia Street
San Jose 95125

Opening Reception:
Friday, December 5, 2008 5-8PM

Exhibit Dates: 12/5/08 - 12/31/08

Gallery Hours: 9AM - 7PM M-F

Heart of Chaos has two great art events for you this Friday night! It all starts at 5pm with the Cut n’ Paste opening reception at Gardner Community Center (520 W. Virginia Street, San Jose, 95125) featuring collage art created by Heart of Chaos artist, director and Juvenile Hall Art Program teacher, Michael Denning. Highlights of the reception include belly dancing, live painting, live music and more! The Cut n’ Paste reception goes until 8pm and the exhibit will be on display through December 31st.

After Cut n’ Paste head out to downtown San Jose for South First Fridays and check out South First Billiards (420 S. 1st Street, San Jose, 95113) where Heart of Chaos artists are exhibiting a broad range of over 100 pieces of many mediums and themes. Art is priced to sell starting as low as $25! Original art makes a unique holiday gift for anyone and everyone on your shopping list! There will be live painting, live music and the bar and pool tables will be open for business! Art will be on display and for sale through January 29, 2009.

Admission is FREE for both exhibits. See you there!

Heart of Chaos and South First Billiards Gallery present UpRoar 2008, one of the bay area’s largest group art events and sales of the year. The opening night party on November 7th will be an eclectic evening of art, live music, fashion and more! Art will be priced to sell and makes a great holiday gift! Purchase a piece at the opening party or anytime from Nov 7th through the end of January 2009!

Join us at South First Billiards Gallery and Lounge on Friday, November 7th for the opening party featuring:

Live performances by:
Relapse
The Blank Manuscript
Fasten
Pacoe the Illiterate
Tree House City
J-Square and the Brain

A fashion installation by:
Closet Innovators

Live dance showcase featuring:
Sol Studio Belly Dance (belly dance troupe)
Hybrid Crew (break-dancing)

Live painting by HOC artists:
Miguel Machuca
Michael Foley
Lacey Bryant
Christine Benjamin
Ivan Gonzalez
Athena Lorente
Alfred Preciado
Mike Borja
John Barrick
OP78
A.G.
Jaclyn Alderete
Evan
Carlos Rodriguez
Rod Santos
Wadl
Force129
Ruben Espinoza
Plus Extra Special Guest
Plus special guest artists

Guest MC:
3rd Eye of the 2012 show

This is an event you won’t want to miss! Art will be priced to sell and the pool tables and bar will also be open for business! See you there!

Exhibit/Opening Night Party Details:

Opening Night Party: November 7th, 8pm-2am (21+ Please)

Reception Admission: $5 at the door
(100% of door proceeds benefit Heart of Chaos)

Location:
South First Street Billiards
420 South First Street
San Jose, CA 95113

Exhibit on Display:
November 7, 2008 - January 29, 2009

Gallery Hours: 4pm-2am M-Sat & 7pm-2am Sun

Heart of Chaos and South First Billiards Gallery present UpRoar 2008. One of the bay area’s largest group art exhibits of the year. UpRoar 2008’s opening night party will be an eclectic evening of art, live music, fashion and more!

Join us during South First Friday’s on November 7th from 8pm til late for live performances by Relapse, the Blank Manuscript, Fasten, Pacoe the Illiterate, Tree House City, J-Square and the Brain, Bay Area Sound Collective Djs Knowledge and EZ, more performers to be announced! A fashion installation by Closet Innovators! Live dance showcase featuring dance crews Sol Studio Belly Dance and Hybrid Crew! Live painting by local artists Miguel Machuca, Michael Foley, Lacey Bryant, Christine Benjamin, Ivan Gonzalez, Athena Lorente and a special surprise guest. This is an event you won’t want to miss! The pool tables and bar will also be open for business!

$5 donation at the door to benefit Heart of Chaos events and exhibits for the upcoming year. Don’t miss out, this is a guaranteed good time for a good cause, ART! Art will be priced to sell and pool tables and bar will be open for business. See you there! Party goes til close at 2am!

Official call for artists online at http://www.heartofchaos.net/artistcalls.html#uproar
Submissions due October 27th - November 1st.

Heart of Chaos presents paintings, images and poetry of San Jose artist James Persinger.

Opening Reception:
October 3, 2008 6pm-9pm

Gardner Community Center, 520 W. Virginia Street, San Jose 95125

Exhibit Dates: 10/3/08 - 10/31/08

Gallery Hours: 9am-7pm M-F

Artists Words - “Kaleidescopic Doo-Wop is a collection of paintings, drawings, abstract photography, and poetry. Each piece is continually shifting from one set of relations to another. In my paintings I use thick rhythmic brushstrokes bending the hues till they harmonize. Each photography piece though abstract is not necessarily meant to be of “high concept.” It’s a glimpse of reality captured from a lens that has no opinion on what is and isn’t. Each piece intermingles to influence your imagination.”

More Artist info available at http://www.heartofchaos.net/james-persinger.html

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Heart of Chaos and South First Billiards Gallery present local artist Mike Borja’s new collection Ninja Stars.  Exhibit on display October 3rd - 31st with opening reception on October 3rd featuring live performances by J-Squared and the Brain.  Join us in celebrating local talent.  Part of South First Friday’s Art Walk in downtown San Jose.Mike’s Outlook on Ninja Stars Collection:
The American Flag is missing it’s stars. The stars represent the states and the people. Particularly an American Dream of becoming stars and celebrities. Then there are those who are unseen like the Ninja, who was just a non-violent practitioner of religion later born to be used against the government. He’s wandering aimlessly in an outer space dream unaware of his mission, yet every Ninja has a mission.We are all in different states of mind. The Universe and the stars are a reflection of us. The flag needed some stars so I decided to give it some ninja stars. The Ninja stars also represent our aim, direction, and point of destination.

Reception Date: 10/3/08
Reception Time: 8pm - 12am

Exhibit Dates:
10/3/08 - 10/31/08

Gallery Hours:
4pm-2am M-Sat
7pm-2am Sun

More artist info at http://www.heartofchaos.net/michael_borja.html. Watch a video of the artist at work at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypfKt2oBAd0

Call for Entries for Up Roar 2008!

Heart of Chaos (see http://www.heartofchaos.net) once again brings “UpRoar” to San Jose with it’s second annual exhibit at South First Billiards. Anything goes in this open themed exhibit juried by the attending reception audience. You remember last year, we are doing it up even BIGGER this year! So bring on the ART!

Theme: Open, anything goes! All mediums and forms of expression welcome.

To Enter: Download and complete the Up Roar 2008 Entry Form at http://www.heartofchaos.net/guidelines/Uproar2008_guidelines.pdf

Entry Fee: $20.00 per artist for up to 3 submissions,
(includes free admission for the artist at the opening reception)

Submission Drop Offs: October 27 - November 1, 2008 from 4-10PM at South First Billiards, 420 South First Street, San Jose, 95113. Completed Entry Form Must Be Submitted with Entries. You must be 21+ to enter South First Billiards. Exhibit entry is open to artists under 21 please send us a message for special drop off arrangements if needed.

Opening Reception: November 7th, 9pm-1am

Featuring Live Music and Dance Showcase

Reception Admission:

Exhibiting Artists Admission: Free
Everyone else $5 at the door (all door proceeds benefit Heart of Chaos)
21+ at the reception please

Exhibit On Display: November 7, 2008 - January 29, 2009