The Art of Polyester Bakes, Get your bake on! at Hostel BOX Gallery

Hostel Buffalo’s BOX Gallery presents from the minds of A.J. Fries & Michael Mararian, The Art of Polyester Bakes, Get your bake on!

The Opening Reception will be held on Friday, September 22nd from 7pm through 1am and the night will feature the singing of Buffalo’s Town Anthem & performances from The Bear, Tiny the Dream, BPD Trio, the official Curtain Up! pinata. Music and performances will begin at 9:30pm. The exhibition will be on view through October 23rd.

About the show: “The Art of PolyesterBakes” is a visual interpretation of one of Buffalo’s favorite Instagram accounts @Polyesterbakes, Brainchild of artist Michael Mararian who every week bakes delicious desserts paired with vintage attire, the show will visually interpret an array of delectables and fashion from the account. In collaboration with well known artist A.J.Fries, both gentlemen are hoping to capture some fan favorites in a series of simple, black-and-white paintings on cardboard. The show should be a fun–not to be missed–bakery shop of delightfully rendered paintings (and possibly some actual desserts to sample if everything goes well)

Michael Mararian is traditionally known for his humorous and thought provoking paintings that often address such issues as gross consumerism, school violence, and societal pressures, artist Michael Mararian has now turned his attention to the world of fiber arts and the craft of needle-felting wool. Everyday items such as plungers and cameras are meticulously recreated and brought to “fuzzy” life, creating for the viewer, a whimsical stage of contradiction and amazement. Michael is a graduate of the Art and Theater program at the University of Bridgeport as well having studied at the Arts Students League in New York City. His work has previously been shown worldwide at Corey Helford Gallery and Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles, Bristol City Museum in Bristol England, Antonia Fraunberg Gallery in Dusseldorf, Germany and locally at Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center and The Burchfield Penny Art Center. www.michaelmararian.com

A.J. Fries is a painter who was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. A graduate of the State University of New York College at Buffalo, he has been called “unquestionably one of WNY’s most serious, developed, and dedicated artists” by Scott Propeack, associate director of the  Burchfield Penney Art Center. Fries has exhibited in Buffalo at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo Arts Studio, Hallwalls, and Big Orbit Gallery, among others. His work is included in many public and private collections, including those of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Burchfield Penney. In 2001 he was awarded a 3-month residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York, and in 2007 he received a full fellowship for a month-long residency at the Vermont Studio Center. He is a founding member of Trans Empire Canal Corporation (TECC), a Buffalo-based collective responsible for the Burchfield Penney Art Center’s 2014 multi-year project “Cultural Commodities: As Exhibition in Four Phases,” informally referred to as the “art barge.” Fries was designated one of the Burchfield Penney’s first “Living Legacy” artists in 2012. Ajfriesart.com