Way back when in September, I had the honor of meeting with Aleksi and his father Grigori Sabka, as part of a show in the gallery owned by Aleksi. It was a really great time, and speaking to the both of them I learned a lot about working both as an artist (they were both muralists back in Greece and Albania, where they immigrated to the United States from) and as a gallery-owner, which is something I myself am pretty interested in. I can't say that they are, like, 'rockstars' of the art world, but they are relatively well-known in the Fort Worth area, and even more popular abroad, which I thought was something very interesting to consider, as well. A lot of times we feel like you can only get anything done if you're in America, when in fact there's a whole huge world and a ton of artists out there who are famous, or at least better well-known, in the countries that they work in.
The reception itself was a great success. I had a piece up in the show, and I got to spend time speaking to both artists about their work, which has spanned over three generations starting with Aleksi's grandfather, for whom his father was an apprentice and so on. I exchanged information with them before the end of our conversation, and have since spoken to Aleksi on several occasions, just to keep in contact.
More recently, I have also been, I supposed you could say 'shmoozing' with the owners of the Black Lodge, where the group show I'm in will be happening later this week. They're absolutely lovely people, and I've had a really great time working and talking to them, as well.
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