Finch’s Brasserie will combine visual and musical artistry at its upcoming event.
“Texture & Light: Post Painterly Art of the Universe” is a show of artwork by Brandon Hamilton, and it will open at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in the upstairs gallery space the Roost in Finch’s. The art show’s opening will be accompanied by a performance by local musician Keith Skooglund.
Mark Need, one of the coordinators of the event, said the idea for the evening stemmed from the thought of mixing art forms in one overarching event.
“Some ideas that people had around town were more than one type of art intersecting together at events — and Finch’s has some beautiful gallery space upstairs,” Need said.
Owner Candace Finch, who established Finch’s in 2008 along with Jeff Finch, a chef, said the restaurant came with the rotating gallery space on the floor above and Finch’s has featured four to five artists every year since opening.
“We’ve been trying to get more involved with advertising outside of our mailing list,” Candace Finch said. “Part of the mission statement is to provide local art, local music and local food, and support our community.”
At Thursday’s show Skooglund will play alongside Heather Craig on violin and percussionist Gonzalo Dies. Need said the musician is a regular in town and has played as part of many groups, though what he will play Thursday will be all fresh material.
“Keith Skooglund is a longtime Bloomington resident and veteran of a number of area bands,” Need said. “He’s done some recording and is now working on new, original music with Heather Craig and Gonzalo Dies.”
The event was always meant to be more than just a music opening, and because Hamilton is a friend of Skooglund’s, debuting his visual artwork alongside the trio’s new music makes sense, Need said. The result was an event that marries a gallery opening with a concert.
“All the work is original,” Need said. “It’s easy to go around town and see a band that plays covers or to see art in a traditional gallery space. This way there’s a combination of art and different groups of people coming in and colliding in a positive way.”
Finch said this event will be a new experience in the space above the restaurant.
“This is the first time we’ve merged music and art together,” Finch said. “Both the musician and artist are supporting one another — it comes out of this vision of what their art is. Hamilton’s work is really more 3-D, there’s sculpture as well as paint, and it’s really neat.”
The two recognizable artists showing their work together in the space will provide a good activity for a winter night, Finch said. Hamilton has not shown in Bloomington before, and Skooglund is a regular performer, so the two working side-by-side will provide attendees with a distinctive experience.
“This is an exciting way for people to get out in the middle of winter, hear some new music, see some new art, have a cocktail and see what local art is doing right now,” Finch said. “For me, it’s just a way to merge music and art together and get the community out on a January night.”
