Some of you that have known me for awhile know that I grew up playing music. You may not know that I also have a background in the software industry. So, it was just a matter of time before I brought all this together visually in an App.

Shakie is an expressive motion controlled percussion instrument for the iPhone and iPod Touch. Pellets create sounds and rhythms as you move and shake them. Shakie’s built in pellets include maraca, shakers, tambourine, castanet, bells and spoon. Playing it is simple and natural. And, it’s a blast experimenting with it.

You may notice some compositional inspiration from my photo series Little Pieces All Together.

And of course, you can buy Shakie on the App Store.

I have some all new work in two upcoming group exhibits. The first is INvision Casserole 2012. I’m proud to be part of this photography collective. Come out to the opening on Friday. I have three new pieces in the spirit of my Little Pieces All Together series. See new member work and sample some tasty warm casseroles on a cool night.

INvision Casserole 2012
Opening Reception: Jan 20 6-8pm
Bona Thompson Memorial Center, 5350 University Ave, Indianapolis, IN
Jan 17 – Mar 4

Next up is Ten Yards. I’m curating work for this exhibit at the StutzArtSpace gallery. In a twist on the ten yards required to gain a first down in football, Stutz artists will salute the big game with a group exhibit inspired by ten locations or “yards” around Indianapolis. I’ve got a bold new piece from the Fountain Square neighboorhood. I had a studio in Fountain Square for three years. I’m rather fond of that neighborhood.

Ten Yards
Opening Reception: Feb 2 5-9pm
Stutz Art Space, 212 W. 10th St., , Indianapolis, IN
Enter from 10th St via Bearcat Alley
Feb 2 – 24

My new series, City Squared, is opening this Friday at the Kellar Mananey Gallery. Join me at the reception on April 1st, from 5-9pm.

City Squared : New Work by Andy Chen
Kellar Mahaney Gallery, Zionsville, IN
Opening Reception: Apr 1 5-9pm, continues through Apr 27

ANDY CHEN STATEMENT: City Squared
When I walk the city, I like to think about the journey. When you make photographs about living, they are not about the destination; they are about the moments along the way. The route is not always obvious. We may meander, get lost and find new ways. These photographs capture walking moments in three ways: as paths, walls and openings.

We may have just arrived, but the memories are already there.

How do the photos you post on Facebook affect your social currency? How does the photography reflect your communities and how you interact with them? These are some of the issues fine art photographers will explore in “Social Currency,” an exhibition opening March 4 at STUTZARTSPACE.

Showcasing a range of photography, the exhibit will look at how photographs are used and shared within communities and social networks, both online and offline.

Participating artists include Andy Chen (curator), Paul D’Andrea, Lauren Ditchley, Marg Herder, Ron Kern, Aaron Law, Ginny Taylor Rosner, Satch, John Sherman, Holly Sommers, and Matt Sommers.

Social Currency
StutzArtSpace, 212 W. 10th St., Indianapolis
Opening reception Friday March 4th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Exhibition open M-F 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. or by appointment through March 25

The exhibit is getting some good response in the media. NUVO Newsweekly published a nice Q & A:
Andy Chen’s ‘Social Currency’

I’ll also be talking about the exhibit on The Art of The Matter radio show on WFYI 90.1. Catch it this Friday @ 8pm, or Saturday at 4pm.

The StutzArtSpace Gallery is seeking entries for its March photography exhibit, Social Currency. Submissions should explore how photographs are used and shared within communities and social networks, both online and offline. We’re looking for images that have been used as social currency and work that considers the impact of the shared image. Social currency is about increasing one’s sense of community, granting access to information and knowledge, helping to form one’s identity, and providing status and recognition.

Social Currency is curated by Andy Chen, photographer and StutzArtSpace Director.

The entry deadline is February 11th. Check out the entry details.

At the age of four, you were an artist. And at seven, you were a poet.
- Seth Godin

Do you remember what that was like? Do you yearn to create the art that is truly you? On October 23rd, we’re going to give it a go together. It’s a photography workshop to bring the vision back. Come on out and play.

I’ve been talking about doing this workshop for years and I’m really looking forward to it. Here are the details.

The Creative Landscape Photography Workshop
October 23 2010, 9am – 5pm
Kellar Mahaney Gallery, Zionsville, IN

Explore your creative vision to make images that are authentically you. We’ll spend part of the day at the Kellar Mahaney Gallery considering artistic values and approaches. And then we’ll be out around the parks of Zionsville with our cameras. We’ll take plenty of pictures and likely a lot of bad ones. Why? Because we’re going to experiment and be stretched. You’ll finish the day with new direction and inspiration.

Kellar Mahaney Gallery
We’ll start out at the Kellar Mahaney Gallery, right on the brick main street of downtown Zionsvile, IN and then venture out from there. Lunch is included. http://www.kellarmahaney.com

I gave talk about creativity at the gallery earlier this year. View the video.

Registration is $95. It’s going to be well worth our time.

Register here.

I’m excited to announce a new series of work, presented as a solo exhibition at Kellar Mahaney Gallery. All the images are from one day in the Grand Tetons. I previously wrote about that day here. Here’s the info:

Andy Chen: Snow Day
Opening reception Feb 5, 5-9pm
exhibit continues through Mar 6
Kellar Mahaney Gallery, Zionsville, IN

SNOW DAY

Snow Day is a series of photographs taken among the Grand Tetons in Wyoming on an afternoon’s walk to Taggart Lake.  We were nineteen days into a two-month wilderness road trip in October of 2008 and these photos capture the season’s very first snow.

In the months prior, we converted a Chevy cargo van into a camper, outfitting it with a pop-up top, bed, stove, bathroom, backpacking gear and guitar. I brought along my camera and my wife Hannah (who was five months pregnant then) brought along a sense of adventure.

There isn’t anything much better than fresh snow to pique my curiosity of transitions, mystery and wonder. We had hiked for several days before in wearing, drizzling rain.  We went to bed in anticipation and we woke up to a frosted landscape.  It was a snow day.

INvision Casserole 2010 is here, with a reception this Friday. I’ll be showing a few pieces from an ongoing project of portraits taken with my cell phone camera.

There’ll be new work from nine photographers. Come on out and join us. I’ll be bringing a breakfast casserole to add to the delicious offerings. We’ll eat with our mouths and eyes and warm each other’s hearts. How ’bout that!

View three more videos in Fairies Footage – part 1.

Where the Fairies Are
Opening reception Dec 4. 6-10pm
Wug Laku’s Studio and Garage
Circle Center Industrial Complex
1125 Brookside Ave C7, Indianapolis, IN
Exhibit continues through December 23 January 23, 2010