Teardowns Performance Evening featuring Paul Fauerso, David Hurlin, Laeree Lara, Onix X Mejias-Rodríguez, and Vanitty Montalvo

Saturday, December 7, 2019 | 7-8pm

Please join Contemporary at Blue Star and exhibiting artist Joey Fauerso for a special evening of performance activating her exhibition Teardowns currently on view in Contemporary at Blue Star’s Main Gallery. The event features performance artist Laeree and musician David Hurlin. This will also be a special opportunity to talk with Fauerso in person about her work on view.

Paul Fauerso is an award-winning composer, producer, arranger, and performer, living in San Antonio, Texas.

Paul grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and became a professional musician at the age of 14, playing piano and singing with his jazz trio all around the region.

In the Sixties, Paul started a psych/jazz/soul band called The Loading Zone, which quickly became a regular opening act at the Fillmore Auditorium, sharing the stage with the Who, Cream, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix, The Byrds, Sam and Dave, and many others.

Paul has produced two solo albums for Mike Love, the original singer of the Beach Boys and one of his productions was featured on the Beach Boys 50^th Anniversary album released in 2012. He has also toured intermittently with the group and sits in when they come to the Majestic Theater every year.

Paul plays regularly in San Antonio, both solo and often with another San Antonio fave , Grammy Award-winner, Joe Reyes. He has also collaborated frequently with daughter, Joey Fauerso, providing soundtracks for her videos.

David Hurlin is a professional drummer and percussionist. Drummer for Apocalypso Tantric Noise Choir, Soulmath, Elizabeth Moen, Annalibera, and most recently with The Mike Dillon Band, he has toured all over the country and is in high demand, both as a performer and session drummer. He is working on drum performances and collaborations which lean more toward sound art/sculpture and performance art.

David received his BFA in photography and tabla (Hindustani classical music tradition) from Maharishi University, including seven months abroad in India. His photography took him around the United States photographing his favorite poets – James Tate, Charles Wright, Kim Addonizio, and Cole Swenson, to name a few – which deeply informed his reading and writing of poetry.  He took graduate poetry workshops in support of his degree and was involved for a decade with the Monday Night Poets led by his mentor, Diane Frank.

David lives in Fairfield, Iowa with his wife Emily, his son Dil, dog Mochi, cat Monarch, African Leopard tortoise Tortellini, 15 chickens, and 3 ducks.

Laeree Lara is an interdisciplinary artist living in San Antonio, Texas focusing in moving image and performative installation. Her work examines the disassociation of the self from the body while simultaneously challenging the gender binary in order to understand the  ways we contextualize  meaning through societal systems and cultural beliefs.  After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Texas State University, she began to work closely with community organizations, such as the Southwest Workers Union, where she focuses on community engaged projects that amplify social, economic, and environmental justice and reform.

Onix X Mejias-Rodríguez is a Latinx artist from Puerto Rico. He has received a BFA from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas and is now living and working in San Antonio. As a multidisciplinary artist his work ranges from abstract painting, to video, performance and public art projects. For this Performance-Night, Onix revisits his undergrad thesis work with a performance rooted in movement, spontaneity, and viewer engagement.

Vanitty Montalvo was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas. Dance has always been a part of her environment, since her earliest of memories– from backyard family Bar-B-Q’s and parties, to Quinceanera’s and weddings. Vanitty’s passion for dance was sparked in the 4^th grade when she first learned “Heal-Toe” from her teacher Mrs. Johnson. Around this time a cousin also nurtured and inspired her interest. As a high school students Vanitty began to pursue dance seriously, participating in competitions, battling, traveling, performing, and teaching. Since this time she has competed in and won many local competitions. As a performer Vanitty comes to dance culture as more than just a space for movement, but as an attachment that stays with the body forever, one that is sensational, lasting, and connects the body to music.