I miss you C2 / 4FRNT

Today I found myself thinking about the old C2/4FRNT art space I shared with a couple friends of mine. Back in 2006, when I moved back to Dayton from Columbus, I scrambled to find my way into the art scene here. I already knew a few people here, but not being a very outgoing person, it was very awkward to say the least. I eventually got into contact with local artists name Germ and his friend Jeffie Richards who ran a small space called C2 in the Front Street Warehouses and they invited me to submit a piece or a show titled "Bicycle Built for Two". First off, I have too subject matters that I know of that are "Kryptonite" for me - horses and bicycles. There's something about horse heads that mess with my brain and when I look at bicycles, it's like when someone asks me a math question real quick - my brain just has a freak out. I figured out a work around by basically painting a bicycle accident where the rider is ripped in half and his bike is in pieces.....

I continued to be invited to various shows and even though I don't remember the actual chain of events started going down there to paint. The way I describe going to that place is like the one episode of Seinfeld where George finds that secret club filled with super models but from the outside looks like a meat packing warehouse. Through shows at C2 I ended up meeting a lot of great people and creating friendships along the way including my friend Mike Guidone who owns Monkeybones Tattoo in Beavercreek. Around 2010 there was a little kerfluffle and we lost the space for a couple months but then Mike, Jeffie, and I took it over renaming it 4FRNT. With the help of different people including Mike's wife Tabitha we continued to put shows on there until we sadly shut it down in July of 2012. I really miss just having a space like that to put on some music, hang out with my friends, and make art. Being kind of an empath I feed off the energy of being around other artists and working in a solitary fashion can really be difficult sometimes. Anyway, pouring out a little Mad Dog 20/20 for 4FRNT...miss you buddy.... Here's some pictures from various shows over the years.... unfortunately we were usually too distracted to get pictures of the actual crowds but we used to pack that place.....I would like to thank Mary Kathryn Burnside at Clash Consignment for carrying the torch of fun group shows in Dayton...I really consider what she does there to be the spiritual successor to what we were trying to accomplish at 4FRNT.