Studio 62 Art Lounge is a retail and exhibition space located in the Benson Creative District of Omaha, NE.
Since 2020, Studio 62 has operated as a DIY art gallery. We’ve collaborated with many amazing local artists to host solo exhibitions, group shows, pop-up events, community gatherings, and more.
2022 Exhibitions
Growth
Ben Matukewicz, Reid Doehling, Remington Krejci Smith, Dawaune Lamont Hayes
May 2022
“Growth” is a group show featuring works exploring the theme of growth while incorporating organic elements or designs. The works span a variety of mediums. Each piece portrays the concept of growth in different ways, be it organic growth or personal growth.
Mental Influence
Victoria Drake
June 2022
As an artist, I like to capture how I’m really feeling in the exact moment. Growing up, no one supported me. Not even my own family. I never learned how to communicate my emotions and I wasn’t allowed to have my own voice. Now that I’m older, I use art to express my emotions by putting it onto a canvas. Through my paintings I hope to show people what’s going on inside of me. Everyday I’m growing as an artist and continually explore new medias and ideas.
Prescriptual Space
DèShaun the Fruit x Garbajio
July 2022
Art goes hand in hand with many things, mental health being a big one of them. The creative process is how we navigate the day to day. It helps to process complex emotions, to see difficult things more clearly and also to settle into healthy routines.
Creating art, in any fashion, is proven to lower stress levels, bringing a sense of balance to life. Through practice, bigger pictures are broken down into more manageable pieces; this translates into other aspects of how we live. At the end of the day we can look back at what we've done and what it took to get there. This brings a great sense of satisfaction and a drive to show up in order to keep growing. With art, the proof is in the pudding. By sharing our products, artists open the community to vulnerability and curiosity. There are no imposing limits or restricting rules in art, everyone has their own relationship to creation and that's the most beautiful thing!
The Erotic Mind
Nik Hulstein
August 2022
‘In order to be utilized, our erotic feelings must be recognized. The need for sharing deep feeling is a human need.’ - Audre Lorde
An exploration into the erotic, our spirituality, and the future integration of machines through collage, 3D assemblage, and interactive pieces.
Amidst the Uncertainty
Reid Doehling / featuring a soundscape by Tschida
September 2022
“Uncertainty…Whether it be the indecisiveness on the ‘correct’ course of action; the adversity that accompanies Depression, Anxiety, and ADHD; or the inability to articulate the thoughts inside my own mind; uncertainty has become a great influence on my creative journey and this exhibition was put together to get things out of my head and start a conversation.”
Elements of Change
Casey Callahan
October 2022
"the only thing i am sure of in life is change.
the only thing i am sure will happen is loss.
things change. seasons cycle, time flows.
days lead to weeks, lead to months, lead to years, and the only thing i am certain of, is this.
the more i embrace this change and the more i welcome something new, the more beauty i find
over bitterness.
to let something flourish, and then let go and let it die, all in the same vein.
natural and rhythmic, day and night, dusk to dawn.
to let something rest, to be okay with it changing. to be okay if everything changes.
because it does.
if there is one thing i am sure of in life it is this."
Momento Mori
Eve Lanik
November 2022
Eve Lanik works in various mediums including drawing, collage, digital art, plaster cast, and found objects; she often likes to connect these mediums to create installations. Terms such as “the abject” which has to do with humans instinctual fear of things to do with the human body that are typically seen as repulsive, and “momento mori” which translates to “remember your mortality” are implemented throughout their work in that it has a lot to do with the fears she has about her own body.
Eve often uses herself as the subject in her work. She does this in hopes to foster a more direct connection with the viewer.
Infrared Nights
Sam Hulsebus
December 2022
Exhibiting a selection of paintings from this first chapter in a new body of work.
2021 Exhibitions
In 2021, Studio 62 hosted eight art exhibitions featuring different local artists. Of those eight exhibitions, five were debut shows for artists.
Row Pup
Michael Rowen
3.5.21
This collection entitled: “Row Pup” is my first solo art show. Growing up in Omaha in the 90’s; cartoons, soccer and music, were what shaped my childhood. Accidental imperfections create a look of their own. I first noticed these imperfections in the Sunday comics. If one of the colors was out of alignment it caused the final picture to be different than intended. I convey this look in my paintings by using multiple colors and shapes often repeated and overlapping to construct the final image. Using acrylic paint and markers on canvas and masonite I take multiple pages from the sketchbook to create a finished product.
SEEN
Karien Bredenkamp
4.2.21
The opposite of being seen is to be disregarded. Ignored. Missed. Neglected and overlooked. Passed by and forgotten. In our superficial culture, it is sometimes easier to adapt and blend in than to stand out. We are afraid to do this because it means attracting attention. It means opening ourselves up to rejection or criticism. We are not designed to live this way. We are unique. Each of us has a specific persona, skillset, values, and genetic make-up. We were not born to conform. We were born to be ourselves. The world we live in will thrive if everyone showed their true selves. Taking out comparison and competition will open up a world of harmony & possibilities.
I invite you to experiment with my illustrations. Question their meaning and stay curious. I invite you to be honest and take note of what comes up while looking at the art. Ask yourself the following questions:
• Can it mean something unique to me?
• Can I momentarily put rational thought aside and experience it with my heart and soul?
• Why does it make me feel this way?
• Can I look at it and feel understood?
• Can I look at it and discover something hidden inside myself?
I hope you feel seen. I hope you feel understood. I hope the art brings you into the present moment, where you can observe and appreciate your deepest, authentic self. I hope that you are open to discovering new possibilities inside yourself and the potential you have. You are unique, seen, loved, and celebrated.
Κερυνῖτις ἔλαφος
Remington Krejci Smith
5.7.21
I create objects with sacred qualities, which reflect the pristine spirit of nature. I have been raised to enjoy and respect every aspect of the outdoors, I have come to understand that the raw connection that results in experiences ranging from hunting to an emergency bivouac became the catalyst for both spiritual and conceptual creative concepts. In my art, I find that the location and experience define what I make.
After studying the work of David Nash, I understand that his work relies on the natural environment to enhance the viewer’s experience. In my piece “Spirit Canoe,” I explored the idea of location to its fullest extent after I found a burned-out area of trees that had suffered from a lightning strike near Monowi straddling the border between Nebraska and South Dakota. I suspended our old family canoe into the burned trees to physically elevate the canoe, giving it a spiritual connotation and evoking traditions of the ancient Greeks. I also use the symbolism of the canoe to reflect on Native Americans who once called this area home. By merging cultures, history, and nature, I have found that placing artwork in specific locations gives it a quality that cannot be achieved in the standard gallery space, while simultaneously engaging with and fighting off climate grief.
Putrid Since ‘98
DèShaun the Fruit
6.4.21
Putrid Since 98 is an original exploration of grotesque, blunt and morbid work balancing life and death. As a visual artist rooted in North Omaha, DèShaun the Fruit strategically blends "Afrocentrism" and "Horror'' to beam truth on the lack of Black representation in American arts and literature, seeking to balance surrealism and abstract expressionism in their purest form.
Fragments & Experimentation
Reid Doehling and Ben Matukewicz
7.2.21
Challenging the idea that a piece needs to be perfect or even finished to be displayed and seen by others, visual artists Reid Doehling and Ben Matukewicz have put together a collection of their works that seemingly have no connections other than that they were started. These works are both tests of media, subject, and style; as well as pieces pulled from former or future projects that may or may not receive their own attention in the future.
Still-Lives
Bobo Jiggs
8.6.21
“Still-Lives” is a study of relationships between pairs of seemingly unrelated photographs - the inorganic vs organic. The title is obviously a play on words of still life art - but is also a conceptual play on the genre’s subject matter. Still life art typically encompasses inanimate and/or organic objects that are organized and composed for the image, and often there is a deeper meaning in the relationships between subject matter. These photographs displayed together reveal these relationships within one another and take on new meaning as a duo.
Abstracting Nature
Reid Doehling
9.3.21
“Abstracting Nature” explores the relationships between the different seasons and their visual elements, inviting the viewer to engage with a new perspective of the natural environment.
Disconnected
Ben Matukewicz
10.1.21
Through color and minimalism, “Disconnected” explores the feeling of being unable to connect—to others, nature, the past—while navigating the connection to reality.
