The Eclectic Works of Aaron Fu is an apt description of the artworks currently on offer at Artini’s in downtown Athens. “Eclectic” also describes the show’s engaging opening held there on May 22. In addition to the variety of works by Fu on display, attendees were treated to spoken word performances by Athens Writers Association members Rob White and Elsa Russo and a set by the Americana band the Darnell Boys. 

Photo Credit: Barbette Houser

Joe Willey talks with Caleb Darnell before The Darnell Boys play.

The show was jointly organized by Nancè Ellen with AthensHasArt! and Kate Cook of Artini’s. The two met through The Athens Area Arts Council Board, on which they both serve, and have collaborated on multiple shows. Ellen sums up the mission of AHA as “opportunities.” AHA was created “so that area artists would have opportunities to show and share their work.” She likened past shows to debutante balls, where artists who are making art but perhaps not showing it are introduced to the public. Aaron Fu certainly shines in his introduction.

Fu’s show features works ranging from a largescale scientific illustration of a praying mantis created with Adobe Illustrator to a pair of denim shorts obsessively covered in a wide array of various motifs- all painstakingly embroidered by hand. The shorts, Fu says, “are my sketchbook,” and the stitchery varies from crude to refined, illustrating his gradual mastery of various embroidery techniques. The artist began embroidering one winter when he got laid off from his job. His roommate’s girlfriend at the time had embroidery needles and floss lying around the house, and Fu picked up the craft. Like many artists working with textile processes, Fu doesn’t “find the tedium unpleasant” but rather is drawn to the Zen-like process.

Photo Credit: Barbette Houser

Shorts embroidered by Aaron Fu.

In addition to the works done with thread and on the computer, Fu’s show includes vibrant paintings created with ink on paper. These works feature traditional Asian motifs, including persimmons, clouds, and animals, made modern and lively through layering, bold color and a sense of dynamic movement. Fu’s ancestry traces back to China and, beyond that, Mongolia. 

Rob White and Elsa Russo read midway through the evening from a few pieces they created in response to some of Fu’s works on display. Russo read a poem that emphasized the connectivity experienced between generations of sewers within a family. White and Russo did a joint reading of a piece written from the perspectives of stone lions who come to life every 100 years, awakening this time to a forever-altered landscape. 

Photo Credit: Barbette Houser

Masks by Aaron Fu.

Adding to the variety in Fu’s show were three expressive and animal-like masks that he created for a video by The Darnell Boys. Built on armatures fashioned out of soy milk boxes and other recycled cardboard, the masks feature many layers of colorful strips of paper. Like his paintings, the masks themselves almost appear to be in motion and moving forward at great speed. The video, which you can view on YouTube, features the masked Darnell Boys performing You Got the Devil out in the woods. Appropriately, the musicians closed out the eclectic and lively evening of Fu’s opening with a rollicking set of their old time music, complete with upright bass, handsaw, washboard and other instruments. The masks, however, remained on the wall.

The Eclectic Works of Aaron Fu will be on display through June 20 at Artini’s, 296 West Broad Street, Suite 3, Athens, GA 30601