Dewanatron @ Rawspace

Rawspace One is back for another night of mayhem! Drop by for cheap drinks, great music, and also your chance to pick up a copy of SNAP! Magazine issue 11.

- Hendrik Brussen and Melanie Freedman continue Rawspace One: Art in raw spaces with the presentation of DEWANATRON. Dewanatron is dedicated to the manufacture and operation of hand-crafted music instruments. These instruments are controlled by toggle switches, potentiometers, conductive ribbons and rotary telephone dials.

It is the instruments themselves that author most of the music, with guidance from human operators. Some instruments are components, or appliances, which used in tandem with other appliances becomes part of an electronic chamber group.

Brian Dewan and Leon Dewan are the proprieters and chief operators of Dewanatron. They are also cousins. They recorded their first electronic music in 1980 with household appliances and built their first instruments in 2002. Dewanatron's public appearances have included the Armory International Art Fair, the Cinema Arts Center in Huntington, NY, PS1 Summer Warmup in Long Island City, The Steve Allen Theater, Cinefamily Silent Movie Theater and Spaceland in Los Angeles, and New York venues Town Hall, Tonic, Mercury Lounge, Union Hall, The Bell House, Issue Project Room and Dixon Place. They have also appeared on WNYC's Spinning on Air, WFMU in Jersey City, NJ, and WPKN in Bridgeport, CT. They have exhibited at Another Year in LA, Pieogi Gallery in Brooklyn, NY and Leipzig, Germany and have been reviewed in the New York Times, Artforum, ArtNet, and the Los Angeles Times.

Special guest Caroline Glass is a Montreal-born singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She has performed internationally as a soloist and has recorded with many musicians including Joseph Arthur and Seb Martel. Caroline has worked with Cirque du Soleil, has put out a self titled EP which she wrote, arranged and produced and is currently at work creating new material for an upcoming a full length album.

DEWANTRON in concert marks the first all music venue for Rawspace One. The idea behind Rawspace One began with building owners Hendrik Brussen and Melanie Freedman realizing that their raw, unused and still unrented commercial space can serve a better purpose with art on the walls rather than cracked plaster and paint. With some leftover paint Hendrik scrawled the date and title of their first show across the storefront and they started looking for artists. The result was a hip and high energy night for artists, art curios and many a passerby.

Dedicated to the simple pursuit of art for art’s sake, Rawspace One has a commitment to show work and deliver performances that speaks for itself, unlimited by the thematic boundaries that most exhibitions impose. The result is an evening that pulls the viewer in many directions, pushing and stimulating all the senses. Not unlike the happenings that began in the early 60’s, they are multi-disciplinary and although key elements are planned, the opening night performances retain room for improvisation. In fact, participating artists have often been included just a few days before the exhibition’s opening.

Hendrik Brussen, a Dutch transplant via New York, still keeps his feet firmly planted in the arts community. Once boasting the smallest circus in Europe, he has toured and performed for many audiences in Europe and abroad. He and wife, Melanie Freedman, opened the door to Rawspace One seven years ago and have enjoyed collaborating with the Montreal arts community ever since.

Melanie Freedman is a Montreal-born artist, painter and entrepreneur.

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