2014 G40 Summit Announced

Saturday, September 13 kicks off the fifth annual G40 Summit at BLIND WHINO: SW Arts Club, a dedicated art space in Southwest Washington, DC (700 Delaware Ave. SW Washington, DC) from 8-midnight.  Gabriel Pons and many lowbrow and contemporary artists from around the nation are contributing to this three-dimensional themed art show organized by Art Whino.  The image above is Gabriel's work featured in the show.  Titled "Minerva", his piece is made of re-shaped vinyl records, paper mache, collage and paint.

Blind Whino, formerly a church, is now a contemporary dedicated art space - the perfect setting for this multimedia, multisensory event.  

Opening Reception:

Saturday, September 13,  8-midnight

Free with Advance  RSVP Here.

Exhibition Hours:

Saturdays and Sundays noon-6pm

September 14-October 4, 2014

2013 G40 Opening Weekend Photos

Below are some pics from the opening weekend of the 2013 G40 Summit hosted by Art Whino.  This year's event site repurposed a formerly abandoned church in Southwest DC and transformed it into a venue for music, fine art, and performance.  Additionally, Art Whino has founded Blind Whino, a non-profit organization with events programming based in the arts and culture of DC.  For more about this year's G40 and the current schedule of events, Click Here.

2013 G40 Art Summit: September 13-October 6

Friday, September 13th kicks off a month-long series of art events for the 2013 G40 Art Summit in Washington, DC (734 1st St SW 20024).  Gabriel Pons joins hundreds of other lowbrow and contemporary artists from around the nation in this annual event organized by Art Whino.  Art Whino will be teaming up with Suite Nation to present a month-long, multi-experiential Art Summit with musical performances and large scale murals in DC.  This year’s theme is the “Art of Transformation” and the exploration of reclaimed spaces and objects.  The location of this year’s summit is in a nineteenth-century church which has been vacant for twenty years.  The site will be an all encompassing art experience with every inch of the space covered with works of art. For a complete list of events, visit the Art Whino website

Gabe's piece for the show, titled "Una Barca", was constructed from sheets of plywood recovered from their former "stage" at PONSHOP built for the Public/Private group show in 2011.  The original inspiration for the piece came from the biblical story of Moses who, as a baby, was placed in a raft and sent adrift on the Nile to escape the wrath of the Egyptian Pharaoh who ordered all newborn Hebrew boys to be killed.  This narrative sparked an interest in creating a piece that spoke to the present day condition of refugees around the world and the quiet potential of a child.

"Una Barca" , mixed media on wood, 16"x42"

2012 G40 part 4: Murals

Below are some pics from my last visit to Richmond during April's G40 Summit.  We had a chance to check out a handful of the recent murals painted  throughout the city by the likes of Angru Woebots, Pixel Pancho, Lelo, and Gaia to name a few.  Enjoy!

2012 G40 part 3: Making of "Hip-Hop Meditation Station"

httpv://youtu.be/nVqCk5Lhh6w

Here's a behind the scenes look at the recent art installation by PONSHOP.  Thanks to all our collaborators on this project: Crystal and Kevin Rodrigue of Rodrigue Studios for their design/build consultation, Adriana Christesen, Jasmine Lee, Sidney Mullis and Janet Hahn for their research and studio support, Jeff Gulick for the on-site installation assistance and Christopher Stuart for video work.

Special Thanks to Art Whino and RVA Magazine for hosting the 2012 G40 event. G40 runs through May 5.

2012 G40 Opening Weekend: Part 2

Saturday April 7, 2012 marked the second evening of the G40 Summit opening.  There was an "Art Battle" event throughout the evening which pitted teams of artists against one another in a creative "duel to the death".  Well not quite, but all in all it was great fun.  I only had a chance to check out a fraction of the G40 venues and outdoor murals - but never fear we will be back in Richmond in the upcoming weekends to soak it all in.  Below are pics from the evening - enjoy!

2012 G40 Opening Weekend: Part 1

Friday April 6, 2012 was the opening night for the 2012 G40 Summit in Richmond, Virginia.  The G40 Summit includes over a dozen large-scale murals throughout the city as well as over 500 Low Brow artists from around the world.  Below are more pictures from Friday night.  Thanks again to Art Whino and RVA Magazine for bringing such a massive and inspirational event to Richmond.  Click Here for the G40 Calendar of Events.

PONSHOP 2012 G40 Installation: Hip-Hop Meditation Station

"Hip-Hop Meditation Station" ceramics, and mixed media panels, 72" diameter x 60" height suspended installation, $8,000 USD. On exhibit at the 2012 G40 Summit hosted by Art Whino.  This installation can be reconfigured to accommodate a variety of spaces, contact us to inquire about design variations.

Scarlett and I are excited to be participating in the 2012 G40 Summit in Richmond, Virginia.  Honestly, this has been the most ambitious project that we've collaborated on to date and we're proud to be exhibiting it in this month-long exhibition.  Below are some pictures showing the progress of creating the ceramic forms (a total of 166) as well as installing the piece in the space at 101 West Broad Street.

The installation, titled "Hip-Hop Meditation Station" is a visual chronicle of the Hip-Hop culture, charting each of the four elements of Hip-Hop (DJing, MCing, B-Boying and Graffiti Art) throughout the course of the time.  Each art panel charts the trajectory of Hip-Hop's progression by listing those who have impacted the movement through their involvement.  This chronology is by no means complete, but offers up a brief history lesson for younger generations on the birth of an American art form that went on to in influence the world.

The G40 Summit opens Friday April 6, 2012 and includes over 500 artists as well as several recent large-scale outdoor murals by international artists. The G40 Event runs through the month of April with a closing party on May 4,2012.  For more information, visit Art Whino.

Special Thanks to Art Whino and RVA Magazine for hosting the 2012 G40 event.  Also PONSHOP would like to thank our collaborators and student interns for their assistance throughout the past two months:  Crystal and Kevin Rodrigue of Rodrigue Studios for their design/build consultation, Adriana Christesen, Jasmine Lee, Sidney Mullis and Janet Hahn for their research and studio support, Jeff Gulick for the on-site installation assistance and Christopher Stuart for video work.

2011 G40 2011 - Part 3

httpv://youtu.be/0sA_ed9UYlc Below are more pics from the 2011 G40 Uncapped Live Show organized by Art Whino, Brightest Young Things, and Vitamin Water.  We took the whole family up to the exhibit to take a look.  Thanks to microWave Project for inviting me to participate in this event and big ups to girlsrockdc.org for hosting a great music workshop that afternoon (see above video of Diego on the mic).

G40 2011 - Part 2 "Ai Wei Wei: 21st Century Revolutionary"

"Ai Wei Wei: 21st Century Revolutionary" installation by Gabriel Pons at 2011 G40 show in Washington DC

I'm excited to finally post some photos of the installation I completed for the 2011 G40 show. I was invited by microWave project, a collective of site-specific installation artists. Below is some more info about my piece:

The installation piece, "Ai Weiwei: 21st Century Revolutionary" is intended to inform viewers of the contemporary Chinese artist/activist Ai Weiwei, who has been detained by Chinese Authorities since April 3, 2011. The work brings to question “what is criminal?” considering the fact that Ai has been the target of camera surveillance, physical abuse and the demolition of his artist studio in Shanghai by the hands of Chinese officials. In late April, the website change.org, which has been petitioning for Ai’s release came under a cyber attack from within China. Ai Weiwei’s vehement criticism of the Chinese government has resulted in his detention, which has led many human rights activists around the world to ask “Who’s afraid of Ai Wiewei?

The four panels are mixed media (collage, wheat paste, spray paint/stencil) paintings which comprise an 8-foot by 4-foot composition. I incorporated printed material from websites that published articles on Ai Weiwei's situation. As of today, May 24 2011 - the latest news is the Chinese government is accusing Mr. Ai of tax evasion. Four associates of Ai Weiwei are also reported missing.

The background text is a mix of news reporting on the missing artists as well as some relevant lyrics from Public Enemy's "Hazy Shade of Criminal" and "Public Enemy #1" songs.

Scarlett had contributed to the effort by making over 50 ceramic forms which I hand painted with either chinese characters (like "Justice" and "Civillity") and other text corresponding to Ai's circumstances.

The 2011 G40 Show runs until June 17. It is located at 2213 14th Street NW (corner of 14th & Florida)

G40 2011 Uncapped Live Opening Party - Part 1

Below are some photos from the 2011 G40 Show Opening night Thursday May 19. Thanks again to microWave project, Art Whino, and the folks at Vitamin Water for organizing such a fun event. A big Thank You to all my family and friends for their help. Sorry about the lack of captions folks - I just wanna get these up...

(Above) This got buffed after the Vitamin Water Opening on Thursday Night...

Standing in front of "Ai Weiwei: 21st Century Revolutionary" installation piece.

James Walker

Lisa Schumaier

Pam Rogers

Space and Flow

Thanks to Allison Nance and Mary Cook of microWave project.

Ben Graham-Putter

Herberth and Dan with friends...

Imani K Brown

Aniekan Udofia

Working Harder Than Ever...

May 10, 2011: I'm so excited to be part of the 2011 G40 Art Show in Washington DC. Here are some progress pics of the work. (Big shout out to Jeff who assisted me this week). Opening Party is Friday May 20. Be There! I'm on the third floor...Check the Info Below for more...

PONSHOP Owner Gabriel Pons is excited to announce that he is particpating in the 2011 G40 Art Show in Washington DC this month. He's been invited as part of the art installation group microWave project.

National Harbor's premiere contemporary gallery Art Whino returns in 2011 for the second edition of G40. The G40 uncapped LIVE event is an unprecedented experience in the art world with its scale and caliber of artists from around the world. This year the summit comes to DC next to the U street corridor taking over an entire building and showcasing art on all of its floors.

Where: 2213 14th Street, NW, Washington DC 20009

G40 Exhibit Schedule:

May 20th - June 17th, 2011

Opening Party: Friday May 20th, 6pm

Open Hours:

Tuesday & Thursdays: 5 - 10pm

Fridays & Saturdays: noon - 11pm

Sundays: noon - 6pm

Mondays: Closed