All Over the Map at Gowanus Open Studios

Brooklyn's Gowanus neighborhood, best known for it's stinky, super-fund site of a canal, is becoming more known for supporting a vibrant art scene. This year's Gowanus Open Studios will be bigger than ever.

If you're up for exploring the neighborhood, you can find Ian's work at two places. His new interactive cardboard sculpture, "The Sisyphus Experiment" will be rolling amongst the crowd at Gowanus Ballroom during the Honk festival concert.  And a collection of his other wall hung textiles and piano piece sculptures will be included in a two-artist show curated by Fiercely Curious at the brand new Threes Brewing, 

You can try to catch Ian at the concert on Friday night and the open studios closing reception at Threes Brewing on Sunday.

Erin Przekop of Fiercely Curious took this in-progress shot of the Sisyphus Experiment in production at the Gowanus Ballroom.

Brooklyn Boulders hosts a Blister Pact Collection Bin

Ian has been making things AND climbing on things his whole life. In 2007, while living in Salt Lake City, Ian began to take a deeper interest in both art and rock climbing. His eventual move to NYC meant he also had to trade real rock for climbing gyms; Brooklyn Boulders is where he currently sends routes and overcomes problems. When Ian approached them about the Blister Pact project and asked them to host a community collection bin, they were excited to participate and share it with the local climbing community. 

The collection bin and a textile installation at the entrance of BKB.

"Fabric of the Cosmos II" Wins Honorable Mention

Ian's most recent elastic textile installation "Fabric of the Cosmos II" won the Honorable Mention Award in the juried exhibition "Color" at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artist Coalition. Whether or not those multi-colored elastic belts from the Invisible Dog basement ever made a splash in the fashion industry, they've certainly found new life and appreciation in Ian's hands. 

Fabric of the Cosmos II at BWAC

Featured on Fiercely Curious

As any artist with even the slightest web presence can attest, it's only a matter of time before some "online gallery/database" asks you to put images of your work up on their site. And then you just sit back and watch the sales happen, right? More likely you'll forget the name and that you even submitted images.

This couldn't be further from the truth with online art showcase Fiercely Curious, a project homegrown in Brooklyn by founders Erin Przekop and Tom Critchlow. These two are smart, energetic, professional AND they work their asses off. Needless to say, Ian is incredibly excited to be working with them.

Check out some of Ian's work here on their new artist gallery page.

Ian demonstrating his Strange Histories slide viewer during a studio visit with Fiercely Curious.

An Artful Sukkah

Ian built the roof to an art Sukkah, an exhibition space curated by Danielle Durchslag and Ryan Frank. The show, "Assembly Required: A Sukkah Salon" was featured in Bloomberg news on hot art in New York City:

“Assembly Required: A Sukkah Salon” is a temporary, kosher structure, built with 10 artworks on Durchslag’s balcony. Compact and open to the elements (and with an unobstructed view of the Empire State Building), its canopy of branches and leaves was crafted by Ian Trask. The walls are made with 8-foot-tall panels, each an artwork.

Read the full article here.

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Photo by Danielle Durchslag

Recession Art & the Harvard Magazine

Recession Art was started in 2009 by the ever-amazing Emma and Ani Katz. And Ian had the great fortune of participating in many Recession Art exhibits from its inception. Emma's hard work was profiled in Harvard Magazine in August, 2013. Check it out! Thanks Emma for all the work you do and for the shout out in this article.

Photos below are from Ian's solo show at Recession Art, "Perpetual Recombination", in 2012.

Spores as Holiday Balls of Fun

Ian has been featured in the New York Times this holiday season, featuring his Spores.

From the New York Times: This homage to Surrealism inspired me to check out the works by another artist, Ian Trask, at Recession Art, several blocks away on Clinton Street. Using recycled materials like turquoise yarn and matchsticks, or mustard yarn and dismantled St. Patrick’s Day jewelry, green beads and shamrocks, Mr. Trask turns Christmas balls into conversation pieces ($50). Very downtown.

Check it out here.

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Alumni Interview with The Bowdoin Orient

The transition from a career in science to a full-time artist has taken many years and a lot of hard work. But Ian was able to explore both science and art at his alma matter, Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

Bowdoin's student publication, the Bowdoin Orient, took some time to interview Ian and tour his Invisible Dog studio and gallery. Check it out here.