Every Friday evening, inside the wonderful and weird land of Omega Mart at AREA15, you can see art created in real time. UNLV’s MFA candidate Karla Lagunas will be interacting with guests and continuing to paint her evolving installation Meta-Telos III.
“I think this work is mostly meant for people who may have not approached abstract art before,” Lagunas says. “In this environment, they’re able to touch it and, through the sense of touch, they gain some understanding. … This work is about connecting with strangers and allowing intimacy to happen.”
Meow Wolf (creators of Omega Mart) reached out to UNLV seeking an art student whose aesthetic meshed best with theirs and it was Lagunas who stood out from the rest. “I was really attracted to the interactive work and the immersion (at Omega Mart),” she says. “I was really inspired to see Meow Wolf’s capacity to create these ambitious projects.”
While Laugnas has shown in other galleries and immersed herself in the art world since high school, this is the first time she’s displayed on such a massive scale. “When this project came it really started to hit me,” she says. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I talk to my partner and he’s like, ‘This is just the beginning.’ And I’m like, ‘You know what, yeah.’ It’s early, I’m still insecure about many things I do, so I think gaining confidence—I can’t imagine where I’ll go.”
Libation: The Source
One of the million cool things about Omega Mart is Datamosh, a hidden bar (Hint: grocery store). The bar has visually delightful cocktails, and Lagunas’ favorite is The Source, made with blue butterfly-infused gin, Italicus, rhubarb liqueur, strawberry, lemon and a bergamot bubble.
Benefit: If you want a little secret quest while exploring Omega Mart, did you know there are 15 bananas to discover?
3215 S. Rancho Drive. area15.com
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