Museums aren’t the only place people can enjoy art — it can be found anywhere an audience is. Local artist Shawn Maschino knows this.
In Dad’s Bar, surrounded by live music, colorful fairy lights and a boutique right next door, hangs artwork by Maschino, the first artist to be showcased in the bar.
Since late March, 48-year-old Maschino has had his work on display and for sale at Dad’s Bar, a local beer and wine shop on Northwest Sixth Street. The bar recently established a new feature of rotating artwork inside the bar, becoming a hot zone for artists to share their work with the community.
Having grown up in a creative household, Maschino has always been interested in and exposed to art and artistic expression. His father was a painter, and his grandparents were in the circus. Entering an artistic field was always supported and encouraged.
In 1997, at 20 years old, Maschino moved to Gainesville. He’s since made a splash in the local art scene. He runs a North Main Street art gallery called Top Secret Space, where Gainesville artists display their work in varying group and solo shows.
Maschino’s art largely consists of collage and graphic design. His artwork is rooted in the desire to occupy his brain and his time, giving him something to do to avoid being stuck in his head.
He also draws inspiration from his son.
“My most recent pieces are sort of reimagining of coloring books, so a lot of that stuff is made with coloring books that were my child[‘s],” he said. “I’ll just find repeating images and cut them out and sort of make new images.”
In a time of artificial intelligence, Maschino values local artistic displays and the creation of handmade work.
He said audiences find appeal in the talent and wonder of physically creating artwork.
“Your regular day person that doesn’t really like art, or your person that does really like art, it’s always this novel experience to everyone,” he said. “Art is a mystical thing to people who can’t do it or don’t do it, and so I think it’s important especially to have humans doing it, and to have humans representing their artwork.”
Maschino’s collaboration with Dad’s Bar stems from his connections with the Gainesville art community.
Heather Bjorn, the 53-year-old communications lead at Dad’s Bar and curator of Maschino’s show, has known the artist for over a decade. She was introduced to his work after a friend gifted her a piece when her daughter was born.
To Bjorn, using Dad’s Bar as a gallery is a way to showcase the Gainesville community’s appreciation for art. She said Gainesville is a town filled with creativity and talent, and Maschino is a huge contributor.
“Over the years … [I] have seen Shawn’s work grow and develop,” she said. “It was a no-brainer to have him as [Dad’s Bar’s] first artist, and what we are planning on doing is a rotating series.”
Dad’s Bar plans to continue the showcase of local artists. Each show will last for a set duration, and a new artist's work will be displayed and up for sale shortly after the previous artist leaves. Maschino is the first artist to be displayed in this rotating feature.
Other employees at Dad’s Bar, who don’t know much about Maschino or his artwork, still take time to appreciate and enjoy his work — like 35-year-old bartender Wesley Durrance.
“I think [Maschino’s work] is pretty cool,” he said. “I like that you can’t quite tell the materials that went into it; you’d have to be told.”
Pieces like “there are two popsicles in my freezer and they are fighting for their lives,” “one another” and “ms monroes dinner party” are just a few of Maschino’s works showcased on the walls of Dad’s Bar. Each piece uses unique combinations of materials, coming together to form eye-catching and colorful collages that each tell a different story.
Maschino initially had about 17 pieces for sale at Dad’s Bar, and he’s sold three as of May 21. His work will be up for sale at the bar until May 28, when the venue will host a closing ceremony.
Contact Mackenzie Haas at mhaas@alligator.org.
