All Hands on Decks

Now that skateboarding has been successfully mainstreamed (Tony Hawk licensed roller coaster, anyone?), it’s difficult to remember that skating was once an affront to civilized people. Since the early ´80s, skateboard decks have been an axe-grinding declaration of independence and personal style, a sort of outsider art on wheels. The DIY Deck Show at the Drive Agency Gallery (1617 Locust Street; 314-436-8880 or www.driveagency.com) returns the focus of the well-commodified skate deck back to artistic expression . This group show features skate decks painted by local artists, including Peat Wollaeger, Matthew Maddox and Drive's own Jake Houvenagle, as well as decks from artists as far away as Norway; more than 160 decks in total raise the bar for everyday-objects-turned-art. The DIY Deck Show opens with a free public reception from 5:30 to 11 p.m. on Friday, August 3, with live music and skateboarding demonstrations – but not with any of the decks on display, natch. The show remains up through Friday, September 21.
Mondays-Saturdays. Starts: Aug. 3. Continues through Sept. 21, 2007