Munich-based artist Tom Schmelzer describes himself as a concept artist who uses brilliant aesthetics in his illusionary sculptures and moving objects to “make a point” to the viewer. After being drawn in by the theatricality of the object presented, the viewer soon discovers a message. These messages concern social and cultural issues such as in Show Off, an enormous engagement ring followed by a woman.[…..]
Through in-depth self-examination artist Su-en Wong challenges issues of identity in relation to nationality, ethnicity, gender, adolescence and sexuality. Wong’s self-portraits take place in a variety of coming-to-age environments, such as schoolyards, roller rinks and swimming pools. The artist casts her characters in these stereotypical scenes to reveal the close boundaries between adolescents and adulthood for a woman. Juxtaposing ideas of fantasy and reality with[…..]
Grant Barnhart, a previous DailyServing interviewee, is preparing for an upcoming exhibition entitled “Spread Eagle,” on view from May 2nd – May 31st at Leslie’s Art Gallery in Luxembourg. This will be the Seattle-based artist’s first European exhibition. Barnhart investigates American archetypes of masculinity and heroism through wit and tounge-in-cheek humor. For his upcoming show, the artist will be using the images of cowboys and[…..]
Saul Becker is a contemporary landscape painter who incorporates fragments of different places and sources to create dream-like natural scenes that are both beautiful and foreboding. Titles like “Last Look”, “Entropia”, and “Ghostland” give urgency to his compositions, which lack any human presence. His drawings are particularly evocative, showing incredible detail in the natural landscape as seen above in Ghostlog. Becker chooses a muted palette[…..]
Since 1996, Michael Salter has participated in developing the artist-run space, Lump Gallery in Raleigh, NC and has recently opened the new project space, LumpWest in Eugene, Oregon. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, including his recent show, “Are you sure” at Jeff Bailey Gallery in New York City. Appropriately titled, this exhibition challenges our perceptions of everyday media, merging the vernacular of commercial design[…..]
Iraqi-born artist Ayad Alkadhi uses Arabic calligraphy in the form of calligrams, or figurative imagery composed of interwoven written words, to create narratives within his work concerning the themes of religion, politics, and culture. His recent paintings reflect the war in Iraq and its psychological, emotional, and social ramifications for the modern Iraqi population. Alkadhi works in series, his latest series being Al-Ghareeb (which translates[…..]
Landon Wiggs works with cultural paraphernalia, incorporating signs, text, and flashing lights into new contexts in the form of sculptures and collages. He plays with certain formal characteristics of his media like symmetry and repetition as well as with the semiotics and connotation of words. In each of his works, a sense of the familiar is perceived, but distorted to develop narratives based on each[…..]
