Alex Lukas and Brian Willmont present new work in their two-person exhibition at Park Life in San Francisco opening on May 9th. Both artists are members of Philadelphia’s Space 1026 artist collective. Alex Lukas paints contemporary landscapes depicting moments of disaster and destruction as seen from a distance. He collects his imagery from various sources, including the mainstream media and blockbuster films, which pump out[…..]
Galerie Michael Janssen is currently showing a three person exhibition titled Heaven, Hollywood, and Hitchcock until June 14th. Tom Allen, Kristian Burford, and Christoph Steinmeyer are all interested in mixing motifs and media culled from the history of film and European painting traditions. Los Angeles-based artist Tom Allen references works from the German Romanticist and European Baroque traditions of painting and then transforms this imagery[…..]
Currently at OKOK Gallery until May 4th is “While,” a two person show with works by Mauro Altamura and Anna Von Mertens concerning the passage of time. Both artists examine political and historical occurrences from various perspectives. Altamura is exhibiting 144 (out of 1000) photographs from his series, “Anonymous,” which he began during the presidential elections of 2000. Altamura collected images of anonymous people in[…..]
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[…..]
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[…..]
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[…..]
