German artist Kati Heck uses a unique synthesis of photorealism, illustration and painterly expression to create seemingly collaged paintings. Heck’s work is often auto-biographical and explores her personal experiences as well as elements of contemporary culture through outside references of pornography, architecture, art history and instruction manuals. The possible narratives in her work are influenced by comics, mystery novels and film and often contain people[…..]
While employing a vocabulary of graphic art, artist Mathew Brannon’s work explores social ideals and personal emotions through reductive images. Brannon uses screen printing as his primary method of creation, offering commentary on mass production while also allowing the work to remain in an original format. The artist challenges modes of semiotics by juxtaposing certain graphic images with potent text to elicit a particular emotive[…..]
Dieter Appelt is one of Germany’s most influential photographers and videographers. Since 1982, the artist has taught photography, film and video at the Hochschule der Kunst in Berlin. In the late 1970’s and 1980’s, the artist’s work was centered on performance art, and his photography developed out of the documentation of his performance. Often, the performances took place within constructed nature-based sculptures or sets and[…..]
Opening this weekend at Zach Feuer Gallery is Thin Skin II, the first New York-based solo exhibition of artist Daniel Gordon. Using elements of temporary sculpture and collage, the artist is able to construct works from appropriated Internet images and document them in photographic form. The disjointed materials in Gordon’s work operate as a commentary on the contemporary image while simultaneously allowing the conceptual nature[…..]
By synthesizing ideas of modern technology and the experience of life in the information era, the artist Mark Schoening offers a social commentary about the effects of inescapable media. While the paintings are a reflection of our time, they certainly speak of the possibilities and ramifications of future technological growth. Schoening attempts to capture this atmosphere in a fixed image, allowing the viewer the opportunity[…..]
New York-based artist Benjamin Degen creates paintings that simultaneously represent multiple elements such as figures, landscapes, diagrams and still-lives. Drawing inspiration from the flattened aesthetic of Minoan paintings, Greek amphorae, Kama Sutra illustrations and Chinese landscape paintings, Degen is able to alter space to re-contextualize form and, thus, meaning. The artist strips away the specific identities of his subject matter so that the forms read[…..]
Bay Area artist Tauba Auerbach is currently exhibiting new text-based works at the Jack Hanley Gallery in San Francisco. Auerbach investigates semantic systems, playfully combining letters to create new meanings, while challenging the limitations of typography and language. Employing elements of hard-edged abstraction, the artist is able to use her experiences as a sign painter to explore the function of lettering and text in society,[…..]
