Artist Darina Karpov will open an exhibition titled “New Work” tonight at Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn, N.Y. The drawings exhibited contain elements of both abstraction and figuration as forms take on multiple connotations. The organic compositions are comprised of images from art history and advertising and images archived from the artist’s life. These images are combined to create a mini-world of activity. Karpov was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and initially studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg. In 1991, the artist relocated to the U.S. to study art at the Maryland Institute, College of Art (1999), and later received her MFA from Yale University School of Art (2001). Since her graduation, Karpov has shown widely in group exhibitions in Leipzig, Germany, and New York City, including AG Gallery in Brooklyn (2005).

The characters found in artist John Casey‘s drawings are often deformed and humorously dark. Each piece is created with dense line work and minimal color on a white ground and is said to reference a different psychological state experienced by the artist. While these “psychological” self portraits have an apparent dark side, they also embody a sense of fragility and vulnerability. This seems to be a consistent characteristic of the artist’s work. Casey is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art (1988). This year, the artist will be exhibiting “Metamorphorsis Chamber” with FPAC Gallery in Boston, Mass., and “New Works” with TAG Art Gallery in Nashville, Tenn. Last year, the artist exhibited with Boontling Gallery and 33 Grand, both in Oakland, California Next month, Casey will be featured in a group exhibition that highlights drawing at OKOK Gallery in Seattle.

Photographer Chris Scarborough creates hyper-real portraits of his family and friends. The artist alters the digital photos, leaving the subject exaggerated and the viewer asking whether the image is even real. Each subject is modeled from the principle of ideal beauty found in Manga and other Japanese animation. Scarborough alters each piece pixel by pixel, fabricating a reality that exists in between fact and fiction. The Nashville-based artist will be exhibiting in 2007 at both Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., and Artspace in Raleigh, N.C. Scarborough graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design (2000) and since has exhibited with Gescheidle in Chicago and Marcia Wood Gallery in Atlanta. Both Art Papers (2005) and New American Paintings (2004, 2001) have featured the artist.

For their first exhibition in 2008, 2×2 Projects in Amsterdam will present a new video by artist Raymond Taudin Chabot. The videos, like many of the artist’s other works, focus on men of power and the projection of stature through visual signs such as facial expressions and gestures. In the exhibited film “That Place,” Chabot depicts a man riding around an industrial estate, quietly disconnected from the viewer and his own surroundings, and completely immersed in his own thoughts. The video is staged and scripted by the artist and required a Hollywood-style film production to accomplish. In addition to the video 2×2 will also exhibit the artist’s new book “Cast(part4)” which features years worth of collected imagery focusing mainly on photos of men in powerful positions. The book was published by Roma Publications in Amsterdam.

Using the framework of children’s drawings, Korean artist Yeondoo Jung has created a series of photos titled “Wonderland.” In this series, the artist takes a literal approach in translating information between actual children’s drawings and staged photographs. Space and distance are distorted as the artist’s photographs offer a mix of reality and fantasy in the interpretation of a child’s view of the world. Yeondoo Jung received his BFA from the Fine Arts College at Seoul National University and his MA from Goldsmiths College at the University of London. The artist has exhibited with Tina Kim Fine Art, NYC (2005), and Insa Art Center, Seoul (2004). Jung also participated in the artist residency programs Villa Arson, Nice, France (2004); and Art Omi, NYC (2003). In 2002, the artist received the 2nd Shanghai Biennale Asia-Europe Foundation Cultural Grant.

The artist duo “Os Gemeos” are identical twin brothers from Sao Paulo, Brazil. Os Gemeos gained international notoriety from their ambitious campaign of visual characters in the city of Sao Paulo. Some of these characters are painted six stories high or more. In 1993, while only 19 years old, Otavio and Gustavo Pandolfo (Os Gemeos) met with young American graffiti writer Barry McGee. The three artists collaborated on several projects and influenced each other immensely. Os Gemeos is now being featured in art and graffiti magazines worldwide, but the magazine 12oz Profit was the first to expose their work to the United States and abroad. In 2006, the artists exhibited “The fish that ate shooting stars” at Galeria Fortes Vilaca in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The year prior, the Os Gemeos exhibited “Cavaleriro Marginal” with the Deitch Projects in NYC and collaborated with Creative Time to present a mural on Coney Island.

Figurative artist Andrew Barton explores ideas of internal awareness and external action in the human form. Each sculpture offers a distinct visual difference for the male and female forms, expressing the fundamental balance of gender. Barton’s work also investigates the body as a fragment and the interaction of mechanical instruments for the purpose of bodily change. The artist studied at the National College of Art and Design (1996) and the Kunst Design Fagskolen, Folkenuniversitetet (1991), both in Olso, Norway. Recently Barton has exhibited with the Blomqvist Auction House, Norway, and presented at exhibition titled “Draumkvedet” at the Cultural Center ‘De Scharpoord”, Belgium.