This past Friday, January 7th, a group show entitled “Is This Thing On?” opened at the Gallery 1988 in Los Angeles. Over 100 artists created works of art inspired by comedians. I’m not the biggest fan of the non-stop themed shows some galleries seem to be locked into, but one thing for sure the fans gets to see how their favorite artists interpret pop culture icons and have a laugh. There is some great work in this show, and some of the best work comes from artists that you wouldn’t expect to create such works. Dave MacDowell once again brings a work of art that is not only controversial, but shows that if this current art scene is starting to tame down as some have said, Dave is still out there pushing the limits. Travis Louie made one of the coolest portraits of Brian Posehn that I have ever seen, and NC Winters tackled one of the most famous characters in Bill Murray’s career. Chet Zar did a great job of creating a portrait of Andy Dick, that seems to ride the line of humorous and creepy. The show should be online soon to view all of the works.
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“Exuberance Found” @ Distinction Art
Opening this Saturday, January 8th, is a group show entitled “Exuberance Found” and will feature new work by Chris B Murray, Mike Maxwell, and Daryll Peirce. The new works from Chris B Murray are amazing. He stated over on his blog that he is really confident about his new work, and he think he has every right to be. I also like the fact that Murray even has a few drawings in the show, which are no less exciting than his acrylic works. The full show is now online to view, so head on over and see the rest of the works.
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“Tiger” by James Jean
James Jean has just released a new painting, entitled “Tiger”, that is one of many new paintings that will be exhibited at his upcoming solo show at Martha Otero in downtown Los Angeles March 12th through April 23rd. Along with this new large scale painting, 6 yet to be revealed large scale painting will also be on view. “Tiger” is a massive 104″ x 60″ and is comprised of acrylic, oils, and pastels on two canvases. The painting look outstanding, and James has put some detail shots on his blog so you can really see the texture.
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The Art of YDK Morimoe
A digital artist working out of Japan, YDK Morimoe has an surreal style that is all her own. It’s not often that digital art has the ability to really capture my attention, but the work shown here are undeniably captivating.
Check out more: Tieba.baidu.com
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“The Hanged Man” by Apricot Mantle
The year just started and Apricot Mantle has already released a killer nee drawing. Once again Apricot shows that colored pencils can be just as dynamic as oils or acrylics. This new drawing is entitled “The Hanged Man” and featured a tarot card frame, custom as in all the frames that Apricot makes. Wicked Halo, a great art site to keep an eye on as well, recently did an interview with Apricot that you should check out (Here).
Add Apricot on Facebook and see more work: Apricot Mantle on Facebook
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New Year
Hope everyone had a safe and fun New Years weekend. I hope the next year is amazing, and I am working on some big things for the Creep Machine hoping to make this the best year yet for the site. Remember the Trevor Brown contest is still going on, and not that many people have entered yet so the odds of winning are pretty good right now.
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The Art of Margarita Georgiadis
One of the sites I make sure to check out daily is, Artistaday.com. They post some really amazing work by well known, and up and coming artists as well. The most recent one to catch my eye was the work of Margarita Georgiadis, and artist working out of Australia. Her paintings have a similar palette, and while the figures are rendered to a certain point, the works have a very ghostly feel to them. Many of the paintings look as though the image was taken with a camera and a slow shutter. Take a look at the preview images here, and then head over to her homepage for more work.
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Photos: Genevive Zacconi – “Dysphoria @ Last Rites Gallery
Genevive Zacconi’s solo show “Dysphoria” opened at the Last Rites Gallery on December 10th, and will be up until January 13th if you havent seen it yet. We were able to get some photos, courtesy of Steve Prue, of the opening night, and a little writeup from artist Buddy Nestor.
Genevive Zacconi is best known for her masterful work with oils. Her images fuse equal parts pain and exquisite beauty, from a female perspective. The evident shock and fervor from her previous work is subdued in her latest show “Dysphoria†at Last Rites Gallery, NY.
Genevive’s new works show the hand of a maturing style, both in tone and paint handling. In this collection, the darkest parts of the message have become more subtle yet more powerful. She uses the beauty she can conjure from a distance to lure the viewer in to expose the true meaning of each work. With a candy coated agony, she leads the viewer through women’s struggles with beauty and the psychotically intense ride that humans go through to find love and hold onto it with dagger like claws until it rips apart.
This collection is her most impressive to date and should be viewed up close. The show closes on January 13th, 2011. Get out there and take in the madness. — Buddy Nestor
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