Tonight, Ryan De La Hoz opens Welcome to Your Doom, a solo show at Four Barrel in San Francisco. If you’re out that way, head over and show some love (6-9P). You can also buy original work from the artist in our shop. We like his no-nonsense approach to some heavy themes. He even throws in a little humor sometimes. See if you can spot it.
After the cut, check out sublime sculpture from Corey Thomas, and a YouTube video of his process.These things are spiky and look dangerous, but somehow remain at peace with their conspicuously calm, desert surroundings. (via)
“I trained as a dancer then migrated to sculpture with a focus on creating narratives with form. Each landscape – and the materials found within – stimulate new content for my work in terms of stories about people, culture, place and form.” -Corey Thomas
“Borrowed time is an exploration into the moment the point of no return has been reached and the subsequent freedom that follows. Using the visual of midflight plane failures was my attempt to show the moment that horror, relief, freedom, and graphic beauty all meet at once.”
“Because there are very few images/actual references of planes when they have these types of engine malfunctions mid-flight, I had to replicate/make as visual correct as possible what occurs when these types of catastrophic malfunctions occur.”
This series from Michael Massaia, entitled ”Borrowed Time – Mid Flight Engine Failure”, is made without Photoshop or digital composites. The ones where the planes are actually flying upwards are particularly interesting, as if, though on fire, they have no intention of going down. See more after the jump.
Connecticut based artist Robin Protz creates “Living Kinetic Sculptures”. Her works seem to brightly light up each space in which she installs them. Take “Nelligan the Dragon” (above) for example. “Dragon”, made of 40,000 suspended buttons, dominates its environment.
“…my art has evolved into a virtual space eater. Spaces scream at me wanting life.”
“…Creatures and forms emerge and we leave adulthood as we are reminded of the playfulness, surprise and sometimes overwhelming awe and delight we experienced as children.” (via)
Souther Salazar‘s works are full of life and narrative. He uses a variety of techniques really well, putting everything in it’s right place. His personal style allows you to jump right in and, even with so much going on, you feel like you get what’s going on. Salazar recently closed a show at NARWHAL Contemporary Art Gallery in Toronto. See more paintings after the jump.
Some pretty stark imagery from “Martyred Saints”, a series of photographs by Toby de Silva:
“…the Saints are displayed in a cathedral in Eastern Germany close to the Czech border and were acquired in the 17th century when there was a big trade in relics. They are said to be the remains of Martyred saints that were stored in the catacombs of Rome before being removed and traded. They were reassembled and dressed in their fine regalia and displayed in ornate cabinets.”
It must’ve been pretty dark in the “catacombs of Rome”. The photos are also fairly dark, not much to hold onto by way of background. But the blackness in each photo is balanced by Silva’s bright, clear lighting of his subjects and their jewels. (via)
As part of our ongoing partnership with Dailyserving, Beautiful/Decay is sharing Caitlin Sutherland’s article on “At the Far Edge of Words” and “Imaginary Homelands”.
Although difficult to generalize, a common theme ties together the exhibitions currently on view at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) and the Art Gallery of York University (AGYU). “At the Far Edge of Words” and “Imaginary Homelands” engage on some level, with the complex reflections of the artists cultural identity in relation to their exchanges with western culture, concepts of otherness, and navigating the hybrid spaces between while defining ‘home’. Rather than allowing these notions to become static, absolute, or restrictive, the artists invoke politics, humour, and nostalgia as a means to mediate their competing definitions of identity.
Gaia (Brooklyn and Baltimore) pastes huge lino cut prints of animals and other naturally infused imagery onto walls. Massive in scale but not overly so, the works cause us to question our role in nature and our connection to animals. Gaia’s also referencing a lot of renaissance art lately, and the newer works bring a really calming element to the locations in which they’re installed. The artist recently took a degree from MICA — maybe production will be amped up now that the artist has more freetime?
