Chapter 2
2010 Show Catalog
THE NEXT GENERATION ~A New Chapter in Contemporary Art~
Featuring 45 International artists Exhibition: June 11th to July 4th. 2010 London Miles Gallery
Exhibition Curated by
Chapter 2 THE NEXT GENERATION ~A New Chapter in Contemporary Art~
Featured artists: dan-ah kim david macdowell derek gores gaia jacub gagnon jeff ramirez jen lobo jesse hotchkiss joseph “2h� mcsween josie morway kelly vivanco lesley reppeteaux linnea strid liz brizzi mari inukai
{ dAN-ah KIM
www.dkim-art.com
All my vices come to hunt me Mixed Media 8.5 x 11� 22 x 28 cm , 2008 My Darling Sister Mixed Media. 12 x 12 inches. 2010
Dan-ah Kim was born in Seoul, Korea but moved to Mexico and has spent time on both coasts of the U.S.A. She attended Pratt Institute and continues to live and work in Brooklyn NY, dividing her time between making art and freelancing in film and television. Kim is drawn to the chaotic and collaborative film environment as well as the isolated experience of an illustrator, as it grants her a chance to work on her own narratives. Another element has been a love for layers with separated materials, using ink, paint, paper, and thread. Kim aims to make each painting a frame from a story, with heroines in familiar or unnatural worlds.
{ David Macdowell
www.macdowellstudio.com David MacDowell is a self-taught artist living in Virginia. He incorporates media culture, and social themes into brilliant and controversial satirical paintings. Working primarily with acrylics on canvas, David is not afraid of tapping into the dark side of American media worship. He tops off celebrity renderings sprinkled with crying babies, candy colored nightmares, and a hilariously acidic sense of humor. Some have called his work a virtual “Disneyland on acid”. By bravely peeling away the veneer of pop culture, he validates the abused underbelly of society with x-ray glasses. With an ever-expanding list of international clientele, David’s work can be found in Atlanta, California, Florida and New York. Burn Hollywood down Acrylic on canvas (framed) 30 x 24” 76 x 61 cm, 2008
Q:What medium do you use or prefer? A:I religiously use Acrylic paint on Stretched Canvas. Q:Who or what are your inspirations? A:I’m inspired by all things Pop Culture and Mass Media. Within the paintings, I incorporate fast food, corporate brainwashing and our contemporary cultural nightmare. Q:What do you think of the New Contemporary art movement at the moment? A:I often feel that the Movement has many parallels to the recording industry. Its given a select group of super nerd’s the power to rise to rock stardom. The industry breeds original talent and blatant imitators. There are more imitating “Monkee’s” than there are original “Beatles”.
And God Created Sugar. Acrylic on Canvas. 12 x 12 inches. 2010
{ DEREK GORES
www.derekgores.com
It’s Not Dark Yet, But It’s Getting Collage on canvas (framed) 18 x 18” 46 x 46 cm , 2008 Yesplease Collage on canvas 12 x 12 inches, 2010
In his popular collage portraits, Derek Gores recycles magazines, labels, and assorted found analog and digital materials to create the works on canvas. The series showcases Gores’ contrasting interests in the living beauty of the figure, the mechanically angular and abstract design aesthetics of fashion, and a fearless sense of play. The Rhode Island School of Design grad lives and works in Melbourne, Florida, exhibiting and curating with the bold upstarts there, surrounded by the intellect and culture of the Space Coast. Recent adventures have taken his work to Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and Sacramento. Derek was honored to have his work selected for the Manifest Hope DC exhibit coinciding with the Presidential Inauguration in 2009. “I like my pictures to barely come together with teasing little details. Sort of like how the mind can’t help but wander, even when trying to focus on one thing. In the collages, some of the little bits I use are deliberate, but in most
I’m trusting randomness to help build an end result more interesting than I could have planned. One friend calls it a ‘Zen Narrative.’ “ “I like my pictures to barely come together with teasing little details. Sort of like how the mind can’t help but wander, even when trying to focus on one thing. In the collages, some of the little bits I use are deliberate, but in most I’m trusting randomness to help build an end result more interesting than I could have planned. One friend calls it a ‘Zen Narrative.’ “ Gores just wishes he had a cooler name than ‘collage’ for his medium. “I’m thinking of calling myself the ‘Scrapbook King of the Southeast’. What do you think? (Sausage King of Chicago was already taken)”
{ gaia
www.gaiastreetart.com
Illustration on paper.
Gaia is a street artist born in New York City. His distinct black and white linoleum prints can be seen all over Manhattan, and the surrounding boroughs. His images range from the innocent faces of small children, to different animals like large roaring bears.
{ Jacub Gagnon
www.jacubgagnon.com Gagnon is one of Toronto’s great emerging artists in the new contemporary movement. He graduated in 2009 and holds a BFA specialized in Drawing & Painting from the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in Toronto, Canada. Gagnon’s greatest strength derives from his ability to transfer the fine qualities from his drawings to canvas. Gagnon renders miniscule forms with great accuracy. His work is heightened from his aptitude for color and applying layers. Using small brushes and handling them as he would a pencil, Gagnon is able to achieve forms of illustrative qualities that edge into the peculiar world of Pop Surrealism.
Below out Oil on canvas 18 x 14” 46 x 36 cm , 2009.
Q:What medium do you use or prefer? A:I use acrylic paint pretty exclusively and enjoy it quite a bit. A lot of people get frustrated with it’s quick drying time, but it’s one of the things that I love about it. I’ve been tempted for a while to pick up oils but have never really had the time, or so it would seem. To be perfectly honest, I am a little nervous to. Q:Who or what are your inspirations? A:I think my biggest inspirations would have to be my friends and family, as well as this contemporary art movement itself. Nothing can really beat the supportiveness of friends and family, if it weren’t for them I probably wouldn’t be doing what I am doing, so a thank you goes out to them. As for this art movement itself, I’m constantly reading blogs and searching new artists/visiting gallery’s, just being immersed within the art scene and around people that have a passion for it is so inspiring and motivating. After attending an opening or having a conversation about art the gears start turning, neurons start firing upstairs, and I’m thinking about my next piece or a new idea for one. Also, did I mention I am an animal lover?
Q:Do you think there is a similar potential for growth for yourself and for the art movement in the UK as in The US, what do you feel are the main barriers or obstacles? A:I think the potential for growth is pretty limitless. I have been involved in this scene for a very short amount of time and already I’m amazed with it’s inner workings. I have yet to even step foot into the US, yet I am more attuned and connected to the art scene there than here in Canada. I am literally amazed at how the internet plays a roll in art, it is my connection to galleries, artists and clientele. Obstacles? A slow connection or a server crash.
{ Jeff ramierez
www.jefframirez.com
City of Electric Light, oil on panel, 8 x 8 in, 2009
Jeff’s paintings almost always evoke the same jaw-dropping reaction followed by the utterance: “this has to be a photograph‰. A relative newcomer to the fine art world, Jeff’s technical skill and mastery of photo-realistic paintSomething Happened ing along with his unique and often humorous take on the art of portraiture, has already garnered him much praise Oil on panel 20 x 26” 51 x 66 cm , 2010 and attention on numerous art blogs and websites. In Los Angeles his paintings have been shown in a handful of themed group shows, including last year’s Crazy 4 Cult 2 at Gallery 1988, where Jeff’s four small paintings of Arnold Schwarzenegger quickly sold and later were made into limited edition prints. first solo exhibition with Cella Gallery. “I have always felt like I was living between two worlds. In each, I was a different person, always hyperaware of my surroundings. Every gesture amounted to a self-conscious performance. In images, I felt improperly represented. I grew to disassociate with my own reflection in imagery and thus became skeptical of the images of others.”
{ jEN LOBO
www.jenlobo.com Jen Lobo was born in 1980 along the shores of South Bay, CA. Even as a young child, she had a great affinity for all things feathered, furry, avian and aquatic. She adores natural history and entomology. Jen could pretty much be locked in any museum for days and not look for a way out. Jen currently lives in Pasadena, CA, where she watches hummingbirds and swallowtail butterflies from her studio windows. She lives with her husband, their two incredibly cute kids, and their insane little dog, Scraps. She has also recently adopted a one winged barn owl, that she has yet to name. Jen Lobo received her BFA in Illustration from Otis College of Art and Design in 2006.
Devil Whale Oil on wood panel.
Q:Do you make art with an audience in mind or do you make it just becauseyou like it. A:To say that I’m unaware of an audience would be simply dishonest. For me, I feel really fortunate that this movement is so broad that I can feel like I can paint whatever I want and someone out there will respond to it. I definitely think that if your influences are broad enough, the chances are that people will gravitate towards something that speaks to them. There are also sort of two narratives to my work. On one level it is intensely personal and drawn from my own life, yet it is still general enough of an image, that perhaps I can sneak by without everyone noticing. Honesty is always my number one priority. If you are honest with yourself and your work, an audience will naturally follow. Q:What are your goals or aims with your art? A:My mind is flooded with new projects. My goals are always above and beyond what reality can dictate. In general terms, I just want to have longevity in the field. If I’m still plugging away and having the energy and feeling challenged 40 years from now, that would be my dream. Q:What advice would you give to the Next Generation of UK artists that what to succeed in thisart genre? A:I don’t know if I’m in a position to give advice, but I would say that I have found the most peace with myself when I just really am honest about what I want to make work about. I turn off my mind to what other artists are making. When I judge myself against others it’s a slippery slope and can lead to serious disappointment.
{ jESSE HOTCHKISS
www.jessehotchkiss.com
On the first day of June, 1976, Jesse Hotchkiss was brought into this world inside a dance studio to bohemian parents in San Francisco’s SOMA district. Though strongly influenced by his parents love for theatre and dance, Jesse’s more introverted nature led him on a path to visual arts. In addition to art, skateboarding was a passion that balanced his mind between the worlds of physicality and imagination. The overlapping values of these art forms blessed him with a strong confidence in his creative abilities. Along with early exposure to works by Matisse, Dali and Schiele, Jesse was also captivated by the raw power of graffiti art. His introduction to graffiti happened while living in Santa Fe, NM. There he became strongly connected to the natural environment and muted palette of the southwest. Guided by these inspirations, and the strength to invent, he has forged a highly distinctive style. He combines intricate stenciled images, subtle textures and whimsical explorations in figure and form to portray moments of dreamlike intimacy, both visually foreign and familiar
Catch A Ride” 17 X 12, 2004
Q:What medium do you use or prefer? A:I love exploring new mediums and applications. I currently prefer acrylic, aerosol, and pigmented ink combined.
Q:Do you make art with an audience in mind or do you make it just because you like it? A:I do my best to empty my mind of any exterior expectations of my art, especially when I’m creating it.
Q: Who or what are your inspirations? A:I draw inspiration from the places I’ve lived (San Francisco, Santa Fe, Los Angeles) and artist’s works that resonate with me (Egon Schiele, Barry McGee, Alphonse Mucha).
Q:What are your goals or aims when creating your artwork? A:I aim to connect with other people and inspire creativity in general with my art. There might be a bit of a call to consciousness in there as well.
{ JOSEPH 2H MCSWEEN
www.joe2h.com
Joseph McSween (2H) is a Seattle based Fine artist/ Illustrator/Graphic Designer. His fine art falls under a mixture of contemporary genres including lowbrow, street art, graffiti , surrealism , and impressionism. His work explores a love for the female figure juxtaposed with rich textured layers seeking to reflect the emotion and inspiration found in the urban environment of modern society. His current work is rapidly evolving with new realistic dimension and an expanding use of bright colors and oils. Being a color blind artist might be considered a disadvantage by many, but he chooses to see this as an important advantage to his developmental process. “Most of my earlier works were primarily in black and white focusing on the form in beautiful compositions between positive and negative space. Now that I have a greater knowledge over the years it has helped me gain a higher understanding of using color in conjunction with my balanced compositions to accentuate my painting process as a whole.” Hell 24 x 24 inches , 2010
Q:What form of art do you specialize in what is your artistic background? A:I specialize in painting the female form and exploring pushing the boundaries of what I can do with different techniques and styles with my painting process. My background, I grew up with artist parents so I’m sure that had a heavy influence on me being an artist myself. I was raised in Texas with plenty of open spaces to wander around and explore using my imagination while staring at the clouds. I got into graffiti when I was like 14 then that led for a love of street art and design. Q:What medium do you use or prefer? A: I use acrylics and spraypaint on my larger works. If I’m doing Illustration work I use pencil,pen &ink. I like to experiment with all kinds of things. Sometimes I’ll just spill coffee or wine on paper for color. For my upcoming shows I’ll be transitioning more into primarily doing oil paintings.
Q:Do you think there is a similar potential for growth for yourself and for the art movement in the UK as in The US, what do you feel are the main barriers or obstacles? A: I think the internet and technology has made the world a lot smaller and the possibilities are open to show your work internationally. Sometimes I feel like I would do better in other countries. I’ve always looked outside of the U.S. for artistic inspiration. A lot of the artists I would like to do shows with don’t live in the U.S. at all. Obstacles or barriers? Shipping costs and time haha.
{ JOSIE MORWAY
www.josiemorway.com
Theory of relative abundance Oil on wood panel 48 x 60” 122 x 152 cm , 2009
Josie Morway is a painter and designer living and working in Providence, Rhode Island. Her works has shown widely, from the DeCordova Museum in Massachusetts to the streets of Juarez, Mexico. In her free time she enjoys triathlons, scraping superfluous apostrophes off signs, eating nuts, keeping her ear to the ground, and overdoing it. Q:What medium do you use or prefer? A:I’ve been working in oil paint on large wood panels almost exclusively for a long time now… though lately I’ve been learning more about enamels and metal because of some experiments with bike and car painting. In general I think that oil painting will always be my first love, but I’d really like to get outside my comfort zone and try some new things too. Thinking a lot about metal casting and high-fire ceramics lately. But I also think about becoming a hydroponic farmer and building a six-person tandem bike, so it’s hard to say which of these things will become a reality. Q:Do you make art with an audience in mind or do you make it just because you like it. A:A bit of both. My work definitely starts purely from me and from my own impulses, but as I’m working I do think about the audience. I think about people I know and respect, or this imaginary, wider “audience” and try to imagine how they’ll take the work, what they’ll understand or not understand. It’s all projection, of course.
Q:What are your goals or aims with your art? A:What a huge question! I suspect that if I knew the answer it would be quite long. The themes in my art change, and I’m often not sure exactly what I’m trying to express, at least until after a piece is finished. One thing that’s constant for me, though, is a sense of reverence for nature, for small things, for the fragility and amazement of life in general. I have this unrelenting desire to take a very tiny thing— like a small bird or a fleeting moment—and portray it on a huge scale. To juxtapose it with snatches of text or conversation, and make my audience and myself think about how we take in and experience the different aspects of the world around us... the large, the small, the loud and the imperceptible, all the things that combine to make up our multi-layered realities.I suppose another aim I have in life is to learn to talk about my artwork without confusing myself and using too many run-on sentences. I’ve still got a lot of learning to do.
{ kELLY vIVANCO
www.kellyvivanco.com
Kelly Vivanco was born and raised in front of a sketchpad and a box of colors in Southern California. She later received her BFA with honors from LCAD in Laguna Beach. In 2004 Kelly became a Studio artist at Distinction in Escondido and currently maintains a working studio there. Her work has shown in numerous galleries and is held in collections across the U.S. and abroad. Kelly enjoys setting whimsy to work in many mediums and pulls inspiration from the natural and imagined world, vintage photographs, children’s literature and the oddness of her dreams. Q:Who or what are your inspirations? A:I am inspired by things and people I see around me, old photographs and vintage imagery, a good story, colors and natural organic shapes. The list could go on for quite a while. Q:What do you think of the New Contemporary art movement at the moment? A:I think there are a lot of exciting things happening right now, a lot of new talent and familiar faces taking visual arts in refreshing directions. I don’t really think this ‘movement’ has designated boundaries, which makes it really dynamic and unexpected. I am especially enjoying the traditional illustrators crossing over and making art that is un-tethered to a set narrative. Q:Where do you think the movement is going? A:I hope it continues to grow and gain the recognition it deserves. Most people need to broaden their exposure to art, to move past the accepted norms of what they think ‘art’ is, so I hope that the work that is currently being exhibited will bring more people into loving art. Ghost Bird Oil on Panel.
{ lesley reppeteaux
Desire in bloom 14� round, Acrylic on wood,
www.reppeteaux.bigcartel.com
Understanding the balance Acrylic on Wood 16 x 24. 2008
Lesley Reppeteaux is a storyteller whose paintings are deeply affected by the marriage of art and literature. Drawing influences from the Art Nouveau movement, vintage postcards, and the wonder of nature, the characters in her work celebrate strong ethereal beauty and invoke a femininity whose power is all-encompassing. Through a mindful balance of vision and improvisation, Reppeteaux submerges her viewers in an exploration of themes consisting of dream-like adventures and otherworldly mysteries. Reppeteaux received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Illustration in 1998 from the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in Denver, CO. and has been painting professionally for the past 10 years. She is a published comic book author and illustrator and has exhibited her paintings at galleries in London, Melbourne, Berlin, and Tokyo, on both coasts of the U.S.A. and at many cities in between. She has been featured in Hi-Fructose, ISM Quarterly, Art Prostitute, and Lemonade Magazine. She prefers her clothes splattered with acrylic paint, and her workspace filled with tipped jars of brushes and numerous children books. She travels extensively and has lived in Canada, Europe, and all over the U.S.A. Reppeteaux currently resides in Portland, OR - home of zines, strong coffee, and galoshes
{ Linnea strid
www.linneastrid.se
Linnea Strid is based in Uppsala, Sweden where she creates her hyper-realistic oil paintings that often feature the incorporation of water as a central element of the work. Strid renders water in a way that confuses the onlooker as to whether or not the image they are looking at is a photograph or indeed a painting. These works feature all the characteristics of water, from how it moves and why it moves and where, and in turn her work truly moves all that view it.
Q:What form of art do you specialize in what is your artistic background? A:Right now I’m focusing on photo realism. I’ve studied at two art schools here in Sweden, between 2003-2007 and I’ve been painting and drawing for as long as I can remember. Q:What medium do you use or prefer? A:Right now, oil paint, mostly on plywood or some sort of board, because of the smoothness of the surface. But we’ll see, I might switch over to something else if I find that it suits me better. I’m always open to trying new things and experimenting. Q:Who or what are your inspirations? A:Anything can give me inspiration. My family, friends, a walk in the park or a trip to the museum. Q:What do you think of the New Contemporary art movement at the moment? A:I think it’s very exciting and inspiring. I’ve been kind Juxtapozition of bored with conceptual art (we got plenty of that in Oil on wood panel .12 x 12 inches. 2010 Sweden) but I like that there’s more and more focus on painting again, and I believe that this movement is breaking boundaries in a lot of ways.
{ liz brizzi
Buteo Reglis Mixed media on canvas 24 x 24� 61 x 61 cm, 2009.
www.lizbrizzi.com
Spring Mixed media on canvas. 12 x 12 inches. 2010
A native of France, born of Italian parents, Liz grew up in Los Angeles. She is inspired by urban themes and loves to portray the beauty she captures in the raw and industrial aspects of city life; she began this series of works with landscape paintings of the streets and alleys of Downtown Los Angeles, where she resides. In a city that is changing and developing rapidly, her artwork captures the disappearing traces of History and the authenticity of a neighborhood in full bloom. She is now broadening the scope of areas she paints to places she has been to in recent travels, such as Europe, and South East Asia. Her individual mixed media technique begins with the manipulation of her original photography collaged onto an acrylic painted canvas, finally blended within layers of colorful acrylic washes. She graduated in 2002 from Otis Art Institute with a BFA in Communication Arts and now works as a graphic artist from her studio in Downtown Los Angeles.
{ mari inukai
www.mariinukai.com
I wont Forget You Oil on Canvas. 12 x 12 inches. 2010
Mari Inukai was born in Nagoya, Japan. In 1995, Mari came to the US to pursue her studies in art. She first attended Santa Monica Community College (Mentor program), then Associates in Art, Sherman Oaks, CA and finally California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA, where she recieved her BFA in Character Animation in 2004. Her professional works include Nickelodeon, New York, Nylon Motion Inc., LA, Oishii Productions, LA, and NGTV, LA. Her short animated film, Blue and Orange, has been an official selection at numerous national and international film festivalss including the Sundance Film Festival 2003, and was the Japanese Grand Prix winner at the Short Shorts Film Festival EXPO 2005. Besides her animation works, Mari regularly exhibits her paintings and drawings, designs clothes, ceramic toy figurines, and other fun products. She lives in Los Angeles with her daughter, Sena.