Sugar Madness Pink Confetti Cake By Peter Anton (All Photos By Gail)
Sculptor Peter Anton, the king of monumental-sized Hyper Realist Food Sculptures, returns to the Unix Gallery for another of his immersive, slightly dark, food-themed exhibits with Sugatarium, which opened on Thursday, April 27th with a reception at the gallery. Continue reading Peter Anton Presents Sugatarium at Unix Gallery
Untitled Being (All Photos By Gail)
Unix Gallery is currently hosting a solo exhibition by Korean artist KwangHo Shin –“제목이 없는 존재” — which literally translates to “There is no Title.” Shin’s latest series of work features new oil paintings that challenge the notion of identity and interactivity between people. Painting in the new environment of New York City, Shin features new tones and color combinations that directly reflect the artist’s experience with his new surroundings. The result of this is a seductive enigma, an amalgamation of specificity and obscurity, anxiety and humor; all with Shin’s expressive strokes that articulate the eponymous notion of “제목이 없는 존재,” the devoid identity, the ‘untitled being.’
Evoking themes of Abstract Expressionism, Shin employs intense and vibrant colors to depict the individualistic expression of emotion and a sense of self. He applies charcoal and oils in thick brushstrokes to distort and exaggerate the subject’s facial features. His technique confronts the viewer with an emotional impact, effecting our understanding of the human form. Channeling a more figurative mode with Untitled 16NY09, the artist melds layers of pinks and purples with white to create an explosion of ephemeral flesh. The use of softer pastels leaves a more gentle effect offset by rich siennas and flesh tones.
Colorful and faceless paintings brilliantly capture the complexity of human emotions. The subjects range from individual models, noted international celebrities, and self-portraits. Untitled 16NY16 expresses Shin’s natural inclination to represent his subjects’ personalities and innate nature; even his own. “I don’t see anything,” the artist ruminates on his source material, “but it is also a self-portrait. When I am painting I don’t exactly plan what colors I will use to paint.” Here, Shin is able to clear his mind and evoke his full creative psyche.
“During the painting process I change my ideas and feelings many times. I just focus on that feeling; that moment…I put the totality of my energy into that feeling so that when a work is complete I feel peaceful.” Whether it is the external pose of the subject or the unique color combinations, abstraction or layered texture, the portraiture of KwangHo Shin is able to document the psychological changes and clashes that arise in us all.
KwangHo Shin’s There is No Title will be on Exhibit Through July 30th, 2016 at Unix Gallery, Located at 532 West 24th Street, in the Chelsea Gallery District.
Nuero Girl, 2016, By Desire Obtain Cherish All Photos By Gail)
The contemporary fine artist known as Desire Obtain Cherish (real name: Jonathan Paul) has a new exhibit at Unix Gallery, which is called Servant to Infinite Distraction, and it is pretty sweet.
In previous DOC exhibits, we have mostly seen the artist’s iconic, Pop Art sculptures, such as his oversized Blow Pops, but while the new exhibit does feature new sculptures, here DOC experiments with abstract canvases that mix black and white prints with thick swathes of brightly-colored oil paints, for a very cerebrally compelling visual impact. Tablets of the anticonvulsant medication Klonopin are a reoccurring motif.
Pills show up on other canvases as well, such as the “painting” above, which creates a classic floral still life from pharmaceutical capsules filed with colored pigment.
Detail from Above Painting
Here’s another Still Life with Pills, and a detail shot below.
Nuero Boy, 2016
The pair of white, child-scale, mannequin-like sculptures called Nuero Girl and Nuero Boy have what looks like velvet-covered, amorphous masses enveloping their heads, feet and hands. Very fun!
Installation View
Desire Obtain Cherish, Servant to Infinite Distraction will be on Exhibit Through June 18, 2016 at UNIX Gallery, located at 532 West 24th Street in the Chelsea Gallery District.
Photo By Gail
This fun sculpture is part of In Visual Dialogue, the Winter Group Show at Unix Gallery, on through January 16, 2016.
Machiko Edmondson, Sign (All Photos By Gail)
Nothing says it’s Summer in the Chelsea Gallery District quite like the ubiquitous Summer Group Show. So many are doing it, with varying degrees of success. And while we’ve seen a few galleries (that shall remain nameless) totally phone it in, Unix Gallery maintains their high standard of showing provocative, quality contemporary art with its group show, Efflorescence, which is up now.
Efflorescence features new works from Zhuang Hong Yi, Machiko Edmondson, Ellen de Meijer, Gavin Rain, Pino Manos, KwangHo Shin, and Alexi Torres, plus a few assorted piece from artists, such as Desire Obtain Cherish, who’ve previously exhibited in solo shows at the gallery.
A Trio of Works By Pino Manos
Sincronico Rosso
I hadn’t seen the work of Pino Manos before, but I really loved his three pieces in this show, which are created Acrylic on Extroflexed Canvas — an exciting aesthetic twist on minimalism.
Zhuang Hong Yi, Untitled 38
Zhuang Hong Yi’s Chinese training combined with Western Impressionist elements produces a vast collection of work. With studios in Beijing and Amsterdam, this cross-cultural artist brings traditional Chinese motifs such as rice paper and ink into the modern era, fusing contemporary form and culturally significant media.
Ellen de Meijer’s paints a unique contrast of tension and pathos. Her portraits show figures of successful repute, yet vulnerable with an empty gaze. They are armed with digital gadgets, which refer to our zeitgeist of access to information and power. This proliferation of technology becomes a point of dependency while human instincts docilely move to the background. Often they brandish small, bizarre objects or wear gloves symbolic of a societal obsession with sterilization and unattainable perfection.
Gavin Rain draws from traditional pointillist studies with a mix of the Russian avant-garde of the early 1900’s and modern digital images. His layering of styles communicates a particular message: “I usually dislike art that doesn’t communicate anything.” (Note:I fee similarly about works that are titled “Untitled”).
Detail From Above Work
Rain’s works aims to stimulate the eye and mind simultaneously, creating a constant fluctuation of information being transmitted between the work and the viewer.
Art By Justin Bower
Art By Desire Obtain Cherish
Detail of the Above Portrait
Intensive Care Unit By DOC
It was fun to see a few works by Desire Obtain Cherish — who had such a fun show at the gallery in back in May of 2014 — mixed in with the new stuff. His art is so clever.
Jewel Pacifier, By DOC from his Married to Success Series
Efflorescence will be on Exhibit through August 22nd, 2015 at UNIX Gallery, Located at 532 W 24th Street in the Chelsea Gallery District.
