March 4th, 2008 // g + c
Tara McPherson just launched her first solo show at Jonathan LeVine Gallery, Lost Constellations, featuring a new series of oil paintings and resin-cast sculptures. The show consists of 17 paintings on birch wood panels, ranging in size from 24×36 inches to 30×40 inches and fiberglass sculptures of Skull Flowers and Wiggle Balloons - recurring characters in McPherson’s work. Below is a piece from the press release:
The painted portraits in Lost Constellations depict adventurous super-heroines from an alternate universe, crossing dimensional planes of time and space. McPherson considers the idea of parallel existence through the use of multiple views or angles on a subject, inspired by the Einstein cross (a phenomenon caused by gravitational lensing) while her series of bodily transfigurations convey principles on the physical manifestation of thought. A reoccurring cast of female characters appear in various states of action—fighting battles and growing toward self-discovery.
The Show runs from February 23 to March 22, 2008. Click below for more info on the show or visit Tara’s site for her other work and bio.
—-+—-+— Tara McPherson —-+—-+—
–+–+– Jonathan LeVine Gallery –+–+–
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December 18th, 2007 // g + c
I first came across Scott Radke’s work years ago when he was almost exclusively making stringed marionettes, since then his work has evolved to free standing doll and sculptures. I love his use of color, the earthy tones give his work an antique look while the deep wide set eyes have become part of his style. The imaginative expressions give each piece such a unique personality, for some reason I feel sad when I see them. Each one seems to have a story buried deep within them and their eyes draw you in closer, and give me the feeling of wanting to help them.
His work is often compared to Tim Burton and others but I find that it resembles the work and style of Dave McKean. Most of his work is commissioned these days but some pieces are available, just send him an email if you are interested. Scott will also be showing his work in the Project Room at Think Space Gallery in Feb., 2008. You can check out his site below as he recently added some new work.
—+—+—+— scottradke.com —+—+—+—
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November 27th, 2007 // g + c
I recently stumbled upon the site Lost Fish owned by French illustrator Elodie (aka Rusty). I love her style and instantly sent her an email to find out where I could purchase one of her prints. She let me know that she was working on putting up a store sometime in the near future and that it will be posted on her MySpace page when finished.
She lists many things as interests on her page where she draws inspiration from such as dreams, macabre art, scary dolls and puppets, fairy tales, ferrets, unconventional clothes, sad stars, summer rainy days, Tim Burton, and Terry Gilliam expressionist movies.
She is very busy these days and recently made the cover of the final issue of Lanfeust Mag pictured above. I suppose I will have to be patient and wait for her store to open. Until then we will have to be satisfied with her site, blog (in French) or MySpace page.
—-+—-+—- Lost Fish —-+—-+—-
—+—+—+— Rainy Days Blog —+—+—+—
–+–+– Myspace Page –+–+–
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November 20th, 2007 // g + c
Formed in 2002 the Royal Sarcophagus Society, is a Toronto-based group of artists who share the vision of - as they put it
“liberating magic, art, whimsy and idle daydreaming and setting it free from the shackles of mass produced, predictable, modern day, dim-witted, dunder-headed profit orientated sameness.”
Their online store features such things as hand printed black and white photographs, art books, hand made jewelry boxes, postcards, paper ephemera, games and clothing. Or how about The Nasty Clown toy. It’s one of those roll the small little balls back into the holes games and it comes in a coffin shaped container with a lovely inked illustration as the background. Check out the site for all kinds of oddities.
—-+—-+— The Royal Sarcophagus Society —-+—-+—
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November 7th, 2007 // g + c
Mixed media artist Elizabeth McGrath has a few new curiosities on her “Toykiller” section of her site including two (old but new) limited edition prints, a special limited edition of 200 signed and numbered book case set- which comes with gold and black embossed slipcase, hand screened (yes its real) butcher knife with a velvet anchor bunny bag and an anchor bunny canvas tote bag. Also check out the cute hand silk screened print of a two headed bat snatching away the head off a surprised little girl!
McGrath draws inspiration from such things as roadside attractions, nature, alt fashion, architecture, punk, churches, folklore, Edward Gorey and poetry. Her site features her disturbing yet beautiful art, stitched dolls, dioramas, bags, art cards and yes - hand-painted and rusted butcher knives. You can also still buy her book - Everything That Creeps, which is her first collected work.
Her upcoming exhibition “The Incurable Disorder” opens December 15 and runs until January 5th, 2008 at the Billy Shire Fine Arts Gallery, and will feature her new works.
—–+—– Elizabeth McGrath {ToyKiller Section} —-+—–
—+—+—+— Billy Shire Fine Arts —+—+—+—
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