Mark Bradley Shoup

Storm Shelter

If you're like me all those flat geometric abstracts paintings out there can make the eyes start to glaze over. But when an artist like Mark Bradley Shoup represents recognizable structures and elements in a highly abstracted manner, you begin to see what maybe those other artists were getting at. Only they didn't get at it. These do. We are surrounded by abstraction. The geometric version of it stems largely from the human constructed reality most of us live in. But we either translate shapes into things with a functional meaning or we ignore them. Mark Bradley Shoup just looks at them. And then he maps out these wonderful images complete with designer colors suitable for framing. But seriously. These are subtly done. You can go to Mark Bradley Shoup's website (www.markbradleyshoup.com) to see more of his work, and if you like these, by all means do so. The work is consistent and there's a good deal more of it. But I'm a little disappointed at the dearth of information. How big are these? Do they have titles? Which ones are more recent, and which are older? (it's always nice to get a sense of trajectory when you notice subtle shifts in an artists work). Anyway, I shouldn't complain too much because what matters is that the paintings are immediate, engaging, and skillfully done. So what if they don't have titles, mostly. They're not really things anymore. They're shapes and colors and they help us see the world a little bit differently than we did before. And that, my friends, is art.

Katie Metz

"Downtown Twenty"  acrylic on panel  17.5" x 24"  2010

"City Darshan 3"  acrylic on panel  25" x 40"  2011

Downtown Eighteen"  acrylic on panel  17" x 28"  2010

"Downtown Fifteen"  acrylic on panel  19.5" x 24"  2010

"City Darshan 2"  acrilic on panel  18" x 35"  2011

Katie Metz portrays a unique vision of the city. Through what appears to be equal measures of painting and scraping on a textured surface she assembles a shimmering portrait of buildings and traffic. The work often teeters on the edge of pure abstraction. The tendency toward abstraction is a natural one. A city is, after all, little more than a collage of architecture, abstract human designs in three dimensions. But the work ultimately stays in the realm of representation. She wants you to see the city in her work. As much as she enjoys building up marks and textures, it's the city, it's vibrant chaotic hum that she wants you to see, and maybe to hear, and smell, and feel. She portrays it's energy in the day, at night, in the rain, in the heat. It's mood changes in each situation but it's energy is unrelenting. Exactly the same can be said for Katie Metz's paintings.

See more of her work at her website katiemetzstudio.com

and at www.friesengallery.com

Andrew Hem 2

"Friend or Foe" Acrylic on panel, 32 x 48 inches

"It Will Eventually Drift" Acrylic on panel, 32 x 48 inches

"This Road Gets Harder" Acrylic on panel, 42 x 24 inches

"It Takes Time and Patience But You'll Get There" Acrylic on panel, 48 x 32 inches

"Get Right Back Up"

I first posted Andrew Hem's work in April, 2010. Since then he's remained busy producing images in his distinctive idiosyncratic style. If you happen to be in LA, head down to Culver City and check out his work at LeBasse Projects. He has a show up currently that opened last weekend. I was down there for a brief visit and got to poke my head in while they were organizing things (Thanks for that). Andrew's work carries with it the complexity of his own fascinations and personal history. Born while his parents fled the Cambodian genocide of the Khmer Rouge, he grew up in the rough neighborhoods of L.A. absorbing graffiti and popular visual culture. His interest in the past mixes and mingles with the visual dialect of his own experience creating a world that delivers the dreamlike qualities of fantasy without sacrificing an honest portrayal of the difficulties of human life. All this is delivered in a style that is confident and fluid, with a dynamic feel for composition, giving us a singular vision of one man's personal take on life.
You can see more of his work on his website: andrewhem.com.
To see more of his latest paintings visit the gallery: LeBasse Projects

Steven Tabbutt

The Grey Rabbit

The Gift - panel 2

Tourist

Incident

Mono Myth

Steven Tabbutt is an illustrator and an artist who has been gathering up a busload of awards and accolades for his evocative work. His style encompasses a range of approaches from the fairly traditional to a highly stylized use of intricate line work. All of it shares the same sense of visual playfulness, in a decidedly dark and minor key, that makes for some compelling and intriguingly cryptic visual narratives. You can see more of his work on his website: steventabbutt.com

Apologies

I didn't prep very well and I won't have access to my computer this week so there will be no new posts. Sorry about that. But here's a very cool image from the Belgian graphic artist Francois Schuiten called "Vol de Nuit". You can check out some more images of his work here.

It just occurred to me that this is somewhat amusing image for me personally as I head off for LA to look for galleries. Optimism and dramatic lighting. That's all I need.

Jeff Bellerose - 2

Beach Glare  18x24in

Contained  40x30in

Flats  23x26in

Enclave  24 x 48in

Summer Warmth  20.5 x 15in

Jeff Bellerose is an artist whose work I've posted here before (Feb. 8, 2010).  I received an email form him recently with some images of new work that will be part of a show opening tomorrow (Friday July 8th 2011, from 6-8pm) in San Francisco, some of which are included here. He has a tremendous feel for composition and a clear love of dramatic lighting. So if you're in the SF area, check it out at Thomas Reynolds Gallery. He'll also be releasing a 150 page book to go with the exhibition. It will be available through his website soon, where you can also look through more of his work: jeffbellerose.webnode.com

Oswald Cromheecke

From "Minah" 2011

From "Minah" 2011

From "Minah" 2011

From "Minah" 2011

From "Family Chronicles" 2010

From "Family Chronicles" 2010

Oswald Cromheecke is a Belgian artist working with graphic novel formats and animation. Both capture a very dark world view where the fantasy appeal of horror genres blends disturbingly with the all too real horrors of war, violence and despair. The work is spare, simple, and haunting in it's ability to accumulate in your minds eye and linger there. Like an unwelcome guest who has some valuable lessons to share with you, if you can just get past his rather appalling appearance, and never mind the dirt he tracked in or the sweet musty odor like something from an opened tomb. But seriously. The work has an immediate and visceral appeal. Much of it is cryptic in intent, making it all the more compelling. The books are self-published through blurb.com where you can leaf through virtual previews. The animations can be watched or linked to from his blog, oswaldcromheecke.blogspot.com. You can also view his work on Flickr.

(I highly recommend his most recent animation, "Antarctica", a simple bleak homage to Scott's doomed south pole expedition, music courtesy of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' soundtrack to the movie The Proposition.)