Adam Friedman

"The Elemental and Fundamental"

Acylic, Screen Print, Gel Transfers, and Collage on Panel  18"x14"  2010

"Endurance of the Farallons"

Screen Print, Acrylic, Gel Transfers, and Collage on Panel  14"x20"  2009

"An Icelandic Orogeny"

Acrylic, Screen Print, Gel Transfers, and Collage on Panel  17"x31"  2010

"No Vestige of a Beginning, No Prospect of and End"

Screen Print, Acrylic, Gel Transfers, and Collage on Panel  16"x16"  2010

"Reclaiming Everest

Acrylic, Screen Print, Gel Transfers, and Collage on Panel  26"x15"  2010

The artist in my previous post (Robert Minervini) wrote me to recommend another artist in my own town of Portland, Oregon, Adam Friedman. So here's his work. He employs an interesting combination of media but as is typical with me, I tend to hone in on content. One notices very quickly repeated references to landscape, environment and especially geology. One of the most fascinating and difficult aspects of geology is it's dilated time scale. In geologic time, the human presence on earth is a barely perceivable blip and in geologic terms our impact upon the earth is negligible. The gradual processes of the earth's crust, it's formation, it's folding and unfolding, it's slow parade of eons has gone on long before we existed and will continue long after. This is his central theme. His occasional forays into anthrocentric environmental concerns is almost a shrug. Will we destroy ourselves? Possibly. Are we bringing about a mass extinction of unique lifeforms? Almost certainly. Ultimately the earth, and life as a whole, will barely notice we were ever here. For some, including Adam Friedman, this thought is a source of deep and abiding comfort. We are not the center of creation. We are merely witnesses to it's vast scale and scope.
To see more, go to his website: artbyadamfriedman.com

Robert Minervini - 2

"Automatic Model"  2011  acrylic and oil on canvas  60" x 120"

"A Gardened Earth"  2011  acrylic and oil on canvas  60" x 96"

"Room With A View"  2011  acrylic on canvas over panel  18" x 18"

"Ultra-Modern"  2011  acrylic on canvas  50" x 70"

I posted some of Robert Minervini's work earlier this year (March 24, 2011). I won't add much in the way of commentary here except to note that these new pieces show less urban decay. But everything is in state of semi-construction and uncertainty is still an essential element here. Also I'd like to point out the scale of these paintings. These are big. I'd love to see them in person. If you happen to live in or near Santa Fe you might want to. He'll be showing at least some of these very pieces in a show at Eggman & Walrus Art Emporium. The show opens Friday Sept. 16 and runs through October 29.

I apologize for the recent dearth of posts. I've been on vacation and will get back to at least twice a week. Cheers.

Nick Sheehy (aka Showchicken)

"The Map and The Message"  pencil on paper, cyber colour (i.e. digital color)  2010

"Songs"  acrylic, ink and pencil on paper  2010

"Stocks"  acrylic, ink and pencil on bristol board  2010

"Tall Bird" Pencil on paper, electric rainbow paint (i.e. digital color)  2010

Moleskine Frog  2011

I feel like a dope for not having posted this work a long time ago. I guess I thought I had. Anyway I came across Nick Sheehy's work on Flickr some time early in 2010 and have been a fan ever since. His unique surrealist narrative vision begs the viewer's mind for a rich tapestry of story and myth. It's as if the mythology, the gods and heroes and queer characters that inhabit his work have always existed, we just forgot about them until Mr. Sheehy came along with the illustrations to remind us of this elaborate heritage.

After an apparent creative block he recently began doodling in his sketchbook a series of tentacle infested animal portraits that are just as engaging and promise a rich new vein of material to come.
To see more of his work go to the aforementioned Flickr page or his website: www.showchicken.com

Robert Sato

"Unearthing" 2011

"Mass Gathering" 2011

"Metal After Math" 2010

"No Touching" 2011

"Giant Down" 2011

Robert Sato is part of a new popular surrealist movement, but his work does not reflect much of what others are doing in this field. Landscape or landscape-like constructions seem to figure prominently and there is definitely an element of natural and man-made mash-ups going on. But beyond that I'm fairly at a loss for words. No matter. It's about looking and especially here, looking closely. He creates elaborate if cryptic worlds and the level of detail is an essential element. Go to his website (www.robsato.com), look at some of the detail images. You might have no idea what is going on or what you're even looking at, and you will not likely know what any of it is supposed to mean (the search for meaning in art is mostly overrated nonsense) but it's a fascinating exploration nonetheless.

thanks to the folks at www.booooooom.com for posting his work.