Mark Gleason
"Mannerism"
Daniel Lim "Sweet
IMperfections"
Danni Shinya
Luo "Chaotic Harmony"
Heather
Watts "Small
Heroes"
April 1
- April 25, 2011
Opening Reception: Friday, April 1, 8-11
pm
La Luz de Jesus Gallery
4633
Hollywood Blvd.
Los Angeles CA 90027
323-666-7667
www.laluzdejesus.com
info@laluzdejesus.com
Offical
afterparty: Friday April 1, 11 pm - TAIX Restruant in Echo Park featuring The
Dick and Jane Family Orchestra - Free
admission!
Mark Gleason -
"Mannerism"
In
"Mannerism," Mark Gleason continues to
use Mannerist techniques with oil on canvas to explore existential themes via
absurdist situations. Animals are often included to define aspects of the
relationship of a central character's orientation or connection to the world
via communion or costume in psychologically fraught, private environments.
Gleason's subjects are shown in moments of preparation and conflict -- his
figures have roles to assume, and in doing so, a form of inner self is
revealed. His metaphoric images may seem cryptic but represent the
underdog and the disenfranchised deriving fearsome capability from the mask of
the powerful; figures communing with animals, or donning the guise of animals,
holding knives out like some kind of animal self-protection stance or the
Sisyphean struggle of attempting to lift books when you're standing on
them.
"Hopefully, my wit comes through in
each painting. I would feel successful if I could convey the same kind of
absurd humor found in Samuel Beckett's writing. The imagery is a construct that
has multiple meanings and layers and I leave blanks for the viewers to fill in.
I've come to see that others bring their own stories and feelings to the work.
I've intentionally fostered that kind of response with recent work, and I'm
honored and challenged in creating something that may spark others to open
their own responses to the work. I resonate to a statement by Degas to the
effect that art is not what you see, but what you make others see." states
Gleason, whose work is also inspired by novelist Cormac McCarthy and silent
film star Buster Keaton.
In addition to painting,
Mark teaches high school art in Palo Alto, California and writes a daily music
blog, "what do we have for
entertainment". This is Gleason's second featured exhibition at La
Luz de Jesus Gallery. www.markgleason.net
Daniel Lim - "Sweet
IMperfections"
Fawn Fruits aka Daniel Hyun
Lim relishes the spontaneity of the art and moves things as he goes
with colored pencils and acrylics. His works are somewhat timeless with a
striking juxtaposition of muted versus vibrant hues. The colors are an anchor
to reality and are a huge factor to the symbolic message that he is telling.
"Somewhere over the colors of the rainbow there lies a significantly beautiful
truth, a truth that can only be realized with an intimate encounter.
"Sweet IMperfections" is an artistic interpretation of a
promise between the creation and his/her creator" states the artist. Rather
than forcefully preaching to the viewer with religious imagery and symbolism,
Lim brings new life to the genre by producing work that is based on his
personal views on religion. "Although we see ourselves as imperfect souls, in
the eyes of a loved one, we are perfect" states Lim who feels that there are
enough serious paintings in the world that shout and make big statements. He
wants his work to be more subtle and speak peacefully to the viewer and to
bring a moment of tranquility. His dream is to show the world some love, one
Fawn Fruits at a time. Lim is an illustration instructor at Otis college of Art
and Design, Santa Monica College and Red Engine Studios. www.fawnfruits.com
Danni Shinya Luo - "Chaotic
Harmony"
Danni
Shinya Luo's female forms breathe with a sensuality and intuition that
will shatter your preconceptions about her chosen medium, the watercolor
painting. Shinya's fluid and organic figures are full of feminine mystery and
romance. Her colorful animals are magnificently fierce, emanating a primal
magnetism that is practically pheremonic. In "Chaotic Harmony,"
using whimsical and subtly erotic figures, the interactions of human beings with
their avatars from the animal kingdom convey modern psychological truths while
relating age-old mythologies. The concept of this new collection is birthed from
the artist's own internal world; her past experiences are transformed into
physical creatures, textures and color palettes. The subtextural inclusion of
archetypal symbolism is never forced nor heavy-handed, but further enriches the
central, "surface" view with allegorical depth -a reward for those willing to
investigate just a bit further...
Originally from Shanghai, China,
Danni Shinya Luo moved to California in 1995. She fell in love with art in
grade school and after a few years of private study (and an apprenticeship with
Chinese watercolor master, Ding Ha) was accepted into Art Center College of
Design in Pasadena, where she majored in illustration and graduated with honor
in 2006. Quickly transitioning from recent-art-school-student to
next-big-thing, Shinya participated in key group shows, select solo
exhibitions, and saw her work published in periodicals like Bust and
Initiativa, books like Eye Candy and
Sugar & Spice, as well as design projects like
Nickelodeon's Neopets and a line of toy dolls for
Hasbro.. In the year that has passed since her last featured
exhibition, "Spiritual Deficiencies," Shinya has published a
now sold-out collected volume of her gallery exhibited work, "Breaking the
Ice." She also helped develop the re-branding of Marvel Comics' signature
female mutant "X-23" (providing the cover art for the first three issues).
Later this year, her second book, "Soft Candy: The Art of Danni Shinya Luo,"
will be released through seminal art publisher Last Gasp Books, featuring a
collection of 200 full color pages of brand-new drawings and paintings. www.dshinya.blogspot.com
Heather Watts - "Small Heroes"
Suffused with pessimistic shadows and redemptive
illumination, Canadian pop-surrealist painter Heather Watts'
intricate paintings harness the pageantry of anthropomorphic heroes and martyrs
to tell the story of individuals grappling with forces larger than
themselves."Some of the pieces for this show are quite dark thematically, but
I'm not interested on focusing on the darkness for its own sake in my work, I'm
interested on using it to show light, to paint darkness as something that
reveals light, to see the darkness as a canvas for light, an opportunity for
light to shine" states the
artist.
Watts, who is well-known for her past tiki-inspired paintings
has exhibited works in galleries across the US and overseas, including La Luz de
Jesus, Strychnin, The Shooting Gallery, M Modern, and Roq la Rue among others.
She is a self-taught painter with a Bachelors Degree in Asian Area Studies from
the University of British Columbia www.heatherwatts.com
Official Opening Afterparty with
The Dick and Jane Family
Orchestra
11:00 pm - Free admission!
Taix
Resturant
1911 Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90026
(213) 484-1265
www.taixfrench.com
In celebration of this show and La Luz de Jesus' out-of-town
guests, Heather Watts (Vancouver, BC) and Mark Gleason (Palo Alto, CA)
there is an official after-party in the bar at
TAIX, a
beautiful French restaurant, established in 1927, just a short drive from the
gallery on Sunset Blvd in Echo Park
. The Dick and Jane Family
Orchestra features vocalist Jane Cantillon, her husband Richard Ross on
guitar, Percussionist Michael Pfeffer and La Luz de Jesus publicist, Lee Joseph
on bass and play a hybrid of urban garage folk. The band starts at 11:30