LOOK INTO MY OWL

Maximalist painter Steven Charles has produced an exceptional body of work for the sixth solo show of his career. It is his first exhibition with Stux Gallery in Chelsea and it is clear that they are a solid fit.

Steven Charles, High Score, acrylic on wood, 2012.

Charles does not plan his abstract canvasses. The forms are arrived at by reducing shapes to fine points. The shapes within shapes within shapes allude to the very essence of painting. Stepping in toward something unknowable is the mystery that keeps this painter dedicated to his craft.

Steven Charles, Thhipahapo, acrylic on canvas on wood, 2011.

The typical viewing distance for the larger works does not completely reveal the level of saturated color that plays on the surface. Between the heavily marked picture plane and the eye, a visual mixing occurs resulting in a sparkling shade of empyrean squant.

Steven Charles, Thhipahapo (detail), acrylic on canvas on wood, 2011.

Steven Charles is extremely nearsighted. It is the sort of thing that would seem to preclude involvement in the visual arts but there is a long history of poor eyesight in the field. Without correction, his eyes receive the world as a beautiful blur. This perspective paired with an innate desire to compensate for a natural shortcoming has left exquisite evidence of the struggle.

Steven Charles, Eyloafyo, acrylic and canvas on wood, 2011.

Steven Charles
I Don’t Know What My Life To Do With
10 May – 30 June 2012
Stux Gallery
NYC

Images courtesy of Stux Gallery.

“Liberty Chomp,” an exhibition of thirteen new reverse-painted acrylic polymer peel paintings by Aaron Johnson is set to open tomorrow at Gallery Poulsen in Copenhagen.

Aaron Johnson, Rabid Fox, acrylic on polyester knit mesh, 2012.

Days before the paintings were set to leave for Denmark, Aaron threw a very well attended studio party for his friends to see them before crating. I got in real close and took the following detail photographs from his densely layered compositions. Head over to the Poulsen Gallery website to get the big picture.

Aaron Johnson
Liberty Chomp
11 May – 9 June 2012
Gallery Poulsen
Copenhagen

Photographs: Scott Lickstein.

Multiple disciplines from the ripe mind of Kenny Scharf are currently entertaining visitors at Honor Fraser in Los Angeles.

Kenny Scharf, Elroy Vision, acrylic on canvas, 2012.

Another chapter of the ’50s future that never happened has been added to the ongoing pursuits of this artist. It’s a hyper colored account that leaves the viewer inundated in all the right ways.

Kenny Scharf, Hodgepodge, installation view, 2012.

Magnificent sculptures have been set adrift in the neutral environment. A fully customized Cadillac and grinning mushroom cloud picnic table complete the experience that Scharf establishes on the walls.

Kenny Scharf, Spamarama, oil, acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas, 2012.

The recurrence of marketing symbols and familiar characters comes from the artist’s childhood spent “just inches away” from the then newly established glow of American television. The persistent images overlapped in his young mind and are now recalled in an effluvium of brilliantly collaged compositions.

Kenny Scharf, Spicy, found objects and acrylic, 2012.

Kenny Scharf maintains studios in New York, Los Angeles and Brazil. When in South America, he combs the beaches collecting garbage that has been weathered by the elements. The sun-bleached detritus is known as “lixo” and is also the title of this body of wall hanging sculptures. Great artists are known for working with raw material that are most readily available. Scharf collects his imagery as it washes ashore or gently laps against his retinas.

Kenny Scharf, Cosmic Cavern, mixed media installation, 2012.

Visitors to the gallery will enjoy the black-lit experience of the “Cosmic Cavern.” The first incarnation of the piece dates back to 1981. Known then as the “Cosmic Closet” it was installed in a New York apartment that Scharf shared with Keith Haring. It is a transformative experience that temporarily recalibrates the eyes and forces a magical distortion in perception.

Kenny Scharf, Blablobs, oil on canvas, 2012.

“Hodgepodge” is a journey that is felt strongly when the viewer exits the gallery. Emerging from the space sets a comfort point of nostalgia that leaves an impression akin to homesickness.

Kenny Scharf
Hodgepodge
14 April – 19 May 2012
Honor Fraser
Los Angeles

Images courtesy of Honor Fraser.

Claire Oliver Gallery is currently filled with the latest mixed media paintings from Gino Rubert. It is his first solo show in the United States since 2003. I strongly urge you, if geographically possible, to see these works in person.

Gino Rubert, The Pianist, mixed media on canvas, 2012.

There is a visual hum that resonates through each of these intriguing depictions. The shifting frequencies arise from the mind trying to categorize the media in the compositions. The keen viewer, upon close inspection begins to break down the structural points. As the eye roams, a list is populated from discoveries of magnificent painting next to seamless photographic collage and yes, even that lenticular tiger bikini.

Gino Rubert, Ma Feline, mixed media on canvas, 2012.

The show has been titled, “True Love,” referring to the three points of balance that are achieved between the artist, his passion and our perception. There is truth here but it is not always decidedly pretty. In each tableau there is the comfort of a familiar face but the amenities remain delightfully out of reach.

Gino Rubert, The Inheritor, mixed media on canvas, 2012.

Gino Rubert
True Love
29 March – 28 April 2012
Claire Oliver Gallery
NYC

Images courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery.

ZieherSmith is currently hosting an exhibition of whimsical paintings and sculpture by Paul Housley. The work was created during a three month residency in New York City. “Mudpusher Blues” is his first solo show with the gallery.

Paul Housley, My Difficult Jazzhead, oil on canvas, 2012.

The heavily textured surfaces immediately demand that the viewer understand that they have happened upon painting in the modernist sense. All the power of the dynamic struggle that enlivened the era is present in these pieces. Light, form and color have collided repeatedly leaving the tastiest morsels for the visual appetite. The works have been set beautifully into box frames that present the wonderful buildup that weathers each edge.

Paul Housley, Big Mudpusher, oil on canvas, 2012.

Housley is on record as claiming that each of his paintings are just a part of one large work. He also believes the characters that he depicts are all self portraits. It is a brilliant premise, one that is difficult to argue against. Nearly all artists can see themselves in their creations. We each get to know our own faces pretty well; it is natural to have the majority of figurative perception be biased by the gaze in the mirror. These pieces do not wallow in vanity for their producer is master and slave in this world.

Paul Housley, Snoopwoody, oil on canvas, 2012.

Paul Housley
Mudpusher Blues
22 March – 21 April 2012
ZieherSmith
NYC

Images courtesy of ZieherSmith.

David Lynch last had a solo show of his artwork in New York City at the Leo Castelli Gallery in 1989. He’s back, this time at the Tilton Gallery with a lot of new mixed media pieces, some photographic manipulations, a sculpture and a short video loop.

David Lynch, Boy Lights Fire, 2012.

The large mixed media works still ring in the same tone as his previous show in California from 2009. They begin as simple stories that unfold through brilliant consideration of materials and quality craftsmanship. I was nowhere near the Pacific Coast for his last show but viewed the works as you are now, online. Examining the pieces directly in New York exponentially increased the respect that I already had for his fine art. David Lynch is not a film guy pretending to be an artist. There may be room in this world for that sort of thing but that is not what is going on here.

David Lynch, Distorted Nude 20, 2012.

There are few descriptors used to convey the attitude of his art in its many forms. Darkness, anger and pain are all simplifications that do not offer any real understanding. We meet David Lynch on the surface but the man and boy remain behind the curtain, wizarding their own Oz.

David Lynch, I See My Love, 2012.

The secret to his success as an artist lies in a fantastic misunderstanding that occurs between his intent and the perception of the viewer. The screen that connects us shimmers with context. Behind the black paint and bold distortions there is light. If you trust that it is there you see it with every blink.

David Lynch, New York City, 2012. (photo: Scott Lickstein)

David Lynch
6 March – 14 April 2012
Tilton Gallery
NYC

Images of artwork courtesy David Lynch.

The corporate styled paintings of Mba Fabrications Inc. are currently hanging at the ground floor space of the Anna Kustera Gallery in Chelsea. Attaining any of these original works of art through the gallery also entitles the purchaser to stock options in the business entity.

Mba Fabrications Inc., Leap no. 2, acrylic on wood, 2011.

Donald Ian McCaw is an entrepreneur that has set his sites on the fine art world. He sees painting as a business environment subject to the laws and margins that govern all trade in a capitalist society. The undertaking mimics the tidy structures that drive the marketplace. A number of skilled laborers are managed by a team of specialists to compose this new line of products.

Mba Fabrications Inc., DIM no. 1, acrylic on wood, 2011.

The paradoxical nature of this cold gesture toward the nature of the art world is the very spark that moves the whimsical surfaces into the category of fine art. The products themselves are by the professional, for the professional. My practical editorial response is pure encouragement. The people deserve artwork that attends to their needs.

Mba Fabrications Inc., Pills no. 2, acrylic on wood, 2011.

Mba Fabrications Inc.
Corporate
2 February – 3 March 2012
Anna Kustera Gallery
NYC

Images courtesy of Anna Kustera Gallery.