Fascinated by human folly, Vonn Sumner creates characters that appear somewhere between heroic and farcical in his paintings. These lonely figures border on ridiculousness with their ragtag costumes and armor made from trash and discarded objects. We find them solitary, frozen in attempts at knightly poses or looking downcast in disappointment at their own failures. Their gestures recall famous literary characters — such as Don Quijote — blinded by their own bravado to the point of madness. Sumner will open a solo show titled “Somewhere Else” at Los Angeles’ Merry Karnowsky Gallery this Saturday, May 18. Take a look at some of the works in the show below.
