Evolution has produced a baffling diversity of life on Earth. From zebra-striped “zelephants” to camouflaged deer, some of Pop Surrealist Ron English’s most recognizable characters are wonderfully weird and wacky alternatives to nature’s own. His evolutionary marvels populate an alternate universe in his highly anticipated 22-piece exhibition, “NeoNature” for Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles. “NeoNature examines the art of evolution, the flaw that propels civilization. The mutation of the ordinary stubbornly conjures new worlds,” English says in his show statement. Created throughout 2014 and 2015, his new paintings switch the colors and patterns of living animals like elephants, giraffes, monarch butterflies, to extinct creatures like dinosaurs- called “NeoNatural creations”. The exhibit will also feature an installation of sculptural works that will take up the majority of Corey Helford’s massive new 12,000 sq ft space. “This is a story neither God nor Darwin would have written. Only an artist would have noticed that certain types of clouds connect heaven to earth, and leaves deepen color under this cloud cover, on trees exhaling like lungs. We are the genetic result of eons of selective breeding for happiness rather than survival. Our superhero is no longer the strongman, but his conceiver, the writers and artists who elevate reptilian dreams as the beasts of our evolutionary past tromp from forests to suburban tree lines, convinced we are only their dream, yet compelled to peer into our windows.” Take a look at our preview of the show below, courtesy of Ron English.
Ron English’s “NeoNature” opens at the new Corey Helford Gallery in Los Angeles on December 12th.
Ron English, with one of the elaborate sets built to create his photo-reference for his paintings.