Leon Keer’s realistic paintings toy with depth, each a startling, larger-than-life recreation. In recent gallery work, the artist’s pieces take a nostalgic, and at times, playful turn. Yet, within the oversized Matchbox car and playful Gummy bear-packed Vicodin box, there are deeper perspectives being shared. The artist’s practice includes both street work and more traditional settings.
“A message seems to be present in his work,” a statement says. “Current issues are reviewed, such as environmental concerns and the livability of this world. Leon Keer is constantly aware of the playfulness and beauty versus the degradation around him, a contrast that he expresses and amplifies in his work and which he uses as a metaphor for live. His paintings reflect his thoughts, confronting the viewer with the diseased spirit of our times, visible decay counter-pointing a timeless longing for unspoiled beauty.”
See more of his work below.
Serge Gay Jr. offers a love letter to resort city Palm Springs in his new show, "P.S. I Love You," at Voss Gallery. Bathed in sunshine and a Mid-Century Modern sensibility, the works are a stirring blend of acrylics and graphite. “Popularized in the 1930s as a fashionable getaway for the Hollywood elite, the human-built utopia has become a haven for creatives lured to the vast desert as an artistic escape and source for inspiration,” the gallery says. The show, which begins on Oct. 11, runs through Nov. 2 at the San Francisco space.