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The New Contemporary Art Magazine
Hypnagogia is the barely-conscious state right before we drift off to sleep, where dreams and reality mix for a brief moment. It is also the title of Koplin Del Rio Gallery's upcoming group show in Los Angeles, showing April 11 through May 23. "Hypnagogia" features a collection of colorful, surreal works from Alex Gross (HF Vol. 21), F. Scott Hess, Josh Dorman, Mikel Glass, and Jerry Meyer. Floating specters, anthropomorphic objects, and psychedelic dreamscapes abound in this varied array of figurative paintings. Check out our preview below.
The title of DAX Gallery's upcoming exhibition "Undeniable" refers to the undeniable bond between its artists- Odd Nerdrum, Rebecca Campbell, F. Scott Hess, Luke Hillestad, David Molesky, Michael Harnish, Julio Labra, Averi Endow, and Corbin Ferguson. Whether directly or indirectly, each has influenced the other at some point during their careers. For instance, Norwegian figurative painter Odd Nerdum mentored Luke Hillestad and David Molesky separately, during their stays in Europe. Often, the subjects of each artist appear from another time and place, as in Rebecca Campbell's ethereal Ophelia or Luke Hillestad's Ancient Greek-inspired figures.
F. Scott Hess's oil paintings balance time-honored compositional techniques with a bright, saturated color palette and elements of kitsch. He directly translates the cultural symbols of American suburbia — country club dads, manicured lawns — into modern-day history paintings. Like the 18th and 19th-century depictions of great battles, his oil paintings feature multitudes of characters sprawled out across a single canvas, each person involved in his or her own activity and reacting to the situation at hand in different ways. At times, Hess plays with perspective, warping the scene as if it was distorted by a fish-eye lens or a botched panoramic photo on an iPhone. The results give viewers a chance to be voyeurs in situations that were once mundane but have become far-removed and strange.