Los Angeles-based artist Alex Gross (featured in HF Vol. 21) recently completed a series of oil paintings and mixed-media works for his upcoming show, “Future Tense,” opening October 9 at NYC’s Jonathan LeVine Gallery. His bright new works utilize realist techniques with such perfectionism that his characters more closely resemble Photoshopped models in magazines than anyone we’d encounter in real life. This glossy look adds to the impact of Gross’s underlying cultural critique. Always plugged in and connected, his characters seem far from engaged in the present moment. While they pacify themselves with smartphones and junk food, their gazes look vacant and their happiness, fleeting.
“Future Tense” will be on view at Jonathan LeVine Gallery October 9 through November 8.
Polish painter 
South African artist Linsey Levendall has a hyper-detailed style that appears at once chaotic and controlled. His work moves between surreal scenes packed with figures and objects that nearly resemble Rube Goldberg machine in their connectivity and a looser, multi-hued style that focuses on a single subject.
One of the most striking features of