Cherub-like children with school girl bobs enter infernal abysses and haunted-looking forests in Akino Kondoh's drawings and paintings. The Japanese artist says she is interested in exploring the eerie feeling of deja vu that childhood memories can sometimes trigger. With their dark mood and enigmatic symbolism, her characters' surreal adventures evoke the ways our childhood fears and anxieties were once magnified in our nightmares, and perhaps still are.
Cherub-like children with school girl bobs enter infernal abysses and haunted-looking forests in Akino Kondoh’s drawings and paintings. The Japanese artist says she is interested in exploring the eerie feeling of deja vu that childhood memories can sometimes trigger. With their dark mood and enigmatic symbolism, her characters’ surreal adventures evoke the ways our childhood fears and anxieties were once magnified in our nightmares, and perhaps still are.
Redd Walitzki's fantastical paintings offers a vision of people fully engrossed into the natural world, with magical implications. In a show at Haven Gallery, "The Midsommar Dream," the artist calls upon ancient folktales and dreamlike visions. Walitzki was last mentioned on HiFructose.com here.
In a new show at Copro Gallery in Santa Monica, Chet Zar revisits the classic baddies of pop culture with the show "Villains." Just as he does in his art, the artist is able to tether his fascination with the dark and dystopic to art history. “I am interested in the villain archetype as a subject matter,” Zar tells us. “I always have been fascinated by them and I thought it would be fun to do my own take on some. Every great story has a great villain. They are just as important as the heroes. In fact, they create the opportunity for heroes. But more to the point, I just think villains are more interesting and fun to think about. I mean, which part of the Bosch’s ‘Garden of Earthly Delights’ triptych do people talk about? ‘The Garden of Eden’ or ‘The Last Judgement’? I think it’s at the core of what Dark Art is all about- dark imagery is just more fun and interesting to explore.”
Serbian artist Davor Gromilovic draws and paints fantastical scenes, mixing influences and moods with both a sense of wonder and danger. He's able to navigate all eras with an absorbing sense of detail, featuring Cro-Magnon characters and futuristic swashbucklers. All have a tinge of humor within kinetic, theatrical displays.
The cerebral paintings of Cody Seekins blend amorphous, psychedelic figures and elements of pop culture. The artist’s focus and psychological exploration within each work is not only evident in the complexity of each one, but also his accompanying narratives and context he provides when sharing a new piece.
