Seth Armstrong
Artists Seth Armstrong and Erik Jones share a fresh sense of drama in their new works, which will debut at Thinkspace Gallery this Saturday. Seth Armstrong’s solo exhibition “The Air is Thick”, accompanied by Erik Jones’ “Color/Full”, immediately sets the tone with his cinematic oil paintings. His images of lit up sky rises, mexican wrestlers, cowboys gathered around a campfire, and nudes in a mysterious desert all make theatrical references. Armstrong’s title refers to the air of anticipation or tension he implements into each. It was late director Alfred Hitcock who once said, “There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it.” His spirit can be felt in Armstrong’s narrative, which takes us through those sky rise windows into the private lives of their denizens, as in “Dusk From the 27th Floor”. Zoom in even further, and you’ll discover a woman slipping on her “A Little Black Dress”.
“Portrait 01: Under Me is Gold” by Erik Jones
Erik Jones (HF Vol. 27 cover artist) also captures fractured moments in his new mixed media works which he calls “Dimensional Paintings”. He uniquely combines the depth of realistic portraiture with bright, dripping geometric elements. These abstract components represent the clothing of the wearer, which is shown here spilling out of the picture. In his piece titled “Portrait 01: Under Me is Gold”, this idea is also utilized to unwrap the subject’s identity, previously vague or obscured. By extending the artwork into the viewer’s three dimensional space, Jones takes on a new interest in spatial relationships. Take a look below at images from both artists, courtesy of the gallery.
Seth Armstrong:
Erik Jones:
Two solo shows kick off this weekend at 
This Thursday, October 9, 
A new exhibit opening today at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art aims to take a snap shot of the ever growing New Contemporary "school". It's class? Many will be familiar to Hi-Fructose readers: Andrew Hem (HF Vol. 21 cover artist), Curiot (Hf Vol. 29), Ekundayo (HF Vol. 9), Erik Jones (HF Vol. 27 cover artist), Kwon Kyungyup (HF Vol. 24), Natalia Fabia (HF Vol. 22), Scott Radke (Hf Vol. 6), Yoskay Yamamoto (HF Vol. 8), and Yosuke Ueno (HF Vol. 10), to name a few. The exhibition will also include an abstract installation by artist Brett Amory (HF Vol. 20). "Invisible College", which is co-curated by the museum's Josef Zimmerman and Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles, presents New Contemporary as a movement that is both traditionally inspired and non traditional. See more after the jump.
Around this time in 2005,