Chinese painter Zhang Shujian creates stylized portraits that point out the beauty in characters that may not be considered conventionally beautiful. Focusing on the skin in great detail, the artist maps out wrinkles, lines, and hairs that paint a picture of the characters’ worldly experiences. Some of Zhang’s subjects face away from the viewer, obscuring their faces with their hair and hands. Their reluctance to be seen invites us to guess at their identities and imagine what might lie beneath the surface.
Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman's "Heavy Water" brings new paintings from the surrealist to La Luz de Jesus Gallery, inspired by the substance created from tap water for nuclear energy research in the 1930s. Using oil and egg tempera on aluminum panel, the artist’s works have a particular glow, implementing centuries-old techniques for the effect. The show runs Oct. 4-27 at the space.
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Conveying elapsed time and bombastic energy, Mitchell Villa’s process involves long strokes and motions that use his entire body. The self-taught painter depicts scenes that range from Biblical allusions to horror to intimate domestic portraits. Works like the triptych "Dinner Party" show the artist’s penchant for controlled cacophony.