Trippy magicians and warriors find themselves in an unnamed land with black skies in Martin Ontiveros’ current exhibition, “Strange and Unlovely” at Pony Club Gallery. Based in Portland, the artist and self-described metal-head (HF Collected Edition 3) has created a world of bizarre denizens throughout his painting career. Featuring new ink illustrations, mainly monochromatic, the show indulges in their fantastic strangeness. Some of them would fit right in to a surreal, post-apocalyptic action movie. In fact, one of the inspirations behind Ontiveros’ show is the film Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior. His love for sci-fi, horror and comic books is also apparent. These include twisted re-imaginings of characters from his own life like his roommate’s dog, to a destroyer named “Electro-Satanico”, a tortured soul with good intentions. The character is the centerpiece of the exhibition, recreated as a wide-grinning, larger than life installation. In a sense, it also stands as an embodiment of the artist himself, who refuses to be destroyed by whatever life throws his way. Take a look at images from “Strange and Unlovely” below, courtesy of the artist.
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We can only imagine what early explorers venturing off into the new world must have felt. Medieval maps and encyclopedic bestiaries give us some idea of the strange lands they expected to encounter, inhabited by mysterious figures and loathsome, fictitious beasts. Montreal, Canada based painter 
Though the creatures of Claudio Romo are bizarre and at times, frightening, the illustrator’s distinct linework gives each a certain elegance. The Chile-based artist has produced a number of books carrying his strange monsters and plantlife (among them, the beautifully titled “The Book of Imprudent Flora”). Through often carrying no specific timeline, his practice has also extended into the futuristic, as evidenced below.
