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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Even when taken out of narrative context, the illustrations of Nicolás Arispe captivate viewers. The Buenos Aires artist has crafted comics, books, album covers, magazine illustrations, animation storyboard, and much more. He’s known, in particular, for his anthropomorphic characters and fantastical settings, all tackling decidedly human and emotional stories.
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