Houston-based artist Ana Marietta paints and draws animals with exaggerated human features to create sympathy for her subjects. Looking at a raven with wide eyes glassy with tears, or a frowning pelican dimpled with warts, one knows the animals’ deep sorrow. The creatures appear to look outward however, suggesting their sadness comes from the environment, as opposed to any personal ailments directly. Their anthropomorphic deformities hint at something unnatural, an effect explained only by human behavior and intervention. Their expressions are not angry, but rather hopeless. This effect, along with a focus on human eyes, suggests the hybrid creatures are foreshadowed symbols of a bleak future. Viewing Ana Marietta’s insects and mice, birds and fish, one is compelled to self reflect upon his or her actions within the world and how they effect even the smallest members of the animal kingdom.
Henry Gunderson's new solo show at Derek Eller Gallery, titled "It's a Great Time to be Alive," explores how an “image-saturated culture” is deeply embedding itself into our psyches. Running through Feb. 2 at the New York City space, the show features a self-portrait of the painter, “It’s Hard to See from Where I’m Standing," seen below.
An initial encounter with the work of 
