Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine

Jim McKenzie Sculpts a World of Twisted Fairytale Characters

New York based artist Jim McKenzie, who is also an accomplished animation director, once said that his dream is to rebuild Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. His upcoming debut solo show entitled "Lost Magic" comes pretty close. Opening on June 4th at Copro Gallery in Los Angeles, McKenzie's exhibit invites viewers to enter into his surreal imagination: new paintings and hand-painted resin sculptures of fun and playful characters that recall our favorite childhood fairy tales with a twist.

New York based artist Jim McKenzie, who is also an accomplished animation director, once said that his dream is to rebuild Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. His upcoming debut solo show entitled “Lost Magic” comes pretty close. Opening on June 4th at Copro Gallery in Los Angeles, McKenzie’s exhibit invites viewers to enter into his surreal imagination: new paintings and hand-painted resin sculptures of fun and playful characters that recall our favorite childhood fairy tales with a twist.

Two years in the making, some of the wacky characters inhabiting McKenzie’s candy colored world include a magical Disney-esque scarecrow, a pink half-unicorn, half-racoon smiling with rabid delight, and even a bright blue furry caterpillar with a face modeled after the artist’s pet pug. Though highly fantastical, to the point of being ridiculous, and painted in happy colors, McKenzie’s work is riddled with an underlining darkness, depicting themes of loss and death.

“I wanted to showcase the intersection where beauty and sadness intertwine within,” McKenzie says. “I’ve chosen to create contrasting hybrids and though they have these brilliant colors and seemingly majestic qualities, ultimately, they are all outcasts. This show is for those who’ve lost touch with the magic this world has to offer and for those who still want to see it.” “Lost Magic” will be on view through June 25th, 2016.

Meta
Share
Facebook
Reddit
Pinterest
Email
Related Articles
Blending two- and three-dimensional forms, Mark Whalen creates cerebral and absurd arrangements of the human body. Whether stacking vibrant heads or using sculpted hands to sculpt the very shapes of canvases, there’s a metatextual component in tackling the act of creating art itself.
Hi-Fructose co-founder Daniel “Attaboy” Seifert offers a new collection of work in a show at Corey Helford Gallery next month. Seifert says that in creating the pieces for “Grow in the Dark,” he was “building paintings,” layering several pieces of wood into 2.5D reliefs. The show kicks off Dec. 2 and runs through Jan. 6. This collection, with themes of mortality, mutation, and rebirth, is the artist’s first show in several years.
Sculptor Sophie Prestigiacomo reflects our ongoing and tense dialogue with nature with her swamp creatures in the Marshes Nature Reserve of Séné in the Gulf of Morbihan in France. It began with two mysterious beings a few years ago, and after they departed, a recent crowdfunding campaign to bring eight total to the reserve. Or as the campaign stated (as translated from French): “more numerous, more curious and probably convinced by the first visit of their two ambassadors, there was a relationship tie with the human species.”
Troy Coulterman’s sculptures bring the sensibilities of comic book art to life. Though no direct narrative is assigned for the viewer, the characters and forms appear ripped straight from the pages of pulp and sci-fi tales. Coulterman was last featured on HiFructose.com here. Next month, the artist has a new show at Beinart Gallery, with the above piece included in the mix.

Subscribe to the Hi-Fructose Mailing List