“Gravities” is certainly an apt moniker for the works of Cinta Vidal, whose acrylic images on wood offer something to ingest at every angle. Take “Together Alone,” above, a collection of narratives that are at once harmonious and disparate. The artist has said she tries “to attach importance to every point of view, and to create more than only one outstanding scene in each painting.” Vidal was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 36, and she can be found on Instagram here.
“Gravities” runs through Aug. 13 at Thinkspace Gallery, and it’s the artist’s first solo show in the U.S. There’s something about the work of Vidal that conjures M.C. Escher for many, though closer inspection dispels more than a passing likeness. In an interview with Sour Harvest, which offers behind-the-scenes looks at shows at Thinkspace, Vidal chimed in on the comparison: “In some occasions our languages look similar, but I think there is a big difference between us, since his approach is very mathematical and mine is rather human,” she says.
True enough, as even when physical human bodies are sparse in the artist’s works and the focal point becomes a house or collection of homes, the presence of humanity is felt. Overgrown vines, antennas, window boxes, and hung clothing absorb the viewer into inhabiting the many-angled structures.
Calgary-born, Los Angeles-based artist/graphic designer 
The acrylic paintings of Olan Ventura reference the still-life paintings of the Old Masters, yet take a contemporary turn in conveying what only appear to be printing errors that run hues off the canvas. While conveying “glitches” with paint can be found in the practices of contemporaries, Venture is able to navigate both ends of time in his faithful recreations.