Australia-born, Los Angeles-based painter Mark Whalen is known for works that exhibit both a dark humor and vibrancy, mirroring the duality of Western living. His current show, “Around the Bend,” fills Australia’s Chalk Horse Gallery with examples of this charge, with disparate, vague figures rendered in struggle. He was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
The gallery offers insight into the thinking behind these pieces: “The exhibition sums up a contemporary anxiety, that you see not only in art but also in fashionable dressing or other activities connected to our identities. How do we on one hand speak in a language that is largely acceptable and social but at the same time stand out?”
Generally, there’s an ambiguity to the movements, struggles, and motives of his subjects, and their bright hues feel lighthearted at first glance. Yet, in works like “Tied Up,” there exists both seductive and repelling qualities. Within “Trapezoid,” there are a handful of interactions to behold, their struggles moving between sexual, subservient, and anxious vibes. The geometric patterns adds to the tension. And the material on which Whalen paints can also reflect that tension, as the ceramic “Bending Dimensions” features a battle waged on what appears to be crumpled paper, as if even the struggle itself is wrought with exploration.
Inside her workshop, Sabrina Gruss re-animates found natural materials and animal remains into eerie sculptures. The artist has said she's inspired by her own family's history and a multi-faceted view of death in her works. In terms of inspiration within fine art, she cites outsider and fringe art, as well as Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon.
Using the unexpected material of spaghetti, designer-artist Alice Pegna creates elegance and striking pieces adorning mannequins. Her series, "Ex Nihilo," features ongoing experimentation that encompasses headdresses, dresses, and objects. The strands’ rigid, uncooked form allows the artist to craft geometric designs, culminating in the bold final result seen below.
Francesco Barocco's sculptures reconsider art history through conflicting modes, pairing elegant 2-dimensional forms with malformed sculptural material that would have once held the subject's likeness. The effect is both striking and eeries, as the ancient figures appear contemplative in some works, and in agony in others.