Tanner MacLeod’s acrylic paintings create unexpected characters out of geometric forms, taking influence from primitive computer art. (The artist’s “A Noble Mustachian,” in particular, appears taken from Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” video.) Elsewhere, the polygonal arrangements create abstract works.
Tanner MacLeod’s acrylic paintings create unexpected characters out of geometric forms, taking influence from primitive computer art. (The artist’s “A Noble Mustachian,” in particular, appears taken from Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” video.) Elsewhere, the polygonal arrangements create abstract works.
The artist’s paintings currently appear at the LA Art Show, as part of Cube Modern Gallery’s booth. (The venue is located in Phoenix.) See more of MacLeod’s work below.
There’s a shapeshifting quality to the paintings Ricardo Estrada, whose subjects are physically inhabited by cultural iconography. The Los Angeles native specifically focuses on Chicano culture, whether in his murals or acrylic paintings. Each carries intricate brushwork that allows Estrada to transition between differing textures and planes of reality.
Past work from Pamela Tait, an artist based in the Scottish Highlands, seemed to focus on humans with flourishes of the fantastic. Yet over the past few years, strange creatures have appeared more and more in Tait’s work. Works like "Nobody could deny the magnetic qualities of the naked mole rat," above, may be anchored by a creature from reality, but it's surrounded by an odd array of characters. Tait was last featured on HiFructose.com here.
The flesh takes a leading role in the art of Duarte Vitória, though not always in the most expected ways. In some works, it’s the bright red lips of the subject that command attention. In others, the artist focuses on a pair of hands coming together. Things get more eerie and unsettling in compositions where the flesh is folded and speckled with red as if bloody. In one painting, a face gets sectioned off by a rope wrapped tautly around a head. Even with a half-closed eye, the subject looks straight at the viewer as if the ropes do not exist. It’s hard to tell whether the subjects feel trapped in their flesh or strangely liberated by its inescapable existence. With each strange scene — made even more intense with careful shading — the story stays unclear but the question of human mortality stays pertinent.
In Louie Cordero’s surreal and riveting paintings, the artist’s command of texture and mood sets his work apart. Cordero, hailing from the Philippines, is currently featured in a group show at Gallery Poulsen titled “Inoperative Halo,” along with painter Eric White and sculptor Jud Bergeron. (The show runs through Dec. 21 at the Copenhagen venue.)
