Kisung Koh’s Creatures Return in ‘Way of Life II’

Modern day mermaids, Victor Grasso's subjects are painted with accoutrements culled from the deep. One model sits in a graceful yet slouchy pose that evokes the dramatic posturing of both Renaissance portraiture and fashion editorials. A shark's jaw bones frame her face like a couture accessory that complements her ruffled gown and sheer veil. In other pieces, shiny, sinewy squid bodies make headdresses and stoles for women who, bafflingly, seem to wear them with confidence and ease. Grasso (who is self-taught, by the way) paints these characters with a photorealist quality, creating stark contrasts that evoke the reflections a bright flash causes on skin. The artist will have two new pieces featured in the group show "Size Matters," opening at New York's Arcadia Contemporary on October 16, and is currently working on a painting that will be shown at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco for the "LAX/SFO" group show curated by Thinkspace, opening on October 31.