There’s both an absorbing and a grotesque quality to the paintings of Mow Skwoz. Whether in acrylics or watercolors, Skwoz blends realistic skin tones with geometric abstractions and frames. Her cerebral series of “Inner Peace” works, in particular, appear as writhing and distorted characters.
The artist is currently part of the group show Conjoined Vs. Grotesque at Copro Gallery, curated by Chet Zar and Jeremy Wagner and covered on the HF blog here. As a show that celebrated “the Denizens of the Dark,” Skwoz’s stirring “Inner Peace” work feels right at home. See more of Skwoz’s work below.
Chen Fei’s sharp acrylic paintings carry dark humor and allusions to art history. The China native’s crisp linework borrows from pop art and comic book sensibilities, yet much of these references harken back to centuries-old work. And much of the work carries the artist’s own figure, rendered in both graceful and shameful situations.
Painter Rodel Tapaya ties the current social climate of the Philippines to the mythology of the past. In a recent show at 
The acrylic and mixed-media paintings of Hernan Bas carry a coming-of-age quality, pulling from varying periods. His influences, among several other mediums, have a particular consideration of “the Aesthetic and Decadent writers of the 19th century, in particular Oscar Wilde, Charles Baudelaire and Joris-Karl Huysman,” a statement says. Film, poetry, and art history itself also have an impact on his contemplative works.
Monk