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The New Contemporary Art Magazine
Many a Grimm Brothers tale can be unraveled to find disturbing characters, stark truths, and other less-than-pleasant — and definitely not kid-friendly — themes. It’s one thing to discover these wicked twists and another to bring them to life. In his “Modern Grimm” series, Björn Griesbach illustrates his own interpretations of tales like “Cinderella” and “Sleeping Beauty.” In a modern setting, the characters from these tales become manipulative, sociopathic, and disturbed.
Whimsy, humor and fantasy collide in the sculpture of Beijing artist Wang Ruilin. Some pieces are realistic reproductions of animals’ bodies while others manipulate these bodies to create an unexpected effects. His “Horse Play” series feel especially humorous. The horses have expressive eyes and tuck in their necks almost petulantly. In one piece, horses pile on top of each other into a pyramid; at the top a horse stands with his head cocked to one side. Wang highlights each flesh fold on these horses, making their sculptural bodies seem lively.
All that should look solid melts right off in the compositions of Alessandro Ripane. Many of his characters have a mass of dripping liquid with plants protruding in all directions in lieu of real faces. Other figures sprout plants from their limbs while their gleaming white bones peek through. Yet these morbid compositions manage to keep a whimsical twist; in some, giant pink ice cream cones drip heavily. Genoa-born Ripane remembers collecting comic books and volumes on wild animals, a habit that definitely informs his strange imagery. Each vignette gives the sensation that the viewer is walking in on the strange characters. A couple cuddling becomes a strange mass of plants, melting parts and mangled flesh. But not all is lost: Ripane makes sure to let one of the figures keep his socks and shoes on. Part Surrealism, part satire and all visceral, Ripane's works leave few parts intact but offer plenty of visual gems.
With a decidedly Victorian twist, Olex Oleole puts together images that don’t quite fit together. A phonograph emerges from a heart while what look like animals behinds are sliced off and held together by two strings. Eventually, themes begin to emerge. A Nike logo appears over a cryptic figure with the snarky title Throw caution to the wind and just do it. Another shows a woman’s head turned into a vintage camera with the words Maybe you should consider keeping your selfies to yourself? Each piece feels surreal even while it looks familiar. The juxtaposition of human and machine or modern logo and mysterious character feels like a puzzle waiting to be solved. Once you put the pieces together — mostly with the help of each biting title — the other little details make the joke that much funnier. The conflation of time works just right, as the men and women in Victorian dress remind us of the age-old folies of vanity, consumption and more.
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.
Austrian-born Stefan Zsaitsits creates intricately-detailed and deranged works with a sense of humor. Take for instance “Puppet,” an uncommon portrait of fairytale icon Pinocchio — half of his sweet face is scratched off with harsh dark lines. His wooden arm seems worn and his one bulging eye shows a mix of fear and sadness. Other anonymous figures seem to come from sort of equally distorted children’s tale. If you line up Zsaitsits’s quirky characters in a row — a little boy with a still-feathered chicken in mouth, a Magritte-like figure with no face except glasses and a floating ear — they look like clues to a larger narrative where it seems things went comically wrong. The artist’s paintings look more somber and eerie in contrast with many severed body parts and depressing scenes. No matter the medium, the artist creates intriguing scenes that entice the viewer even while threatening to turn them away with unsettling details.
An initial encounter with the work of Ben Sanders might leave the viewer perplexed. Are they retro digitally painted screen savers? Are they just stickers on a sheet of paper? Through expert color choices and impressively crisp lines, Sanders creates paintings that trick the eye. His acrylic and oil works sometimes even look photographic. There is definitely something decidedly vintage and even cartoon-like about the works, most of which revolve around food.
Self-taught photographer Jon Jacobsen creates portraits that feel like the stuff of beautiful nightmares. In fact, he operates on the idea that reality and fantasy might not be so far from each other as we think. His portraits and self-portraits reflect the fragility of human nature and many works echo the symbolic language and dark beauty of memento mori pieces. The colorful, swirling lines that emanate from his subjects seem to hint at another person or personality. What could look like a placid, somewhat Classical portrait becomes disturbing and distorted. It's hard to tell whether the subjects are rotting away or actually transforming into their true shape.