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The New Contemporary Art Magazine
John Vochatzer
Hari & Deepti
More than 20 artists participate in the Painted Prosthetic Project, which raises money to assist homeless and wounded veterans. A gallery show, kicking off on Jan. 6, displays the works–created on prosthetic legs– before they’re auctioned off online at the end of the month. The gallery hosting the show is Arch Enemy Arts, which is based in Philadelphia. After the end of the run there, the pieces are shipped to Orlando to be auctioned off.
As the saying goes, "the best things come in small packages". Philadelphia gallery Arch Enemy Arts has challenged artists to create their smallest works to date for their annual group show, "Small Wonders". For its fourth installment in a row, "Small Wonders 4" features over 75 small pieces by artists from all over the world, including 64 Colors, Alex Garant, Brian Mashburn, Caitlin Hackett, Caitlin McCormack, Craww, Hanna Jaeun, Maria Teicher, Matthew Greskiewicz, and many more. As with previous showings, all the work is sized under 12 inches.
Hyper-realist painter Maria Teicher, featured here, likens the experience of being an artist to being in high school. As a student, she felt like an outcast who didn't quite fit in, a "loner" forced into an artificial social dynamic. Teicher explores this theme in per paintings, which portray people in powerless moments, often wrapped in "veils" that distort their faces. Her work almost stops your breath, not only for her impressive use of the oil medium, but because you can feel the moment of constriction. For her latest body of work "Here Together, So Alone" at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia, Teicher observes how we group ourselves together as humans while remaining inexplicably alone.
Canadian sculptor Troy Coulterman, first featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 27, creates colorful and surprisingly illustrative figures. Working mostly with resin and steel painted with acrylic, Coulterman's works enhance the quirkiness of every day people. For his current exhibition at Arch Enemy Arts gallery in Philadelphia, "Full Disclosure", Coulterman attaches geometric shapes to his subjects. In his show statement, he explains the meaning behind these strange appendages: "I chose these basic shapes because they are loaded with symbolism and have various meanings throughout different cultures. A triangle can represent future, truth or intellect, a circle can represent present, perfection or emotion and a square can represent past, destiny or beauty. Depending on who the viewer is these shapes can hold different meanings and that's what drew them to me.”
The bell rings, school is out for summer, but you're heading straight to the library to pick up your summer reading list. Sound familiar? The famous list was designed by American schools to keep children engaged in reading throughout the summer, including classics like "The Secret Garden", "Of Mice and Men", and "A Wrinkle in Time". Some titles have even raised concerns among parents and others that students are being exposed to material that is overly grim. For the 20 participating artists in "Summer Reading List," now on view at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia, these books are not only a part of their childhood, but continue to provide their artwork with inspiration.
Toronto-based KiSung Koh’s lifelong enchantment with the wild is evident in his entire body of work. His images (previously featured here) of realistic animals in dreamy environments, primarily in oil on wood or canvas, are painted in tribute to them. Born and raised in a small town in South Korea, Koh has been surrounded by nature from early in his life. At his website, he recalls a moment from his childhood that changed the way he looked at animals forever: "While having a nice walk, I had a chance to see a deer family very close. I can’t explain how I felt at the time because it’s unspeakable. It was just truly amazing. It’s probably easier to say that I saw not only deer, but also beautiful spirits around them." Read more after the jump.
Paul Romano presents a new series of melancholic paintings for his solo show, "Boundless," opening at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia on May 1. The works in "Boundless" examine the turns that life can take and celebrate the beauty that can emerge from dark times. "'Boundless' does have a leaning in the melancholy, contemplating ideas of oneself through tribulation and loss and then, what remains," writes Romano. "What is left is hopeful, the vastness of oneself, not defined by outside perceptions, or objects, or a place, or a relationship." His highly symbolic paintings draw from personal experiences, fantasy, and mythology alike, emerging with narratives that celebrate the triumph of the human spirit.
For their third anniversary, Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia decided to celebrate with three simultaneous exhibitions: a group show, a customization show, and a print show. The centerpiece of this trifecta is "Imaginary Menagerie: The Arch Enemy Arts Guide to Cryptozoology Vol. 1." As the long-winded title suggests, Arch Enemy Arts invited a large group of artists to create works based on their chosen mythical beasts. For many of the artists in the show — like Erika Sanada (HF Vol. 31), Naoto Hattori (HF Vol. 35), and Caitlin Hackett (HF Vol. 17) — this theme is already their specialty. "Imaginary Menagerie" opens on April 3, as well as the other two shows, "Stacked" and "Full Bleed."
Patterns dance in Nosego's paintings of morphing creatures that shed their skins to be reborn as psychedelic spirit animals. The Philadelphia-based artist pays homage to various endangered species in his work and paints them in an optimistic light. Whether in his street art or in the studio, Nosego fills his work with interlocking designs that distort his chosen animals' anatomies into something otherwordly. He remixes familiar imagery into whimsical compositions with dizzying details.
Opening this Friday, December 12, at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia, "Wait for the Moon" is a group show based on folklore and legend. Each of the artists — such as Kukula, David Seidman, Jeremy Hush, Naoto Hattori, Ranson & Mitchell and others — was assigned a Brothers Grimm fairytale to reinterpret in their work. Many of the artists chosen for the show already work with folkloric, occult imagery and the exhibition successfully captures the dark undertones of the original Grimm stories before they were watered down for mass consumption.
The forces of good and evil clash in an apocalyptic new group show, "The Fall of the Watchers," at Philadelphia's Arch Enemy Arts. The concept of the exhibit was inspired by the Book of Enoch, an ancient Jewish text that details the tale of the Watchers, angels sent to Earth and subsequently corrupted by humanity's hedonistic ways. While the work in "The Fall of the Watchers" is not overtly religious or even moralistic, artists like David Seidman, Caitlin Hackett, Chris Mars and Maria Teicher created a creeping, ominous mood reflective of the show's inspiration. The participants vary greatly in style and media — from watercolor to miniature sculpture — but their work shares an underlying tension and sense of foreboding. "The Fall of the Watchers" is on view through November 2. Take a look at some work from the show below.
Currently on view at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia, "Sight Beyond Sight" is a group show that explores an age-old human impulse: our aching desire to predict the future. The show's title evokes the idea of the third eye, which symbolizes intuition and even psychic abilities in many cultures. The works in "Sight Beyond Sight" indulge in the occult and the surreal. The featured artist in the show include Naoto Hattori, who is known for painting his dreams, 100taur, whose fantasy paintings of strange creatures apprehend more than just the future of humanity, as well as Chris Leib, Aof Smith and others. The show opened on July 11 and will be on view through August 31. Take a look at some of the artwork after the jump.
"The Fourth World" is the utopian group show at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadelphia centered around the concept of a secular paradise populated by fantastical creatures ("heaven without religion," according to the gallery). The interdisciplinary artists in the show focus on character-based 3D work. There's Erika Sanada (Hi-Fructose Vol. 31), whose dog sculptures examine animal instincts and impulses. Then there's the delicate, taxidermy-like works of Caitlin McCormack; the ornamented bone sculptures of Chris Haas; Doubleparlour's mutated creations and Adam Wallacavage's tentacled chandeliers. While the idea of "The Fourth World" hints at an idealized wonderland, there are notes of darkness in many of the works. But for a group of artists with a penchant for surrealism, there's really no other way.