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The New Contemporary Art Magazine
Mexico City artist Curiot Tlalpazotl's mythical creations call upon cultural iconography and traditional craftmaking. In recent years, the artist's work has ranged from gallery paintings to massive installations and mural work. Much of it points to Mexican culture, which the artist said he reconnected with upon moving back after living in the States. Curiot was featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 29.
The word "mythological" is often used to describe the work of Mexican artist Curiot (real name Favio Martinez). Featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 29, Curiot doesn't apply a specific myth to the images that he paints, strongly inspired by his Mexican heritage which he hopes to uphold in his art. "The mythological creatures represent the forces of nature, the energy that flows in the universe and their relationship with the world- I like to believe they come from the spirit realm," he told us.
A new exhibit opening today at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art aims to take a snap shot of the ever growing New Contemporary "school". It's class? Many will be familiar to Hi-Fructose readers: Andrew Hem (HF Vol. 21 cover artist), Curiot (Hf Vol. 29), Ekundayo (HF Vol. 9), Erik Jones (HF Vol. 27 cover artist), Kwon Kyungyup (HF Vol. 24), Natalia Fabia (HF Vol. 22), Scott Radke (Hf Vol. 6), Yoskay Yamamoto (HF Vol. 8), and Yosuke Ueno (HF Vol. 10), to name a few. The exhibition will also include an abstract installation by artist Brett Amory (HF Vol. 20). "Invisible College", which is co-curated by the museum's Josef Zimmerman and Thinkspace Gallery in Los Angeles, presents New Contemporary as a movement that is both traditionally inspired and non traditional. See more after the jump.
Based in Mexico City, Curiot (featured in HF Vol. 29) creates phantasmagoric paintings where deity-like monsters traverse the clouds. The silhouettes of tiny people floating in their wake reveal that human beings look like mere playthings in comparison. Last weekend, Curiot debuted his latest solo show, "Down the Rabbit Hole with Neon Lights," at San Francisco's FFDG, as well as a downtown mural curated by Fifty24SF, another local gallery. According to FFDG, the new paintings in Curiot's exhibition allude to the rapid pace of technology and the consequential environmental pollution. His creatures travel through a mysterious continuum to attempt to reach the "vortex of souls," only to get sucked into the past where they must confront their previous wrongdoing.
As an artist whose illustrations have natural fluidity, it's no wonder that Kelly Vivanco found herself painting water in "Peculiar Tides". Her latest solo at Thinkspace gallery has a water theme, an element that has captured our imagination for centuries. Water is a source of life and vitality, doomed disasters, bold adventure stories and some of the world's most curious mysteries. Telling its story is an undertaking felt by Vivanco's roughly 40 paintings created over 8 months, sculptures, and a narrative starring childlike heroines that vaguely resemble the artist.
In its second year, Forest for the Trees, curated by gallerist Matt Wagner and artist Gage Hamilton, brought together 20 international and local artists in Portland for a few days of mural painting intended to encourage the growth of public art in a city already known for its creative flair. Unlike other street art festivals around the world, Forest for the Trees had a notable presence of artists you wouldn't necessarily put in the street art or graffiti camps.