Menu
The New Contemporary Art Magazine
The terrain in Los Angeles based artist Andrew Hem's paintings is a culmination of his imaginative view of the world. There are completely foreign and yet vaguely familiar lush and urban landscapes filled with dancing, floating, and wandering figures. You could describe them as meditative, and Hem admits that most of his images come to him when he is alone with his thoughts, sometimes while driving or traveling. We first featured Hem's works in and on the cover of Hi-Fructose Vol. 21, at a time when his subjects began to exhibit animalistic and ethereal qualities. He embraces the other-worldy qualities of his work in his current exhibition at KP Projects/MKG in Los Angeles, "Unknown Terrain."
Greg 'Craola' Simkin's childhood memories have long played an important role and inspiration for his artwork. The playfulness of being a child comes together with creatures of the natural world in his mythical landscapes. He calls this world "the Outside", a place where the impossible becomes possible, and a cast of anthropomorphized animals set out on bizarre adventures. Simkins expands on this world in his upcoming solo exhibition, "Where Am I?" at KP Project/MKG, opening Saturday.
This Saturday, Merry Karnowsky gallery will exhibit 17 new works from their roster with "Aggregate". The exhibition is part of the gallery's expansion as the KP Projects, here celebrating their collaboration with Zero+ Publishing. Curated by founder Kirk Pedersen, the show is a unique gathering that includes Andrew Hem, Edwin Ushiro, Augustine Kofie, Yumiko Kayukawa, Lisa Adams, Mercedes Helnwein, Blaine Fontana, and Dabs Myla, to name a few. Together, their paintings embody an adventurous spirit that is in tune with their editions, also on display.
Merry Karnowsky set the mood of the holiday season with their year-end exhibition, "Praeteritum Nunc Futurum" on Saturday. Outside, the weather was crisp and colored lights lit the window, while inside the gallery offered a preview of shows to come. Although wide open in theme, works by artists Craola, Travis Louie, Nicola Verlato, Andrew Hem, Lezley Saar, Todd Carpenter, devNgosha, and more compliment eachother nicely. Take a look at our photos from opening night after the jump!
Praeteritum Nunc Futurum. Translation: Past, present, and future. Tomorrow night, Merry Karnowsky gallery closes out the year with past and new works from their roster, serving as a preview of 2015. References to time can also be found, as in the Victorian subjects in Lezley Saar's piece, or Nicola Verlato's sweeping scene starring Kimbra in an old Western gone wrong. Preview after the jump!
This Saturday, Merry Karnowsky gallery will present three side by side solo shows by Los Angeles based artists Mercedes Helnwein, Kim Kimbro, and Vonn Sumner. Together, their new works are elaborate and psychologically intense, depicting dream like moments. Read more about their respective shows, "Mama Said Amen", "The Queen of Calvary", and "Gravity and Other Lies" after the jump.
Last Saturday, Merry Karnowsky looked to the La Brea Tar pits for the inspiration behind their pop-up gallery at Tarfest. Produced by LAUNCH, the event is an annual music and arts festival paying homage to Los Angeles' natural wonder, while fostering creative expression. The famous seepage has been happening for tens of thousands of years, and continues to ensnare organisms today. These unlucky flora and fauna were interpreted by artists Greg 'Craola' Simkins, Todd Carpenter, Lezley Saar, Von Sumner, and James Griffith, who used tar as his painting medium. With the pits just a few hundred feet away, their renderings merged new culture with this culturally historic spot.
Throughout art history, artists have been giving us their interpretation of the world as only they can see it. "Parallel Universe" which opened at Merry Karnowsky gallery last Saturday, presented this idea to a select group of artists- Seonna Hong, Nathan Ota, Travis Louie, Caleb Brown, DevNgosha, Hell'o Monsters and Sashie Masakatsu. Are these the images of an alternate reality or just what the rest of us can't see? Quirky, outlandish, beautiful, surreal, imaginative and a little disturbing are all words that describe their combined definition of a 'parallel universe'.
This weekend, Merry Karnowsky will celebrate the opening of two exhibitions- Lezley Saar's solo exhibition "Monad", alongside group show, "Parallel Universe." It is a combination of artists who transport us into alternate realities with their art. For her previous exhibition at Merry Karnowsky, covered here, Lezley Saar touched upon divine aspects of womanhood in a 19th century inspired installation. This concept is apparent in her show "Monad", after the Divine first being or totality of all beings. More after the jump.
On Saturday, Merry Karnowsky Gallery in Los Angeles will open highly anticipated side by side shows by Audrey Kawasaki, Tara McPherson, and Deedee Cheriel. The event marks Kawasaki’s first exhibition in over three years with the gallery, while McPherson and Cheriel previously exhibited together in 2012 (covered here), bringing a unique female perspective. Where their past showing followed a lyrical narrative, this new pairing explores themes of life and emotional experience as far reaching as the cosmos. See more after the jump!
On Saturday at Merry Karnowsky gallery, Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins fell down the rabbit hole into a dreamland championed by the “Good Knight”. His latest exhibition (previewed here) shows us a strange and beautiful world where good and evil coexists as armies of decadent animal soldiers. Simkins was inspired by the memory of his parents wishing him “good night” and the elaborate visions that would follow. Take a look at our opening night photos after the jump.