The Hole has a new group show, “Manscaping,” of contemporary interpretations of man’s relationship to nature and the landscape. I’ve been to The Hole’s well-curated NYC location before, but this is my first time visiting their new LA gallery on La Brea, which opened earlier this year, expanding their galleries to the West Coast. The colorful group show featuring works which explore the human impact on nature is actually curated across both the New York Bowery gallery space and the Los Angeles La Brea space. Spacious and sun lit, The Hole (on La Brea) is currently a brightly painted space. The entryway hosts a boldly pink mountainscape by Brendan Lynch on a wall covered in plastic green leaves and bathed in natural light. The presentation welcomes and transitions patrons from the dusty streets of LA into a cohesive contemporary nature themed environment.
Vibrantly neon, stylish details, and new medias such a vinyl and plastic adorn the diverse collection. Real and virtual landscapes are represented in paint, expressing a contemporary eye towards nature. For a collective show of emerging artists, there are many stand out works and the details of many are enjoyable to spend time with.
Several relief works in the collection remind the viewer of the physicality of the earth. Near the entrance a glistening bubbly cactus made of iridescent vinyl by Jon Young is on display. The voluptuous 3D relief work glistens reflected light as you move past it. Caroline Larsen’s thickly painted cityscape has so much texture that it could be made of yarn. The hefty marks are applied with oil paint in a squeeze bag, and the technique gives radiant life to their work. Every detail from the windows on houses to lush and imaginative plant-life is intimately physical.
A number of pieces in the exhibition explore themes of digital worlds and the Internet. Gao Hang’s “A global Warming Denying Tree” renders a low polygon tree in plasticky acrylic, that looks as if it’s popping off a retro computer screen. Mathew Zefeldt’s Re_S pawn II (Rollover) is a tightly worked painting of an overturned car wreck. Details such as the HUD map in the corner, as well as the title, allude to a digital landscape such as the maps of GTA or Need for Speed. Diverse in medium, technique, and philosophy the cleverly curated space reads as a unified whole.
The full show spread across both coasts contains works from Adam de Boer, Amelia Briggs, Amy Lincoln, Ant Hamlyn, Anthony Miler, Audrey Large, Botond Keresztesi, Brandon Lipchik, Brendan Lynch, Brittney Leeanne Williams, Bryant Girsch, Cara Nahaul, Caroline Larsen, Cecila Fiona Strandbygaard, Chelsea Seltzer, Dan Attoe, Daniel Andres Alcazar, Darryl Westly, Ed Ruscha, Eric Yahnker, Ena Swansea, Gabrielle Garland, Gao Hang, Grant Stoops, Henry Hudson, Hiroya Kurata, Ivan Seal, James Ulmer, Jean Nagai, Jeremy Shockley, J.J. Manford, Jochen Mühlenbrink, Jon Young, Karl Maughan, Kate Klingbeil, Kim Dorland, Krzysztof Grzybacz, Leo Park, Lisa Vlaemminck, Magda Kirk, Martina Grlic, Mathew Tom, Mathew Zefeldt, Matt Belk, Matt Murphy, Matthew F. Fisher, Matthew Hansel, Micah Ofstedahl, Natalie Birinyi, Natalie Westbrook, Nevena Prijic, Paul Corio, Philip Hinge, Rick Leong, Rosson Crow, Shara Hughes, Sholto Blisset, Taylor McKimens, Theo A. Rosenblum, Tim Gardner, and Tim Irani.
“Manscaping” is on view now until October 23rd in NYC and October 29th in Los Angeles, and it is highly recommended you stop by and see these fantastic works in person. Visit the individual artists websites and sign up for The Hole’s mailing list to stay up to date of their new exhibitions. As always, make sure to follow Sharks Eat Meat for all your art and culture news.
http://theholenyc.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment