June Group Show featuring
Mark Bryan
Daniel Elson
Krystopher Sapp
Magda TrzaskiJune 5 - 28, 2009
Artist reception: Friday, June 5, 2009 ~ 8:00 -11:00 pm
LA LUZ DE JESUS GALLERY4633 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-666-7667 Fax: 323-663-0243
www.laluzdejesus.comOnline press release with images:
http://leejosephpublicity.com/show/june2009Mark Bryan "Monkeys in my Head"Mark Bryan usually begins his oil and canvas paintings with a beautiful natural landscape--although he cannot seem to leave it at that. Because of his need to make comment, he feels compelled to fill it up with depictions of absurd human activities and/or violent acts of revenge by Mother Nature. These depictions are full of symbolism, exaggeration and parody, much in the manner of political cartoons. The works in "Monkeys in my Head" bounce back and forth between serious themes and humor just for its own sake. "This time around, the serious pieces are more inward and personal in nature than my usual reflections on politics and the human condition," states Bryan. Born in Southern California during the '50s, Bryan soaked up the pop culture and angst of that era, and the paranoia and anti-war/psychedelic/spiritual movements of the '60s. In the Seventies while attending Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles (where he graduated with a Masters of Fine Arts in 1974), Bryan took up with some of the early founders of the Chicano Art movement (Los Four). They introduced him to the Mexican Muralists' work of the early 20th century and the value of their tradition of accessible work with social/political content. In more recent years, the continuing wars, terrorism and the environmental emergency have not served to change his perspective about human nature and continue to provide a never ending supply of material to work with. In spite of the disturbing nature of his topics, Bryan somehow manages to retain a sense of humor about it all. His work appears on numerous satirical and political web sites across the US and internationally. It has been featured as illustration and cover art for publications, including Juxtapoz and Adbusters magazines. Bryan has lived on the Central Coast of California for the past 33 years and tries to paint and surf as much as possible. He has a son, a granddaughter and a cat.
www.artofmarkbryan.comDaniel Elson "Filling the Spaces"After co-starring on a reality television series about torture for The History Channel in 2008, Daniel Elson has decided to turn his attention towards exhibiting his art full time. Stylistically, he draws inspiration from the nineteenth century Aesthetic movement and 1930s through 1940s animation, with hopes of achieving something universally appealing. "My current paintings are of a dark and personal nature, while my sculptures are two and one-half dimensional cute wooden characters that usually approach a tragic end" states Elson. In addition to the paintings and sculptures, Elson will be showing four small drypoint intaglios. These are prints made from drawing into copper which are limited to about ten each as the copper wears out quickly. Elson attended the Columbus College of Art and Design to pursue his childhood dream of being an animator. Spending most of his time studying academic drawing, Elson graduated in 2001 just in time to see the closure of every major traditional animation studio. Changing direction, Elson found work with the world's largest producer of Halloween props and animatronics where he created pieces for Disney, Playboy, The Tonight Show, and Rockstar Energy Drink while also designing and fabricating countless props for theme parks, zoos, and hundreds of haunted houses, internationally. Elson has created a body of deliciously unreal paintings, sculptures and toys, refining his material into a feast of details by stringing similar symbols and subject matter through his work to build a sense of change. As a student of art and a self-professed bibliophile, Elson's work absorbs an enormous amount of influence from other artists, leading Elson to plant specific details within his creations to devise "a little art history scavenger hunt for nerds."
www.danielelson.comKrystopher Sapp "The Devil's Hand Minor"Assemblage artist Kristopher Sapp likes to stay locked up in his studio and create highly detailed, dark and twisted worlds in the form of mixed media assemblage. For "The Devil's Hand Minor," Sapp has created a 14 piece show based on the Tarot's "Suit of Swords," focusing on the meanings and emotion that each card carries. While Sapp has incorporated dark elements in each piece, he also makes sure that every one is pleasing to the eye. Inspired by his favorite horror and sci-fi movies, war history books and intense nightmares, his works are cultivated from fear and molded into beauty. Sapp uses found objects and items purchased at Home Depot, the place he calls his "art supply store." By day, Sapp is a commercial artist and has created album cover, t-shirt and poster art for bands such as Demented Are Go, Meteors, Necromantics, Tiger Army, 45 Grave, Penis Flytrap, Zombie Ghost Train and many others.
www.myspace.com/krysappMagda TrzaskiMagda Trzaski's casts of animal-inspired characters are enclosed under glass in forestalled activity, as strange and newfound specimens might have been in the Victorian era. Balloons float in mid-air as tiny sculptures of gangly limbed and cracked-skinned creatures balance in limbo of attempted escape and despair. There is a looming sense of life floating away, contained momentarily within the shadow boxes. The intricate figures highlight the dark undertones in Trzaski's work which is heavily influenced by Dutch Vanitas painters, whose aim was to remind us of the inevitability of death, and the transience and vanity of earthly achievements and pleasures. "There is a theme/subtext of death, despair and escape with a dose of cynicism and self-deprecation. Even though I don't take these themes lightly, I think there's definite a sense of humor in the work," states the artist. Trzaski learned to sew at her grandfather's tailor shop, on wonderful, vintage, pedal-driven sewing machines, which is probably where her love for antiques and old things-things with history-started. She attended Wexford Collegiate, an art high school in Scarborough, where she studied photography, printmaking, life drawing and sculpture, and where her art interest grew. She studied photography and film in University, where she enjoyed the ability to experiment, attempting animated shorts ala Norman McLaren and Stan Brakhage-painting and/or scratching the film surface or gluing various materials to it. In terms of photography, she always favored still life. "The whole memento mori thing started when I discovered the early work of photographers Olivia Parker and Frederick Sommer, among others. My thesis project was a photographic quilt: it dealt with the ideas behind putting together a hope chest. During my spare time I made dolls and various creatures, without seeing the potential of incorporating them into my 'serious' work" states Trzaski, who currently lives in Toronto, ON with her miniature dachshund where, besides making her characters, she dabbles in the magic of fine art jewelry making.
www.magdatrzaski.com###
La Luz de Jesus is located at the Soap Plant/Wacko building, in Los Feliz at 4633 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Gallery hours are Monday – Wednesday: 11am – 7pm, Thursday – Saturday: 11am – 9pm and Sunday 12-6pm. For high resolution jpegs, interview requests and more information contact: Lee Joseph Publicity,
leejemail@gmail.com, p (818) 848-269, f (818) 848-2699.
--
Lee Joseph Publicity for the Visual Arts
www.leejosephpublicity.com818) 848-2698 (p) 818) 848-2699 (f)
1933 Group
Bernardo Corman
Billy Shire Fine Arts Press
Black Maria Gallery
Citizen LA Magazine
Crazy Al Evans
Diana Jacobs
Davey Jones
East of Eden
La Luz De Jesus Gallery/Press
Malleus Rock Art Lab
Heather Watts
Anthony Friedkin