POSSESSED
IdolWild presents POSSESSED: A Group Art Show
Though the artist must remain master of his craft, the surface, at times raised to the highest pitch of loveliness, should transmit to the beholder the sensation which possessed the artist. – Alfred Sisley
Pop-Up curator’s, IdolWild, is pleased to present “Possessed” a group art show that touches on the obsessive behavior an artist embraces from idea to implementation. It’s the mode of focus that is depicted in their work and the overwhelming drive that makes them do what they do. Whether super-natural or not, artist’s don’t always know where their idea’s come from, but are determined to make it a reality. In collaboration with Idol Wild, artists Helen Bayly, David Young V, Miri Chais, Derek Weisberg, Casey Jex Smith, Justin Pape, Scott Greenwalt, and Micke Tong are selected with the intention of conveying their visual entities to the public in various mediums.
About The Artists
With the inspiration from old masters, Helen Bayly, illustrates and paints with intentions to capture fine art with philosophical narratives. A self-taught artist, Helen’s work was featured at Art Basel’s Aqua Art 2012 and White Walls Gallery 10th Anniversary show, San Francisco. She currently resides in Oakland, California.
Israeli artist Miri Chais believes “in the power of images to exist on their own”, contemporary images that lose their self-identity. Her work explores the modern age of technology and how it affects humanity. Chais references Japanese culture and its interaction of real and imaginary worlds through a futuristic cyber lens. Her work has been shown at the Haifa Museum of Art, Israel, and most recently in Tokyo, Japan at Satoshi Koyama Gallery.
Scott Greenwalt’s paintings capture a form of biomorphic scientific transmutations that ebb and flow in an unending cycle of renewal and demise. Greenwalt’s work is labyrinthine in detail and can be described as logical chaos. His solo show, “Phenomenal Specimens” at Los Angeles’ Weekend Space was featured in the LA Times.
Toronto based artist and designer, Justin Pape is founder of ‘We Kill You’, an online other worldly boutique. There, one can find everything from custom resin-designed monsters to t-shirts and accessories. What stands out are Pape’s intricate watercolor and ink works, which mix Shaman indigenous types with an array of colorful hues. Recently nominated for the “Designer Toy Awards 2013”, Justin Pape’s work is recognized throughout diverse art groups.
Bibles, Dungeons & Dragons manuals, Durer etchings, Agnes Martin paintings, Mormon architecture, NASA photos, The Lord of the Rings, are some of the images that are appropriated by artist, Casey Jex Smith. His is a world of fantasy, all colliding in a cohesive universe. Smith places “art, religion, and hi-geekdom on the same hierarchical strata”. His drawings can be repetitively intense, obsessive and ritualistic, giving himself the power to forge his own reality.
Los Angeles artist Micke Tong’s work finds relevance in celestial worlds, politics, paranormal and social science. A mixed media artist, his work embodies the spirit of humankind, explores the conscience and manipulates wondrous historical events to his liking. Tong’s urban landscape sculptures, “Ground Control” series, glorifies mankind’s architectural future, but the underlying narrative of pyramids defines who and what is really in control, wealth and power.
David Young V is a street icon in San Francisco. His art pasting’s can be seen in almost every district, but most active around the Tenderloin. Young V’s images depict a post-apocalypse future where cult like faces are worshipped and complex narratives are fashioned with re-appropriated objects. His show “The New Race” at San Francisco’s Whitewalls gallery could have outfitted a small militia with painted helmets and assault weapons.
New York resident, sculptor and artist Derek Weisberg works mainly with clay. His sculptures are often melancholy and burdened with feeling, which he calls, “psychological self portraits”. Weisberg’s inspirations come from human social interactions and their surrounding environments. This year The American Museum of Ceramic Art acquired his sculpture, “Sepiatone Saturdays”, exhibited at Anno Domini gallery in San Jose.
Possessed, a group art show, takes place at Keystone Fine Arts gallery, 2558 N. San Fernando Rd., Los Angeles, CA 90065. The art show will run from August 3-31, opening reception is on Aug. 3rd, from 6-10 PM and will be open to the public.
