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    Oil Paintings by Paco Pomet Brighten Vintage Scenes with Satirical Elements in Color

    
    Art
    #humor
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #satire
    #social commentary
    #surrealFebruary 10, 2022Grace Ebert“A Prequel” (2021), oil on canvas, 100 x 150 centimeters. All images © Paco PometSucceeding his series of paintings titled Beginnings, Paco Pomet’s Endings applies a similarly satirical veil to his provocative and outlandish scenarios: a cleaved camper reveals red steak marbled with fat, businessmen shake hands through an elongated finger trap, and a woman walks a hand-standing friend on a leash. The Spanish artist (previously) is known for his keen sense of wit and humor and distinct visual commentary on contemporary issues like capitalism, the degradation of the environment, and moments in American history that have global impacts. He shares in an interview:I am very interested in current affairs, but in order to fully understand today’s world, it is necessary to look back and examine historical events. The past is full of hints that can unveil the present, so in some ways, we could paraphrase that statement which says that there’s nothing new under the sun. I have always thought that subjects and themes remain the same over centuries, and that human pursuits, aspirations, and chimeras are cyclical. Nowadays, we might have different tools and ways of approaching those issues, but the important questions remain the same, even though the way they show up changes throughout the years.Often working with anachronistic scenes and symbols, Pomet depicts children of a past era sparring with glowing lightsabers in “A Prequel” and a vintage car blurring into a trail of greens and yellows in “Trip.” Each oil painting is rendered largely in neutral tones with bright, colorful elements supplying the artist’s signature dose of irony.You can explore an archive of Pomet’s surreal works and follow his latest compositions on Instagram.“Prime” (2021), oil on canvas, 38 x 46 centimeters“Rearguard” (2021), oil on canvas, 38 x 46 centimeters“The Restrainers” (2021), oil on canvas, 60 x 73 centimeters“The Last Executive Committee Meeting” (2021), oil on canvas, 130 x 150 centimeters“Amblers” (2021), oil on canvas, 73 x 60 centimeters“Apart” (2021), oil on canvas, 130 x 170 centimeters“Trip” (2021), oil on canvas, 100 x 150 centimeters“Dissident” (2021), oil on canvas, 130 x 170 centimeters
    #humor
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #satire
    #social commentary
    #surrealDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

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    Balloons, Plants, and Bubble Wrap Become Powerful Subversive Symbols in Alicia Brown’s Portraits

    
    Art
    #balloons
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #plants
    #portraitsJanuary 31, 2022Grace Ebert“Love notes from my father in a foreign land when the apple trees blossom” (2021), oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches. All photos by Daniel Perales Studio, © Alicia Brown, shared with permissionIn her new body of work What About the Men?, Jamaica-born, Sarasota-based artist Alicia Brown extracts and reenvisions elements of traditional portraiture. She recasts objects of cultural and social status, like the elaborate gowns and thick ruffled collars worn by wealthy aristocrats throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, by instead rendering her subjects in casual clothing like shorts and rubber flipflops with colorful latex balloons, plants, and plastic bubble wrap coiled around their necks.Contemporary and subversive, Brown’s oil paintings are rooted in history and a reinvented use of symbols interpreted as power, control, celebration, adaptation, and survival. She explains:As an artist from the Caribbean, Jamaica, which was colonized by Europe, presently there is still that system of classism that has its origin during slavery and colonialism in Jamaica that the natives have to navigate in order to fit into society. I have referenced the collar as an object that is European and replaced it with objects such as spoons, cotton swaps, shells, balloons, bubble wrap, and recently elements of nature. These collars adorned the neck of the models who are regular people and who are constantly going through a performance of creating an identity to gain acceptance.Derived from a photograph of a friend, family member, or neighbor, each intimate portrait is set against a lush backdrop of foliage or in domestic scenes with encroaching plant and animal life. “Through my work, I hope to convey to the viewer to look beyond their eyes and to see themselves as the person represented in the painting, to share their world, and to come to the awareness that we share so much in common, we are all connected as beings,” the artist shares.If you’re in Rochester, you can see What About the Men? through March 6 at UUU Art Collective. Otherwise, visit Brown’s site and Instagram.“The Duke of Portmore-dad’s legacy” (2022), 48 x 36 inches“The queen’s coronation” (2020), oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches“Male bird of paradise” (2021), oil on canvas, 64 x 42 inches“You look just like your father” (2021), oil on canvas“There is a race of men who do not fit in” (2021), oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches“Portrait of lady Cameal from Alva” (2020), oil on canvas, 28 x 36 inches
    #balloons
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #plants
    #portraitsDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

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    Diminutive Figures Traverse Vibrant, Post-Climate Disaster Environments by Seonna Hong

    
    Art
    #acrylic
    #climate crisis
    #identity
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #pastelJanuary 19, 2022Grace Ebert“Kid World” (2021). All images © Seonna Hong, courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permissionIn Late Bloomer, Los Angeles-based artist Seonna Hong wades into landscapes filled with amorphous swatches of color and marred by climate disaster. Her acrylic, oil, and pastel works are on view through February 5 at Hashimoto Contemporary in Los Angeles in an introspective solo show that considers her place in an ever-evolving world. Set against abstract, blurred backdrops, Hong’s distinctly rendered animals and anonymous subjects navigate distorted terrains of once-familiar architecture and natural landmarks.Many of the stylized compositions evoke traditional Korean landscapes from the Joseon period—these are known for their asymmetrical forms, vibrant brushstrokes, and skewed perspectives—that contemplate the human-nature relationship by placing miniature figures among formidable environments. “I’m a second-generation Korean American that is surprised to be making identity-based work but realizing I’ve been making it all along. I’ve spent my entire life between the push and pull of being Korean and American, never feeling quite Korean enough or American enough,” Hong writes on Instagram. “I’ve realized the inherent connection between my work and my history, a belated but cherished revelation.”“Granny Square” (2021)“In The Joseon Period” (2021)“The View From the Studio” (2021)“Sunset Stone” (2021)“Gumball Dystopia” (2021)“Like Minded” (2021)
    #acrylic
    #climate crisis
    #identity
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #pastelDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More