Artist Shout Out: Urs Fischer

Urs Fischer was born in 1973, in Zurich, Switzerland.

Artist Statement (via Whitney Biennial 2006):

Urs Fischer’s artistic practice is founded on a consideration of the nature of substances, the act of making, and the unpredictable processes that can result from combining the two. With an extraordinarily wide range of materials—Styrofoam, clay, mirrors, fruit, wax, wood, glass, paint, sawdust, and silicone, to name a few—he resuscitates art historical genres such as still lifes, nudes, portraits, and landscapes in potent sculptures that reflect the complexity, wonder, and banality of everyday life. His works reverberate with material transformation and decay as well as with poetic internal collisions and contradictions that cause his sculptures to oscillate between seeming beautiful or ugly, elegant or awkward, graceful or burdened.

See more of Fischer’s work here and here

“Noisette” – mixed medium, 2009

“A Place Called Novosibirsk” – aluminum/epoxy resin, 2007

Artist Shout Out: Clark Goolsby

“At Rest” (detail)

“Terminus” – acrylic, spray paint & pencil on canvas, 45.5 x 36.75″

From the artist statement that accompanies Clark Goolsby‘s latest show STRANGE/LOVE which is on display through March 12 at the POVevolving Gallery:

In addition to the opaque geometric forms of his previous work, he has added a wide range of figurative elements including human forms, animals, and structures ~ all of which bare the clear identity of being created by the artists hand. While much of the paint used is acrylic, the range of materials in these recent works varies widely, including pens, pencils, markers, and spray paints. In many cases the materials now speak as direct reference to the physicality of the objects they are depicting. All around, the new work is a wonderful progression from his first show with us in 2009.

STRANGE/LOVE will be comprised of a mix of new sculptures and paintings, and for the centerpiece of the exhibition, Clark has constructed an 18ft. long skeletal figure from wood and foam that is suspended by hundreds of colored strings. This piece is the artists’ most significant work to date.

When asked about the conceptual basis for the show, Clark emailed us this as a point of departure for viewing the work: “Overall the whole show is about death and the fragility of life. I am specifically interested in how we maintain optimism in a world that is so full of potentially life ending situations. I have been using the Dead Hand (a doomsday device the Russians built during the Cold War), and many other symbols as metaphors for reflecting on these ideas…”

“Untitled” – mixed media on linen over panel, 18 x 18″

“Trophy” – acrylic, spray paint & pencil on canvas, 45 x 35.5″

See more of Goolsby’s work here

Exhibit: Neck Face “Into Darkness”

Neck Face
“Into Darkness”
October 31 – November 20, 2010
OHWOW (101 S. La Brea)
Los Angeles, CA 90036

According to OHWOW:

A homecoming of sorts for the California native, “Into Darkness” will feature Neck Face at his nastiest – meaning of course, at his best. Following up 2009′s now legendary performance-cum-exhibition in Miami, the artist sets his sights on Hollywood and brings with him the same energy and originality that has made him a cult favorite. Lock your windows and close your doors. He’s on the loose and there’s no telling what surprises he’ll have in store this Halloween.

Neck Face is an artist who manages to imbue humor into violence, locate amusement in fear, and takes pleasure in rattling nerves. His work is simultaneously sinister and grim, genuine and playful. He toys with the sacrilegious, antagonizes phobias, and triggers insecurities, all with a measure of ambivalence. His distinctive style straddles the line between reckless and deliberate, yet the work maintains a sense of immediacy, and is always provocative. Neck Face posits nightmares, prompts anxiety, and conjures the devil. In doing so, he champions the urge to laugh, rather than retract, at the discomfort felt from the true absurdity of horror. Los Angelenos beware, the artist is (now) present.

Opening reception Sunday, October 31, 2010 7pm.

Artist Shout Out: My Little Piece of Privacy by Niklas Roy

Niklas Roy‘s workshop is located in an old storefront with a big window facing the street. In an attempt to create more privacy inside, he decided to install a small but technologically savvy curtain to block people’s view. Although the curtain is smaller than the window, with the help of a surveillance camera and software system the curtain recognizes the pedestrians and with a motor attached positions itself exactly where the pedestrians move.

Artist Shout Out: Slinkachu

“Manhole Swimming” – Ravenscourt Park, London, 2006

“Split Milk”

Artist Statement:
My ‘Little People Project’ started in 2006. It involves the remodeling and painting of miniature model train set characters, which I then place and leave on the street. It is both a street art installation project and a photography project. The street-based side of my work plays with the notion of surprise and I aim to encourage city-dwellers to be more aware of their surroundings. The scenes I set up, more evident through the photography, and the titles I give these scenes aim to reflect the loneliness and melancholy of living in a big city, almost being lost and overwhelmed. But underneath this, there is always some humor. I want people to be able to empathize with the tiny people in my works.

“They’re not pets, Susan” – Primrose Hill, London, 2007

“Overpowered”

“Relics”

See more of Slinkachu’s work here