Post by lastritesgallery on Feb 12, 2015 16:32:35 GMT -8
Scott G. Brooks
"Inappropriate Nature"
February 21st - April 4th, 2015
***Opening Reception Saturday, February 21st, 7 - 11pm***
The artist will be present
New York, NY (February 21, 2015) – Last Rites Gallery is pleased to present “Inappropriate Nature,” new work by Scott G. Brooks, in what will be his third solo show at the gallery. “Inappropriate Nature” is Brooks’s most ambitious series yet and has spanned several years in development. Brooks creates a world where humans, animals, and technology are in equal standing to one another. An investigation of the morals and rules humans impose on themselves and the hypocrisy surrounding these societal credos are addressed through his ubiquitous dark sense of humor and poignantly realistic topics of controversy.
An analysis of societal appropriateness is painted in stunning detail as Brooks’s quintessential figures and critters confront the often taboo and controversially received topics of sex and war. Human beings often separate themselves from other living creatures due to their more cognitively advanced brains and laws of civilization. Despite this, they still engage in their most natural and base instincts in common with the animal kingdom as a means of pleasure and survival, and they lace such acts with prejudice, hypocrisy, and social isolation.
“The work is clearly inspired by the Pre-Raphaelites, but the narrative is current and based on what I see around me - world news, politics, relationships. There’s irony in these works. Much of what is considered natural, such as nudity and sexuality, is deemed inappropriate by contemporary standards.”
In reference to his painting, Monsters of War, Brooks comments, “I’m sure it will disturb some viewers. Yet such violence is celebrated and promoted in the media and on film seemingly without consequences.”
Complex, multi-figure compositions set in lush and verdant landscapes are gorgeously rendered with rich colors and mind-blowing detail. A sense of community or, more aptly put, “herd mentality” is conveyed. “Inappropriate Nature” then contrasts this with the choice of the individual and the isolation and solitude felt for defying “convention.” Single figures appear against less adorned backgrounds and confront the viewer with their personal path and subsequent emotional turmoil. The beauty of the landscape, obvious sexuality, and seduction of the nude human form pulls the viewer into a web of controversy and pharisaism.
Brooks work is ironic. At first glance, it seems subversive and jocular. Delving deeper, important realities are exposed and questioned. Society has become desensitized and heavy with bigotry. Like Brooks’s figures with their exaggerated features, our perception and opinions are visions of distortion.
ABOUT SCOTT G. BROOKS
Originally from Flint, Michigan, Brooks attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and currently lives with his partner in Washington, DC. His subject matter ranges from portraiture to intricate narratives. In addition to exhibiting in galleries, he has illustrated several children's books and many covers for DC’s Metro Weekly. Brooks’s early influences include Mad Magazine, Disney, and Saturday morning cartoons. His work has been exhibited in LA, DC, NY, as well as internationally in Italy, Australia, and the UK. Future exhibitions include the 2016 beinArt Surrealist Show at Copro Gallery in LA.
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Jed Leiknes
“Anathema”
February 21st – April 4th, 2015
***Opening Reception Saturday, February 21st, 7 - 11pm***
The artist will be present
New York, NY (February 21st, 2015) – Last Rites Gallery is pleased to present “Anathema”, new work by Jed Leiknes, in what will be his first solo show at the gallery. “Anathema” will include 19 new paintings of the accursed, the decaying and the decomposed. Leiknes is an impasto painter who uses quick, gestural strokes to build up hue, light and composition. He paints macabre portraits of the grotesque kind laced with sinew, rot and harrowing deformities. Despite these qualities of putrefaction, Leiknes’ paintings are very alive with their sitter’s presence. Each stroke pulsates and breathes life into the rotting flesh and skeletal cadavers that star in Leiknes’ portraits.
For Anathema, Leiknes explores the effects of evil on oneself and those around them:
“Anathema is an exploration of transformative processes evil people put themselves and others through, in an attempt to become something else.”
Key figures are depicted and titled appropriately. Decomposition of the organic is ever-present as Leiknes depicts those filled with the scars and blood of their own actions or those of others. Given life, one holds the capacity to not just alter their own being, but that of others. These portraits represent the lingering curse and ephemeral temporality of all living things and their metamorphosis of evilness.
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ABOUT JED LEIKNES
Jed Leiknes is a painter and tattooer based out of northwest Wisconsin. He's been tattooing for a decade, and painting for about six years. His inspirations include Beksinski, Sienkiewicz, and Sargent to name a couple.
