Personal favorite in the show is this stunner by Ray Caesar
A stroke of good luck came my way when I was able to see the "Art From The New World" show in Bristol, while visiting family in England. The exhibit's date had been extended due to it's popularity, bringing in lots of new visitors to the Bristol Museum.
The museum is an incredible art piece on it's own- detailed Roman castle architecture, as many of the university buildings nearby are. Easy to spend the day just checking out the scenery- arched gothic churches and medieval looking spires abound. It's a nice college town and makes a pleasant day trip by train if you happen to be in London.
Walking thru the doors, the first art attack is a huge stack of books painted on their sides- a dark bride and groom appraises you.... by Mike Stilkey.
Loved this piece, a different and original approach.
Once inside the main lobby, a wonderful angel greets you with a paint can dumped on her head, gotta love it!
This is an excellent show with an all-star line up, most with new pieces created for the show. The press for the exhibit described it as - "a big brash exhibition of the new American art scene". Many thanks and kudos to the Bristol Museum for having the balls to show this work in an environment worthy of it's vision. They gave Banksy a show a few years ago; that would have been fun to see. Only a very few American museums have stepped up and shown these artist's, the Laguna Museum of Art and the San Jose Museum of Art; maybe now some more will. Also a thanks to the Corey Helford Gallery for arranging it all.
Octopus chandaliers hover overhead, by Adam Wallacavage
Camille Rose Garcia's "Sneewitchen"
Pictured here are just a few of the best from the show. I have omitted some pieces that have been very publicized already (for example: Mark Ryden's "Snow Yak"), hoping to concentrate here on the less exposed ones and of course, some faves.
Marion Peck
Chris Anthony
Detail from Ray Caesar's "Love Letters"
Mia
Johnny Rodriguez (kmndz)
Melissa Forman
As wonderful as this show is, I can't help but dream of a "bigger and brasher" show of just the cream of the pop. An exhibit of the surreal masterpieces of the newbrow scene, the original best pieces by the best artists. Even if they have been sold, to get them all together on loan, for a show to travel thru-out the States. It could start at LACMA and then to SF MOMA and then to MOMA in New York and onward to European museums. Perhaps the art list might read- Ryden's "The Creatrix", Ron English's "Abraham-Obama", Camille Rose Garcia's "The Night Greed", Shawn Barber's "The Unsaid", Sylvia Ji's "Dona Dolorosa", Todd Schorr's "Wish Fulfillment From Another World", Isabel Samaras' "Gone Native", Brian Vivero's "EvilLast", Chet Zar's "Sallgood", Jennybird Alcantara's "Treacherous Gardens", Chris Mars's "Dichotomy", Ray Caesar's "Descent", Marion Peck's "Bouquet" or Colette Calascione's "Anarchist In Love"... I have to stop myself here, it could and should go on and on, but you get the fantasy... A show of shows so to speak, to blow that boring art world away.
Participating artists include:
JOSH AGLE (SHAG)
JASON SHAWN ALEXANDER
CHRIS ANTHONY
VAN ARNO
GARY BASEMAN
RAY CAESAR
COLIN CHRISTIAN
SAS CHRISTIAN
LUKE CHUEH
COOP
DAVE COOPER
RON ENGLISH
NATALIA FABIA
KORIN FAUGHT
SARAH FOLKMAN
MELISSA FORMAN
AJ FOSIK
CAMILLE ROSE GARCIA
MERCEDES HELNWEIN
DAVID HOCHBAUM
SYLVIA JI
ERIC JOYNER
DAVE KINSEY
KUKULA
JOE LEDBETTER
HENRY LEWIS
LOLA
TRAVIS LOUIE
MICHAEL MARARIAN
ELIZABETH MCGRATH
MIA
BRANDI MILNE
BUFF MONSTER
MICHAEL PAGE
MARION PECK
JOSHUA PETKER
CARLOS RAMOS
JOHNNY RODRIGUEZ (KMNDZ)
GRETCHEN RYAN
MARK RYDEN
TODD SCHORR
KATHY STAICO SCHORR
MIKE STILKEY
GREG SIMKINS (CRAOLA)
JOE SORREN
DAVID STOUPAKIS
ADAM WALLACAVAGE
MARTIN WITTFOOTH
KENT WILLIAMS
