Sour Harvest

An interview with Anthony Pontius

Anthony Pontius currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He has taught extensively at the Des Moines Art Center, the University of Kansas, the Lawrence Arts Center and the Herron School of Art and Design. His work has been exhibited in many galleries, universities and venues nationally.

Pontius creates via a variety of mediums (mostly oils on wood panel and graphite on paper) to create his beautifully apocalyptic landscapes that bring to mind the unearthly works of the great Hieronymus Bosch. Infused with a dark whimsy all his own, Pontius’ narratives bring to mind the dark fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. His work is infused with a spirit that is hard to pinpoint, a sort of underlying frentic energy created via his intense layering technique. Beneath the smog defused glow lies a ghostly underworld not that far removed from our own, although in Anthony’s world, there is no happily ever after.

Anthony Pontius - 'ric'

Please talk a lil’ bit about the general concept behind your new series of works for “the caped cobra and his merry band of riders”?
the caped cobra and his merry band of riders are a group of humans that evolved during the end of the technological world of old in order to survive, they must coexist with nature by any means much like early human nomads. The band traverse the land searching for their long lost connections to the world as they grow the union creates their new identity the caped cobra is the elder of the group. He has reached his goal, he is the most experienced and unified. The merry band of riders represent the youth and the future of the culture. They are represented at various stages of their journeys. The entire group of paintings and drawings document all of the stages that are required for the riders to exist…there are almost 30 paintings and drawings that depict the rise of the troupe.

the caped cobra has a storybook type of surface with images that speak about the evolution of a group of techno-free beings that have a linage to modern humans…the quest shows young characters, adults and elders, all who show their search, vulnerabilities, lessons learned and their success… the show also shows the physical evolution of my painting process…i show the beginning stages, vulnerable stages, mistakes, and successes… so my method and the merry band of riders share a similar traverse…

Pontius at work

I know each piece goes through various ‘stages’ before you really dive into the image itself. Tell us a bit about your process when preparing a piece for an upcoming show.
i generally spend about a year on a body of work… i do a bunch of reading, taking photos and riding my bike… during that time i start thinking about certain topics that begin out of free associations that i have in my head… i then begin drawings based on those visions and i just let them evolve into the rational world…. from there i begin working on wood panels… i play with the first stage where i use gesso, soap and water…. i just basically “play” with the materials and let them be what they want to be… once they dry i begin working with watercolors and try to pull out a landscape or figure from what the earlier stage offers… i also start letting the watercolor to do what it wants and i also keep introducing new materials like graphite and just continue to play… i think of the characters that i drew or the associations that have been in my head for awhile and start to find them in the residue of all the experimenting in the early stages… from there i just keep balancing all aspects until i have something strong then i destroy that and rebuild until i have exhausted how the image and the techniques work together…

What/who do you consider your biggest overall influence?
Life is my main influence, i mean everything influences and fuels my work… i do not like to separate art from life because i am afraid that i may miss something and i do not want to keep within a boundary of this or that… i may not like something but it may influence me, like television. i need to be aware of it because i may feel the need to show people something that television is doing to culture … it is just the same as if i do like something, lets say Goya, i want to make sure that i do not make a Goya painting but be influenced by him because he was pissed off about war and showed its affects on his culture… i want to be a conductor and i want to allow the good and the evil be seen because that reveals the balance of the whole…

'the caped cobra and his merry band of riders' - on view through April 30th @ thinkspace

If you could stand by and watch the creation of any piece of artwork from over the years, which would it be and why?
i would love to see the entire 14 years of my time painting… i think that i would learn so much more about how and why i paint. to see an entire evolution would be like looking back at your entire life (maybe that is why the band of riders has this timeline type of presentation)… if i just looked back at one i would only be able to tap into that one place in time…and i feel that i would be robbing myself of the experience of seeing something again…

Shot of studio area during creation of 'the caped cobra...'

What’s your earliest memory involving art or creating art?
i love this question because it made me think of these drawings that i used to do when i was a kid… my baby sitter when i was in the 2nd grade was this dude named scott who was 16 and had a bitch’n camaro, he was totally the 1981 high school dude…he made me copy cars from that CARTOONS magazine… it was all downhill from there!

Having taught art extensively at various venues, please share a quick word of advice to artists about to graduate from art school?
network network network, develop a studio practice, and remember that all of the hard work is not over… it is just the beginning…

What’s your favorite thing about living in Brooklyn? Perfect day out in Brooklyn?
the variety of amazing and inspiring people that i meet , the ability to find something new just about everyday… the energy is so powerful here… perfect day out is a walk with my dog and my lady kym to our favorite place for a beer… and then off to explore the 400 plus year history of the area on my bike…

If you had an unlimited budget and time was not an issue, what grand artistic vision would you look to bring to life?
for a few years now, i have been planning a large scale panorama that would fill a room the size of a gymnasium and it would include the ceiling and ground space to bring to life a full interaction with one of my paintings… i would have 3d versions of my characters that viewers could interact with as well as the landscape… oooooh why are you tempting me?!

Shot of 'Emilio' coming to life in Pontius' Brooklyn studio

What have you got coming up in terms of shows after your solo show with us?

i am honored to participate in mark murphy’s Survey Sellect this summer in san diego
http://murphydesign1.blogspot.com/2010/03/survey-select-exhibition-71610.html

april 2011 i have a solo show @ last rites gallery - www.lastritesgallery.com

fall of 2011 i am a part of a 5 person show @ feinkunst krueger in hamburg germany – www.feinkunst-krueger.de

i have a few books slated for the end of the year as well.

Anthony Pontius
‘the caped cobra and his merry band of riders’

Opening Reception:
Fri, April 9th 7-10PM

Preview link for ‘the caped cobra and his merry band of riders’ from Anthony Pontius: http://www.thinkspacegallery.com/2010/04/works.php  

TAKING PLACE THIS FRI AT OUR NEW SPACE IN CULVER CITY:
Thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
Wed-Sat 1-6PM
#310.558.3375
www.thinkspacegallery.com

Dedicated to fostering the relationships between artists and art enthusiasts, London Miles‘ gallery director and author Tina Ziegler has brought together a great lineup of artists for her new book, Hunt & Gather: Discovering New Art. To help celebrate it’s release, she has brought together several local artists featured in the book for a very special book signing event this Saturday at Thinkspace that will coincide with the ‘Hunt & Gather’ exhibition that opens the night prior in our project room.

Taking part in the ‘Hunt & Gather: Discovering New Art’ book signing event this Sat:
Liz McGrath
Greg ‘Craola’ Simkins
Joshua Petker
Victor Castillo
Nathan Ota
Yoskay Yamamoto
Charles Wish
Edwin Ushiro
Tiffany Liu
Scott Belcastro
Plasticgod
Tanner Goldbeck
Nate Frizzell
Dave Pressler
Aaron Kraten
and author Tina Ziegler

This Saturday, April 10th 6-8PM

We will have 40 copies of the book on hand, so be sure to come by early and give yourself time to meet all of the artists and have them each sign your book… it’s going to be a great time!

Here’s Tina’s original post on the book, to see a bit more about it, on her great blog, Hunt & Gather:
http://www.huntandgatherart.com/2010/02/hunt-and-gather-discovering-new-art-its.html

AT OUR NEW CULVER CITY LOCATION:
Thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
#310.558.3375
Wed-Sat 1-6PM
www.thinkspacegallery.com

Elizabeth McGrath 'Eternal' - 12x12 - featured in 'Hunt and Gather'

In our Project Room:
‘Hunt & Gather’ – group show and book release featuring 12×12″ works from: Aaron Kraten, Andy Council, Deseo One, Carrie Ann Baade, Charles Wish, Chelsea Lewyta, Dave Pressler, Elizabeth McGrath, El Gato Chimney, Emilio Subira, J. Shea #9, Madsteez, Mr. Gauky, Plasticgod, Scott Belcastro, Scott Campbell, Scott Radke, Tanner Goldbeck, Tessar Lo, Tiffany Liu, Timothy Lee, and Victor Castillo – curated by Tina Ziegler

Opening Reception:
Fri, April 9th 7-10PM

Preview link for ‘Hunt & Gather’ group show:
http://www.thinkspacegallery.com/2010/04/project/works.php  

Jeff Ramirez 'Something Happened' - 20x26 - oil on wood panel

Also on view in our office:
‘Vision’ – group show featuring new works from Adam Caldwell, Craig ‘Skibs’ Barker, David MacDowell, Derek Gores, Jacub Gagnon, Jennifer Nehrbass, Jeff Ramirez, Josie Morway, Linnea Strid, Liz Brizzi, Pakayla Rae Biehn, Stella Im Hultberg, and Tran Nguyen

Preview link for ‘Vision’ group show:
http://www.thinkspacegallery.com/2010/04/project2/works.php  

If you are interested in any of the works from either show, or have any questions at all, please get in touch via email at contact@sourharvest.com  

IMPORTANT: Please be sure to include the best method to contact you at during the day when replying.

PLUS, DON’T FORGET, ON VIEW IN OUR MAIN GALLERY:
Anthony Pontius ‘the caped cobra and his merry band of riders’

ALL GOING DOWN AT OUR NEW SPACE IN CULVER CITY:
Thinkspace
6009 Washington Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
Wed-Sat 1-6PM
#310.558.3375
www.thinkspacegallery.com

Please note:
The Frysmith Foodtruck will be out this Friday evening, so please be sure to come hungry!
http://www.eatfrysmith.com/  

All exhibitions on view: April 9th – April 30th

Linnea Strid 'Juxtaposition' - 12x12" - Oil on panel

‘The Next Generation: A New Chapter In Contemporary Art’ – curated by Thinkspace

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 3rd, 2010

London Miles Gallery
242 Acklam Road, Studio 303
London, W10 5JJ, United Kingdom
(44) 020 317 08618
www.londonmiles.com  

Featuring 12×12” works from:
Aaron Nagel
Adam Caldwell
Allison Sommers
Amy Sol
Andy Kehoe
Anthony Clarkson
Audrey Kawasaki
Brett Amory
Bumblebee
Caia Koopman
Cherri Wood
Chris Murray
Craig “Skibs” Barker
Dabs Myla
Dan-ah Kim
David MacDowell
Derek Gores
Gaia
Jacub Gagnon
Jeff Ramirez
Jen Lobo
Jesse Hotchkiss
Joseph “2H” McSween
Josie Morway
Kelly Vivanco
Lesley Reppeteaux
Linnea Strid
Liz Brizzi
Mari Inukai
Mike Russek
Moki
Nathan DeYoung
Nouar
Pakayla Rae Biehn
Paul Barnes
Peter Taylor
Rebecca Hahn
Sarah Joncas
Seth Armstrong
Stella Im Hultberg
Timothy Karpinski
Tony Philippou
Tran Nguyen
Yosuke Ueno
& a few more TBC soon

Curated by Thinkspace Gallery
6009 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA 90232
#310.558.3375 | Wed-Sat 1-6PM or by appointment
http://www.thinkspacegallery.com

Spurlock alongside a portion of his Ron English collection

An interview with collector Morgan Spurlock

Morgan Spurlock, 39, the man who pushed himself to the brink for the filming of ‘Super Size Me’ by eating nothing else than McDonald’s for a month straight, went to the middle East to film ‘Where In The World Is Osama bin Laden?’ and put himself through a myriad of difficult situations for the FX television series ’30 Days’, finds himself with the same addiction many of us have, the need to fill every inch of his walls with the best from the new contemporary art movement. He recently wrapped up a special he did for Fox for the 20th Anniversary of The Simpsons which took him around the globe, thankfully he was able to find some time during all that to answer a few questions for me about his love for this art movement. When he’s not putting his life at risk and globetrotting about for film projects, he spends his time hunting down that next great piece for his ever-growing collection of new contemporary art. Read on to learn a bit more about how his love for art started and what fuels him to keep collecting.

The work of WK Interact

How long have you had an interest in art?
I think I’ve had an interest in art ever since I was a kid. I used to love to go to museums with my parents. Now they weren’t art aficionados or anything, but they did have a great love and appreciation for the arts: music, dance, painting, you name it. And I think they passed that love down to me.

The work of Souther Salazar

Does anyone else in your family collect or create art?
I was the youngest of three ballet dancing brothers (which, believe me, was not the coolest thing for a kid to be doing where I grew up in West Virginia). Both my brothers went on to become professional dancers and tour with companies before settling down with their families while I went in a different direction.

Office view including works from Baseman, Nouar, Musgrove, and others

Besides art, is there anything else that the collector bug in you searches out regularly?
I’m a film buff, and I love old movie posters, and while my habit has quite reached the magnitude of my art addiction, it’s still pretty bad. I just bought an amazing otiginal Italian color photolithographic halftone poster for Citizen Kane (AKA in Italy as “Quarto Potere.”) It’s incredible … and massive. It’s a two sheet that combines to form the full image and once its framed it will around 7’ x 5’. It would never fit in my house but will proudly be displayed in our new office.

With artists like Mark Ryden, Todd Schorr, Camille Rose Garcia, Shepard Fairey and The Clayton Brothers all having major retrospective museum shows in the past year or two, the future is definitely wide open for this lil’ bubble of the art world. Where do you see this genre of art (new contemporary, urban contemporary, pop surrealism, outsider, lowbrow, etc) going over the next 5-10 years?
I think you’re going to see even more of these artists getting major shows as well as the respect of the art world. Everything has shifted, and with the rise of the street artist will come even more huge break out art stars like David Choe, Ron English, WK Interact, Lori Earley, Shag, Tim Biskup, D-Zine, Swoon, Kathy Schorr, Tim Biskup, Niagara, Van Arno, Scott Musgrove, Ray Caesar, Dalek, Sas and Colin Christian, Caia Koopman, Camilla d’Errico, Esther Pearl Watson and Andy Kehoe.

The work of Josh Agle (aka Shag)

First piece purchased and when/why?
I bought a piece by Francesco Lo Castro in 2005 at a group show in NY at the Lit Gallery. I went to meet Ron English there and was blown away by all the pieces. The painting I bought was a small piece called “Surprise?!” I loved it (and it was in my budget! Something every collector should try to stay within!)

Sculpture from Ron English (with large Dave Cooper in background)

Do you have any sculpture in your collection?
No, but I have a bunch of vinyl by Ron English. I kick myself everyday that I didn’t buy the Colin Christian sculpture at that Lit show where I bought my first piece. It was way out of my range, 12k I think they wanted. Today, you can’t even smell a piece by him for that.

The work of the one and only Niagra

Favorite piece you currently own?
When I took Super Size Me to Sundance, Ron English painted a new version of MC Super Sized for our poster. It ended up being the model for all the vinyls he currently has on the market. I have the original painting hanging behind my desk and it makes me smile every time I look at that fat clown.

The work of Ray Caesar

What was your biggest score of 2009 collecting wise? Best score to date?
My best score of the year is a WK Interact piece that I got on consignment from Jonathan Levine. It’s from when he first started blending painting with prints on canvas (this one is actually mounted on wood) and is a photo print of his old girlfriend writhing in a ecstasy. It’s pretty sexy and may not be the best piece for a work environment, but until I move into a giant Andy Warhol-esque loft, that’s where its gotta live.

And my best score to date? Is probably my second favorite piece in my whole collection. I have an incredible Ray Caesar piece called “Side Saddle” that I got from his show last year at Jonathan Levine Gallery in NYC. I often find myself pausing when I walk past just to drink it in. It’s so twisted and weird and beautiful. One day I’ll be lucky enough to meet him so I can ask him about it. I think that guy is a genius.

The work of Invader

Who is at the top of your want list?
So many people. On the “I have a dream” front, I really want an original Shepherd Fairey as well as a Camille Rose Garcia. It would be amazing to get an original Banksy or Todd Schorr or Blek le Rat or Robert Williams. And who wouldn’t love to have a Mark Ryden.

If you could add any piece of artwork to your collection, from any time period, which work would that be?
Ever since I was a kid, Salvador Dali has been an inspiration to me. We had a book about him in my house and I remember sitting on the floor and thumbing through it, staring in awe at his paintings. The imagery was overwhelming to me. It was the closest thing to magic I’d ever seen. To this day he fascinates and moves me, so if I could have anything, a painting by him would be like having Houdini standing in my kitchen every day of my life.

My wife and I would love to donate our collection to some sort of establishment, be it a museum or otherwise, so that the vision remains intact. We’re really creating a snapshot in time. With this in mind, do you see yourself ever stopping buying art and supporting artists? Even if your walls fill up? You are so young, that it’s bound to happen soon, but this is an addiction as we all know. So just curious of other’s long term plans.
My walls are already filling up. My apartment, office and escape cabin in upstate New York all have the stamp and vision of so many artists on them that I can’t imagine them ever not being around. One day the walls will all be full but I can’t imagine that stopping me. There’s always someone new. Some new way of looking at the world that lights up something inside of me in ways I can’t describe and I just tell myself, “I’ll find a place for it.” There’s always mom’s house in West Virginia.

As for what will happen to my collection when I long gone, I haven’t given it a ton of thought. Right now, if I dance with worms tomorrow, it will go into a trust for my son. But who knows if he will even like the work, he’s only 2 and a half and even though he’s is surrounded by it everyday of his life, he may hate it when he gets older. (And I despise parents who try to force their passions on their kids.) I hope some of it rubs off on him, but if it doesn’t, I can always adopt.

Spurlock alongside WK Interact's Ludlow Street Door

Please name an artist that might be off many collector’s radar, but that you enjoy and would like to offer some props to.
I think Matthew Feyld is amazing. I have three of his paintings and think he’s just starting to hit his stride. I also have become a fan of girl who just graduated from the MFA program at Hunter College named Alison Blickle. Keep your eyes peeled because that girl is going places.

Thanks for taking the time Morgan! Be sure to watch for other collector interviews coming up soon.