Thinkspace Presents KIKYZ1313 “The Progeny of Chaos”

KIKYZ1313

Thinkspace is pleased to present The Progeny of Chaos, a solo exhibition of work by KIKYZ1313 in the gallery’s project room. Laura Lucía Ferrer Zamudio was born in Querétaro, Mexico, and creates beautifully intricate ink, graphite, and watercolor works on paper. From beneath the initially alluring, and understated, first impression of the works, emerge unexpected oppositions and abject tensions. Studies in the afflicted wretchedness of humanity, her work is neither despondent nor obviously gory, but rather presents an aestheticized nightmare of sublime abhorrence; ambiguously gorgeous despite its agonizing discomfort.

With an obsessive attention to detail and figurative rendering, KIKYZ1313’s works are realistically executed and recall traditional techniques of late 19th-centurybook illustration and engraving. Her palettes are muted and tempered, understated with delicate washes of ink and watercolor, and her compositions are balanced and paced, posturing as romantic and idyllic scenes of placid children and animals. Seemingly innocent at first glance, the works gradually unfurl, revealing unexpected mutations, abject subversions, and a diseased world of horrors.

KIKYZ1313

Filled with children’s bodies in various states of decay, decomposition and malformation, her works challenge the viewers’ initial expectations of the imagery, while tapping into the basic human fear of the body’s disobedience – especially the dread of its dissolute boundaries. The children remain dreamily calm and picturesque despite their compromised states of disfigurement, trauma and accost. KIKYZ1313 intentionally creates these tensions, encouraging the viewer to approach the content critically and analytically, questioning the validity of their initial impressions. A sort of moral chaos presents itself, when faced with images of children in unexpected states of disturbance. Exquisite and repulsive, the conflict of viewing is inexpressibly complex.

KIKYZ1313 received a BFA from the Universidad Autónoma de Querétaro, and had her first solo exhibition at the Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro. She has completed an artist residency at the Nordic Watercolor Museum in Skärhamn, Sweden.

Join us on Saturday, April 2nd from 6 – 9pm for the opening reception of “Progeny of Chaos” showing new works by KIKYZ1313. The exhibition will be on view through April 23rd.

THINKSPACE AT SCOPE NEW YORK 2016 | Brian M. Viveros and Group Show

SCOPE BV

Thinkspace at SCOPE NEW YORK this coming March 3 – March 6

Look for Thinkspace at Booth B1 featuring a solo show from Brian M. Viveros
We’ll also be exhibiting new works from:

Alex Yanes
Brian Mashburn
Bumblebeelovesyou
Cinta Vidal
David Cooley
Drew Leshko
Dulk
Isaac Cordal
James Bullough
Jean Labourdette (aka Turf One)
Jolene Lai
KiSung Koh
Mina Hamada
Nosego
Sean Mahan
Sergio Garcia
Seth Armstrong
Zosen

Fearless

Brian M. Viveros ‘Fearless’ – oil and acrylic on maple board

Thinkspace is pleased to be returning to New York City next week for the 16th edition of SCOPE New York which will be returning to its location one block from the Armory Show Piers at Metropolitan West Pavilion. We will be featuring a solo show from Brian M. Viveros along with various works from our Thinkspace Family this coming March. This special presentation of new work is Viveros’ first on the East Coast since 2012. The past year has been a significant one for the artist, following Viveros’ hugely popular and sold out exhibition with the gallery in November 2015, Matador, and the launch of his first art book The Dirtyland; the 216 page, full color monograph surveys 18 years of Viveros’ work, and is the first publication released by Thinkspace Editions. This dedicated project at Scope will offer East Coast and international fans alike a chance to access brand new, never-before-seen works by the artist.

Cleopatra Forever

Brian M. Viveros ‘Cleopatra Forever’ – oil and acrylic on maple board

The mini-solo show will include phenomenal new paintings and charcoal drawings, some of Viveros’ very best and most accomplished to date. Gorgeously detailed, the saturated paintings continue the use of meticulous patterning, figurative hyperrealism, texture, and prop detail that Viveros had channeled throughout his last show Matador.Alongside these paintings are a series of new charcoal works on paper executed in a much looser and more gestural rendering style.The level of depth and minutiae in the work is greater than ever, as his signature no holds barred vixens haunt from incredibly complete surfaces. With new palettes and contrasting color combinations that include everything from deep plums and teal blues to cobalts and his signature crimsons, Viveros’ Dirtyland continues to stake its claim as an undeniably seductive empire…ruled by smoking hot sovereigns.

Cinta Vidal

Cinta Vidal ‘Connected and Disconnected’ – acrylic on wood panel

SCOPE New York’s convenient and well-appointed venue will host 60 international galleries and a focused schedule of special events, performances and talks to complement its new open-plan exhibition format. The first fair to run concurrent with The Armory Show, SCOPE New York’s spirit of innovation has consistently forged the way for emerging artists and galleries. Attuned to nuances in the market and itself an influential force in the cultural sphere, SCOPE continues to usher in a new vision of the contemporary art fair.

David Cooley

David Cooley ‘Festooned’ – acrylic and resin on wood panel

Located at:

SCOPE
639 W 46th St (between 11th & 12th Avenues)
New York, NY 10036

Schedule:

Platinum First View: Thursday | Mar 3 | 2PM – 4PM
VIP | Press Preview: Thursday | Mar 3 | 4PM – 6PM
Thursday | Mar 3 | 6PM – 10PM
Friday | Mar 4 | 11AM – 8PM
Saturday | Mar 5 | 11AM – 8PM
Sunday | Mar 6 | 11AM – 8PM

Tickets and full details can be found at www.scope-art.com

Sean Mahan

Sean Mahan ‘The Continuous Thread’ – acrylic on wood panel

Arrested Motion’s Preview of New Work from Brian Viveros for Scope NY

Arrested Motion - Scope Preview

Want more Viveros? Arrested Motion has a great preview of new work from Brian Viveros for Scope NY opening this Thursday, March 3. Please visit the Thinkspace website  for additional information regarding Scope and Arrested Motion for additional Viveros images.

His first showing on the East Coast since 2012 will include new paintings and charcoal drawings that continues to take his Dirtyland imagery to the next level like his last show in Los Angeles with the attention to detail, cross pollinations of themes, and fresh palette. – Arrested Motion

Brian Viveros Preview

Preview of Brian Viveros’ New Work for Scope NY up on Hi-Fructose

HI Fructose

A man or machine, we ask ourselves this as less than six months later Brian Viveros is at it again with a new body of work for Scope NY. You will find a vibrant preview of the show up on Hi-Fructose.com now, Viveros playing with a new color palette and pushing the details in his work.

The helmet represents strength to Viveros who flips the roles previously given to men in traditional portraiture, and replaces them with tough women. – Hi-Fructose

Brian Viveros

Interview with Rodrigo Luff for Upcoming Exhibition “Nemeta”

interview with Luff

Coming to Thinkspace Gallery’s project room February 27th is new work from artist Rodrigo Luff in his latest exhibition, Nemeta. Luff works with color pencil, pastel, graphite, oil, and acrylic, and has honed his illustrative skills alongside his facility with painting media. His works are both linear and painterly, realistic and expressionistic. He explores a feeling of the otherworldly by capturing his subjects in trance-like dream states, suspended mysteriously in fairytale atmospheres. His nudes are often surrounded by kindly owls or other iridescent woodland creatures, and staged in forests or haunted woods.

Sour Harvest’s interview with Rodrigo Luff covers the inspiration behind “Nemeta”, a day in the studio, and who he’d invite to a dinner party among other fun questions.

Could you tell us about the inspiration behind the upcoming exhibition? How long have you be preparing for the show?
I’m interested in the way we have always sought a connection to the natural world, and how that liminal, mysterious and wild realm reflects those uncharted dimensions within our psyche.
I’ve been working on this show on and off since mid 2014, so it’s been a long journey.

Who are your artistic influences and a few artists you think people should know about?
My biggest influences are Alphonse Mucha, John W. Waterhouse, John S. Sargent, Moebius, Luis Falero, Hayao Miyazaki and Herbert Draper.
I recommend folks check out Luis Falero and Herbert Draper for a beautiful blend of realism and mythological fantasy. I also *highly* recommend “Cannabis Works” by Tatsuyuki Tanaka.

Guardian Rodrigo Luff

You really experiment with pigment mediums and layering to create a desired effect in your work, can you elaborate on a time an experiment failed and another when it was successful?
Yeah this one time I was layering acrylic washes and pencil rendering and it just got too heavy and dark, and the more I tried to lighten it, the more the paper got ruined and completely messed up.

A few years ago, I experimented with blending water, GAC 100 medium, acrylic, iridescent media and crushed oil pastel. I slowly and carefully built up the colour layers and I was surprised at how well it all came together, despite never having tried such a combination or knowing what the hell I was doing!

How did you develop your own artistic voice and visual style, when did it click?
I developed my visual style through blending all the different styles of art I like together, along with my own experiences and ideas. It really clicked one night when I was listening intently to music and realising that all these different sounds and instruments can be harmonised through a song structure. I tried to implement the same concept in my art through the drawing “Owl Song” in ‘12 by working hard to harmonise all my influences, colours, mediums, imagery and style together into one cohesive picture.

Nemetona Rodrigo Luff

Most artists showed or have expressed creativity throughout their life, but committing to the path of a professional artist is a different story; when did you decide you wanted to be an artist and what does being an artist mean to you?
After I finished High School in ‘05, I graduated in the top 0.6% of the state with near perfect final marks. However, I had also won a full-time scholarship to go to the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney earlier that year. I knew I couldn’t do both, so I decided to really commit myself to the artist’s path, despite the pressure to go the academic route through University. To me personally, being an artist means making this commitment every day, to seek learning and improvement and to justify that choice I made after High School.

What does a day in the studio look like?
I get up at around 6-7 am, and get the train to the studio. I’ll check emails and respond on the train so I can paint as soon as I arrive at around 8 am. Strong coffee fires up my neural synapses and I try to get my most concentrated work done in the morning, despite usually posting social media updates and seeing what’s happening in the world.
I usually take a short break for lunch, and then paint as much as possible until around 9 pm. On the way home, I read a book on the train, and think about how many mistakes I made painting, feeling determined to do better the next day. I usually get home around 10-11 pm and finish any emails.

Neon Grove Rodrigo Luff

Your work is steeped in a fantasy ethereal world and could easily be the backdrop to a video game; if you were to create your own video game based on your art what would be the backstory of the protagonist and what’s their mission?
It would be a mix of Miyazaki, Avatar, Greek Mythology and dark European Fairytales. An explorer gets lost in the forest, follows mysterious green lights into a liminal realm full of neon owls that possess some kind of alien intelligence, guided by a beautiful oracle. On the other side of the portal, in the underworld, the explorer communes with the soul of the forest, an ancient tree that has been poisoned by those mining resources of the woods for profit. The explorer must undergo several trials and tribulations to find a way to save the dying forest without succumbing to the same dubious morals as those who poisoned the sacred realm.

Best advice you’ve ever received as an artist? What advice would you give someone who looked up to you?
To work hard, long hours and always try to learn and do better with each artwork. I’d pass that on to anyone who asked, it’s simple but true.

Radiant Rodrigo Luff

Your last show with us was 3 years ago, what changes have you and your work experienced?
I’ve tried to keep the same surreal blend of realism and fantasy with owls, but enrich the vision with more detailed backgrounds, more ambitious compositional choices and fresh colour schemes.

If you were to throw a dinner party and invite anyone dead or alive; who would be on the guest list, what’s on the menu, and what would be the icebreaker question?
David Bowie, Hunter S. Thompson, Caravaggio, George R. R. Martin, Jimi Hendrix, Salvador Dali and Terence McKenna. I’d say a big southern BBQ style menu would be amazing, with lots of booze. Who needs an icebreaker with Hunter to get the party started?!!

Nemeta II Rodrigo Luff

The opening reception for “Nemeta” is Saturday, February 27th from 6 -9 pm and the show is on view till March 19th. For additional information on the exhibit please visit Thinkspace Gallery’s website; if you’d like to receive a preview of the show make sure to sign up for the Thinkspace Gallery mailing list.