Travis Louise & Christopher Conn Askew Opening Reception Saturday Nov 12th 8-11pm
MERRY KARNOWSKY GALLERY
170 S. La Brea Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90036
323.933.4408
Merry Karnowsky Gallery is proud to present a solo exhibition by New York based artist Travis Louie. A consummate story teller drawing on vintage photos from the 1800’s, Travis has ventured away from his standard fare of monster-morphed people to show you a side of equally odd humans with an affinity for Curios Pets. The underlying stories that are woven in the mind of the artist are far more expansive than the first impression of the pieces themselves and leave one to wonder who these characters are and how they got to this point in their specific journey.
The piece titled Oscar & the Truth Toad makes one inquire as to why and how this toad made Oscar finally tell the truth. As if to fully satiate the curiosity of collectors, Louie’s intricately woven stories about the characters will be displayed in the exhibition alongside the accompanying paintings.
Trained as a photographic re-toucher the technique of the artist is one of utter refinement and explicit detailing. Layers of beautifully and meticulously applied acrylic form the mystic, dreamy quality of the work. Influences from his childhood range from sci-fi magazines to odd reclusive neighbors in his hometown of New York, visually quoting films both old (1920’s) and as new as Pan’s Labyrinth. His obscure characters are always surrounded by an uncertain kind of electricity and uncertainty. Fanciful tales of odd pairings in his recent work play off the Victorian romanticism and mysticism he features with regard to religion and restraint in social values versus what goes on behind the closed doors of these misfits.
Working in a relatively small format in the past, this exhibition will feature one of the largest undertakings ever completed by Travis; a painting of 30 x 40” still filled with all of the care and finesse he is know for.
Merry Karnowsky Gallery is proud to present 96 Tears, a solo exhibition by Christopher Conn Askew. A reference to the song of the same title by ? and The Mysterians, the artist expressed that he finds a solace & familiarity in the lyrics that have two lovers often at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum never meeting in the middle. Beyond the more known interpretation of tears as sadness lies the symbol as a cleansing potion, an internal meditation and washing of the soul.
Christopher’s work is both ambiguous at moments while still rich with symbolic meaning. Often tight in its illustrative, graphic representation, as with all artists, he is ever changing.
In his current body of work, Chris has found this fluidity and a mystical side has evolved in his work. There now live flower like creatures and organically masked women with a more serene expression reflective of the artist’s meditative side. Still true to his own classic symbols, the work is filled with militaristic reference that represent a dramatic battle scene going on inside the mind of the artist and often times a reflection of the world around him. Propagandist colors speak of controlling regimes and the world of tattooing that the artist himself has emerged from. Words in Latin, Greek, Russian, English, enhance the visual mystique and hidden emotional context of the imagery; paintings rich with symbolism and characters walking a thin line between martyrdom and aggression.
