Hi-Fructose Magazine

This Saturday, Varnish Fine Art will celebrate 10 years as a prime destination for new contemporary art in San Francisco with a group show titled “DECADE-1.” Featuring 14 artists working in diverse disciplines, the group show will feature the work of Christian Rex van Minnen, Ransom & Mitchell, Jennybird Alcantara, Isabel Samaras, Robert Bowen, Victor Castillo, Chris Mars, Lee Harvey Roswell, Ron Garrigues, Brian Goggin, Jessica Joslin, Lucien Shapiro, Rob Reger and Chuck Sperry. Between Alacantara’s whimsical paintings, Ransom & Mitchell’s otherworldy photo illustrations and Jessica Joslin’s delicate-looking sculptures, “DECADE-1″ will cover vast aesthetic ground. Take a look at a preview of the show below and check out the show April 20 – May 18.

MORE: http://hifructose.com/2013/04/18/preview-decade-1-anniversary-group-show-at-varnish-fine-art/

Since we introduced Russian artist Ivan Solyaev on our blog in 2011, the artist has created some beautifully nightmarish artworks that continue his exploration of haunting silhouettes. While sticking to a mostly monochromatic palette, Solyaev has produced some works in color — perhaps a glimpse into his mutant world in daylight. The monochromatic works glow with an X-Ray-like contrast that illuminates the contours of the amorphous organic forms. Take a look at the new work below, images courtesy of Ivan Solyaev.

Japanese artist Marefumi Komura creates textured, expressive portraits with an arresting presence. With their faces obscured and mouths agape, the subjects appear in states of agony — Komura’s loose, generous brushstrokes make them appear disfigured or swathed in gauze or fabric. This style stems from Komura’s reaction to the 2011 earthquake and nuclear disaster in Japan, when the artist visited the devasted areas and saw the destruction firsthand. Take a look at some of the paintings below, images courtesy of Marefumi Komura.

Photographer Rik Garrett created a fleshy body of work entitled Symbiosis. This series explores ideas of companionship, love, and the interaction between two people existing in a close physical relationship. To create these symbiotic images the artist applied flesh tone acrylic paint directly to the surface of the intimately small photographs.

Continuing his exploration of vice and cruelty through a naive guise, Victor Castillo(featured in Hi-Fructose Vol. 23) will open a new solo show at Los Angeles’ Merry Karnowsky Gallery on February 2. Titled “Under Heavy Measures,” the new body of work features paintings on canvas, paintings on paper and fiberglass sculptures. Castillo explores social injustice and political strife in his work through a cast of storybook-like characters that appear at once sinister and childlike. For this new series, he utilizes a bubblegum-colored palette that illuminates the dark content of his work as well as his painstaking painting process that involves aggregating hundreds of layers of color to create the illusion of depth. Take a look at our preview of the show below, images courtesy of Merry Karnowsky Gallery.  MORE: http://hifructose.com/2013/01/31/preview-victor-castillos-under-heavy-measures-at-merry-karnowsky-gallery/

Anton Marrast is a Russian illustrator and digital artist from Barcelona, Spain. His series entitled Slow Story is filled with dynamic graphic illustrations of one-eyed youthful characters making their way through intriguing and often evocative narratives. Marrast’s work is largely based on his own personal stories. For his digital work he uses Photoshop on his personal laptop otherwise he can be found drawing on paper using pens and markers, something he has been doing since a young child.