CATASTROPHE
cover image by Keren Segev
CATASTROPHE
CATASTROPHE By Evan Senn
The Feline creeps quietly through art and history. The history of the cat in visual arts is more understated than dogs or horses, whose presence within art often acted as a symbol of status. These companion creatures have been living alongside humans for over 4000 years. Unlike the dogs and horses constantly appearing in early Western art, however, cats cannot be taught to take orders or obey human’s desire—the cat has an untamable nature that inspires magic and mayhem.The independent spirit of the cat makes them seductive and elusive. They are a perfect muse for creative thinkers, writers, musicians and artists. The wild nature of the feline gives insight into the tumultuous relationship between cat and human. At times throughout art history, the cat has been elevated to that of a god or deity, while at other times it has been cast down and subjected to unimaginable cruelty as a supposed demon or sorcerer’s apprentice. In “CATASTROPHE,” we invited artists to explore and investigate this stormy relationship between cat and human. This exhibition aims to go beyond the devoted representation of felines as domesticated companions, and rather explores their role as muse and inspiration. ”CATASTROPHE” is a contemporary investigation of the pertinent presence of the cat in our artistic lives.
“CATASTROPHE” August 16 through September 13, 2014
Nicole Bruckman
Was There Ever A Cat So Clever Nicole Bruckman 9” x 12” Acrylic on Panel $375
Nicole Bruckman is an artist, curator, mother, and animal advocate from Cleveland, Ohio. Embracing her passion for art at a very young age, Nicole went on to receive her BFA in illustration from the Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio. After graduation Nicole began work as a freelance illustrator and designer. Deciding to further pursue her love for painting, Nicole moved to Los Angeles, and began showing her art as well as curating shows at various prominent Los Angeles galleries. Nicole is currently art director at Flower Pepper Gallery in Pasadena, CA. Compelled by her life’s passions, Nicole’s paintings are inspired by the bond that exists between humans and animals. She creates enchanting and whimsical narratives in which human and animal characters coexist in fantastic and engaging settings. Wild exotic creatures and domesticated animals alike are the guides on a sublimely surreal journey through an endless nocturne. They live in a seemingly utopian realm, in which humans are conscious of the bond between our world and the kingdom of Animalia. These works are created in the hopes that this world may one day exist, and we may recognize and respect the value in all living beings. All of the pieces are acrylic on wood panel.
www.nicolebruckman.com
Cristina Burns
Cristina Burns was born in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain (1982), at an early age she moved to Italy with her family. She began her artistic career basing her research on the study of colors, on the world of toys and on hyper contemporary materials. Among her works are Still Life, Portrait and Landscape seen through a Pop Oniric vision that characterize much of her photography, where kaleidoscopic images and enchanted microcosms are elements that affect and stimulate the subconscious of the viewer. She currently lives and works in Naples, Italy, immersed in a world of candies, little monsters, and toys. Cristina’s work has been published in Vogue Italia, Panorama, L’ Espresso Napoletano, and exhibited across Europe.
Meow Cristina Burns High quality print on fine art paper 50x70 cm, 19,5 x 27,5 inches $600
www.cristinaburns.com
CAT CULT
Cat Cult is a collective of artists who are based in Los Angeles, California. Its participants create work both individually and under the singular identity of Cat Cult, displaying work in galleries as well as on the streets. Cat Cult embraces a variety of mediums, including printmaking, illustration, photography, painting, sewing, and graphic design. From trickster characters to divining spiritual guides, cats have been used throughout history to represent important figures within ancient fables and myths in cultures and societies across the globe. Cat Cult embraces these multidimensional identities that the cat embodies and plays upon these iconic ideas in playful and ironic ways throughout the urban environment.
www.thecatcult.com
Stink Eye Cat Cult Ailk screen and acrylic on wood 24x36” $1000
Jessica and Lucifer Cat Cult Silver gelatin print, framed 16x20” $300
Grumpy Cat Cat Cult Intaglio 9x12” $600
Jennie Cotterill
Jennie Cotterill is an artist and musician based in Southern California. After leaving the Midwest in 2001, she received her BFA and MFA in Illustration from California State University, Long Beach. Her art draws inspiration from swap meets, cartoons and astro physics. Jennie has developed a vastly diverse professional artistic resume and continues to seek out unfamiliar territory. She has worked in television, apparel, animation, community outreach, and taught Drawing and Illustration at Long Beach State. When she is not making art, Jennie writes music with other girls (and sometimes alone).
The Best You Can Get Jennie Cotterill Acrylic, wood, glitter, foam, paper, light fixture 18x18x13� $500
www.jenniecotterill.com
Jessica Fife
Truth is found in the wilderness. My foundation is secured in a tradition of portrait painting, that I learned at Cal State University Long Beach. This is manifested by such technical process and sensitive attention I lavish on the anatomy, expression and the detail of light, as it hits a figure. My vocabulary and unique style blossomed in my graduate program at Cal State University Fullerton. My work is an amalgamation of both Surrealism and Symbolism. I love to create visual metaphors for and about my subjects. I also want to morph those figures and scenes to create my own uber-reality. Art should also be uncompromisingly honest, especially from the artist’s perspective, or it will ultimately suffer, lacking both originality and depth. I strive my work to be a synergy of new creations and young innovations. A collection of the ‘classic,’ reinterpreted with a modern narrative. Simultaneously vulnerable and invincible, sacred and profane.
Errant Device Jessica Fife 11X14X1.5 Oil on Canvas $800
www.jessicafife.com
JOSHR
JOSHR is a Southern California artist and musician who grew up skateboarding, listening to punk rock, and watching way too many cartoons. His artwork is a direct result of his bad behavior. JOSHR has a background in street art and primarily works in spray paint and acrylic. Once in a blue moon he posts his work at dangoldjoshr.tumblr.com.
Cat Party JOSHR Spray paint and acrylic 14x14� $150
Haunted Euth
Mess with the ****y, Get the Claws Haunted Euth Acrylic and enamel on wood panel 18x24” $600
Haunted Euth is a notorious Los Angeles based painter and print maker known for a vast array of visual works, many of which are public installations and landmarks well known around the city in which he resides. “Dreamland Summer” marks the debut of the first half of his pieces in a new body of work “Basically Obsessed” and features hand painted wood panels that focus on new patterns the artist is creating based on items and objects from his personal life, whether it be pizza and knives or pills and coffee.
www.hauntedeuth.com
Seth Hawkins
Seth Hawkins is a passionate and abstract surrealist sculptor, inventive curator and inspired arts writer/critic. Working to create a more beautiful world, Hawkins experiments with furniture and interior design. Currently residing in Los Angeles, Seth works as the Exhibition Designer for UC Riverside’s ARTSblock Museum.
sahawkins.com
Vibrissae Seth Hawkins Stock frame and gold coated wire 18x25x12� $250
Micol Hebron Feminists with Cats (2014) Micol Hebron Crowd-sourced collage, inkjet print 48x48� $1000 (unframed)
Micol Hebron is an interdisciplinary artist and is an Assistant Professor at Chapman University. She is the founder of the LA Art Girls, the (former) co-founder of the artist collective The Elizabeths, and a contributing editor at X-TRA Magazine. She lives and works in Los Angeles, where she is represented by Jancar Gallery. Her latest project was featured on the cover of Artillery Magazine in March 2014.
www.micolhebvron.com
Jonathan Martinez
My name is Jonathan Martinez. I’m 23 years old and I was raised in Santa Ana. I didn’t start making art until I was 18 years old. I have 4 years drawing and 3 years painting. I knew from the beginning I had to work hard, and fine my own style, so I pushed myself to draw every day. It has definitely paid off. My works consist of mixed media drawings and acrylic paintings. My subject matter revolves around endangered/threatened species of wildlife. I have been working with animals for the past two years. It was supposed to be just a series of endangered species of paintings, but the more I would work on them, the more it felt right to me. Now, it’s what I’m focused on. I love doing it and it’s what I definitely want to keep on working on for as long as I make art. When people look at my art I want them to see the serenity, power, & beauty these animals, but also show how vulnerable they become.
Ancestry Jonathan Martinez 11”x14” (frame size: 16”x20”) Mixed Media on Toned Paper $600
www.bluecanvas.com/artoftheendangered
Chelsea Meissner
Chelsea Meissner (째1991, Long Beach) is an artist who works in a variety of media. She is a recent California State University, Fullerton Illustration graduate with a deep passion for pop culture and comic books. By focusing on illustration and the passion for telling stories, Meissner hopes to engage an audience that is delved into contemporary entertainment and issues. While she most enjoys drawing from life and creating pin-ups, she also works in environmental visual development, narrative illustration, conceptual art, and photography.
www.artbycm.com
The Gaze Chelsea Meissner 11x14� Mixed media $85
Steven Pillai Good Fortune Steven Pillai 10.5x12� Acrylic ink on paper $400
Steven is an artist and illustrator living and working in Southern California. He received his BFA in Illustration from California State University, Long Beach. His work draws inspiration from cartoons, comics, and other outlets of pop culture. He’s also a third of the zine collective Cheese Eggs and Potatoes.
www.stevenpillai.com
Ransom & Mitchell Selected as one of Lürzer’s Archive 200 Best Digital Artists Worldwide, Ransom & Mitchell is a still + motion creative team in San Francisco featuring the combined talents of director - photographer Jason Mitchell and set designer - digital artist Stacey Ransom. Our approach combines cinematic lighting with distinctive sets to create what cannot exist. We make the impossible practical. A list of upcoming events and past exhibitions are listed on our exhibitions page. Please contact us directly if you would like to discuss a commercial job, fine art commision, or to show our work. Take a look at in-depth process blog Fake Believe where we answer the question “how’d you do that?” Interviews with Stacey and Jason on their influences and process can be found at Evil Tender, Varnish Fine Art blog, Don’t Panic, and Cartwheel. A look behind the scenes as they work on set can be found at Hi-Fructose (Mike Davis and Scott Musgrove), Juxtapoz, and Cartwheel. We’ve enjoyed creating work for a number of magazines, agencies and direct clients including: Young & Rubicam, DDB Remedy, Hub Strategy, Duncan/Channon, JVST, KVP, Juxtapoz, Hi-Fructose, Decibel, Magnet, Apex, Kixeye, and The Oakland Museum of California. We’d be happy to add your name to this list.
www.ransommitchell.com
Oh Hai, Iz Dat 4 Me 2? (2013) Ransom & Mitchell Archival Pigment Print #1/20 21x25” (framed) $850
Plz Can I Haz (2013) Ransom & Mitchell Archival Pigment Print #1/20 21x25” (framed) $850
U Sed I Cud Haz (2013) Ransom & Mitchell Archival Pigment Print #1/20 21x25” (framed) $850
Night Hunt Joey Remmers 10 x 8� (oval) Charcoal and graphite $400
Joey Remmers
J R
Joey was born and raised in small town in Southern California. His interest in art began at an early age, prompting him to find creative outlets for his innate talent. At 19 years old, he began tattooing, which became both his profession and artistic medium for the next fifteen years. Following his success as a nationally recognized tattoo artist, his focus turned to illustration and painting. Joey now works as both an illustrator and a private tattoo artist in Santa Ana, CA. “I’ve always like the idea and feel of peaceful, serene landscapes but laced with sinister, underlying themes.” Joey’s work has appeared in galleries across the United States and abroad as well as on the covers of several Literary Journals, books and magazines. Clients include Sony, Fender Guitars and Ohio State University. Remmers creates a series of compelling visual narratives to create timeless moments and intimate snapshots.
www.joeyremmers.com
Angela Rossi Beat Up Creations
Angela Rossi, born and bred in Los Angeles, is the artist behind Beat Up Creations. She is a self-taught, outsider artist that works with recycled, abused, broken and forgotten items creating altered antique plates, raw assemblage sculptures and mixed media portraits. “I love the idea of taking a traditionally formal piece and bringing some humor to it. It is really about revitalizing these beautiful vintage plates, altering them to be a bit more fun and contemporary.�
www.beatupcreations.com
Tommy Cat School Portrait Plate Angela Rossi Digital art printed on vintage plate 10.5” (diameter) $69
Heather School Portrait Plate Angela Rossi Digital art printed on vintage plate 11.25” (diameter) $79
Tara School Portrait Plate Angela Rossi Digital art printed on vintage plate 6.25” (diameter) $42
Keren Segev I live in Tel Aviv, Israel. A short time after receiving my first camera as a birthday present a few years ago, photography became the biggest passion in my life. I’m fascinated and inspired by photography that combines beauty, a unique point of view and interesting lighting – all that while invoking a strong emotional impact. I try to challenge myself and improve my photography skills while experimenting with almost any aspect of photography. I love to travel and explore the beauty of nature and light using my camera. The Little Model is an ongoing experimental photography project that I’m working on, using household materials and dolls as my models. The project was featured in a few photography magazines around the world.
Phillip Keren Segev Archival pigment print on photo paper, framed 22x28” $600
www.kerensegev.com
John Sollom John M. Sollom, a resident of La Mirada, California, captures contemporary culture in fine art like no other. Graduated from California State University, Long Beach in 1990, Sollom has been a full time artist since then. His resume of gallery shows in Southern California is extensive, as is the momentum of his collectors. His influences include Elmer Bischoff, David Park, Hans Hoffman, Frank Auerbach, Larry Rivers, Rembrant, Mark Rothco, John Singer Sergeant, Manet, Rauschenberg, Van Gogh, Vuillard, Bonnard, Lucien Freud, Ed Hopper, and living artists Hagop Najarian, William Zdan, Neil Blender, Tony Bach, and Theresa Pfarr to name a few. His most recent body of work displays everyday actions paired with descriptive words or phrases. He also creates interesting assemblage pieces with found objects of daily life and relics of the past, with sections of oil paint mixed in. He currently is in a three person exhibit at AR4T in Laguna, and will be in a two person exhibit at Curbside Gallery in September.
Econoline John Sollom Assemblage 23x28x6” $1400
Sugar and Spice John Sollom Oil paint on canvas 20x20” $600
Cat Fight John Sollom Oil paint on wood panel 11x14” $450
Tina St. Claire (TFail)
TS Claire is a self-taught native Los Angeles painter whose work focuses on the theme of female empowerment and balances elements of portraiture, abstraction, design and screen printing. Her new body of work for “Dreamland Summer” focuses on a move toward abstraction, split narrative and indecision, that combines nature and design with pattern and surrealism.
Puscifer T.S. Claire 18x24” Acrylic on archival paper $300
tinastclaire.com
Ray Vargas
Lady Bast Ray Vargas Oil on canvas 18x24� $600
Ray Vargas was born in Los Angeles and earned his BFA from the Laguna College of Art and Design in 2002. A storyteller at heart, his work is characterized by a subtle injection of black humor, often used to rupture an otherwise mundane setting. With the canvas as his frame, he composes scenes from daily life with a surrealist slant, and it is through this playful subversion of archetypes that a conflation of disparate and innocuous images result in artwork that is insightful, witty, and arresting. Among his primary influences are the comic books of Mike Mignola and Frank Miller, the films of Ridley Scott and Robert Zemeckis, and the illustrations of Norman Rockwell and Frank Frazetta. He currently lives and works in his hometown of Boyle Heights.
www.rayvargas.com
Suzanne Walsh
Our Hearts Want What is Just Out of Reach Suzanne Walsh pyrography, wood veneer, acrylic and graphite on panel 16x12” $450
Suzanne Walsh is an artist and writer as well as gallerist (Director of saltfineart in Laguna Beach). She studied Illustration and Writing at the Savannah College of Art and Design after which she lived briefly in Boston and New York before returning to Orange County in 2006. She now lives in Santa Ana and has her studio at “Mutual Aid” located in the Santora Building in DTSA. She has shown at the Laguna Art Museum for the 2010 OC Scene, participates in various group shows and most recently started an ongoing collaboration with the jewelry gallery, Silver Blue & Gold.
ashesinorangepeels.com
EVAN SENN, CURATOR Evan Senn is an arts writer for major national publications such as KCET Artbound, Artillery, Culture, United4:Good, Laika, and has been published in many trusted journalistic sources locally and nationally. Raised in L.A. but based in Fullerton, Senn is an art consultant, artist’s rep, curator and artist’s model. www.evansenn.com
F+ Gallery is an art gallery dedicated to the development and support of an emerging arts culture in Orange County California. We support a broad range of art styles from fine art to street art. Our mission is to discover and cultivate talented up and coming artists while attracting established artists from around the world to present in our our local community. F+ Gallery also provides the following services: Artist Representation, Curating, Art Consulting, Art Classes, Framing, Interior Design, Graphic Design, Creative Marketing and Advertising, Space Rental, Event Planning, Networking Events, Photo Studio Space Rental and more. Hours: Open to the public every Third Saturday of the month in coalition with the Santiago Art District Artwalk from 7pm to 10pm. Free viewing tours are available throughout the month by request. F+ Gallery 661 North Poinsettia Street | Santa Ana, California 92701
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