Below the Surface @ Corey Helford Gallery

March 7, 2016

Most people in the contemporary art scene – artists, collectors, journalists, and art enthusiasts – are familiar with Corey Helford Gallery. For years, the gallery consistently presented one must-see exhibition after another, and ever since the gallery moved to its current location it has been presenting three simultaneous standout exhibitions back-to-back. Currently, Corey Helford is presenting Eric Joyner‘s solo show – “Sweet Dominion” – in the Main Gallery and Nathan James‘ “Dark Matter” in Gallery 3. If you stop by Corey Helford this month, you should definitely check both of those shows out. There are a few pieces that absolutely blow my mind. But, there is something about the group exhibition in Gallery 2 that makes it special to me. Curated by Caro Buermann and featuring 30 remarkable artists from around the world, this exhibition invites us to see beyond the shapes the artists created in the colors they utilized, and to find deeper – and sometimes darker – meanings the artists etched into their works using visual symbols we can identify if we look at their works closely enough.

Below the Surface

Exhibition Dates:
February 20 – March 19, 2016

Corey Helford Gallery

571 S Anderson St (Enter on Willow St)
Los Angeles, CA 90033
+1 (310) 287-2340
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 12 noon to 6pm

Participating Artists:
☆ Luke Chueh ☆ Sylvia Ji ☆ Chloe Early ☆ Natalie Shau (beautiful.bizarre Issue 001 cover artist) ☆
Tom Bagshaw ☆ Hikari Shimoda ☆ Redd Walitzki (Issue 004 featured artist) ☆ Yosuke Ueno ☆
Naoto Hattori (Issue 012 cover artist) ☆ Sonya Fu (Issue 011 featured artist) ☆ Lu Cong ☆
R. Leveille ☆ Hannah Yata ☆ Hirabayashi Takahiro ☆ Sarah Dolby ☆ Carlo Cane ☆ Yusk Imai ☆ Nathan James ☆ Mikael Takacs ☆ Nicole Bruckman ☆ Benjamin Garcia ☆ Adrian Cox ☆ Adam Miller ☆ Lauren Marx ☆ Katherine Melancon ☆ Yasuyo Fujibe ☆ Stephanie Inagaki ☆ Kate Zambrano ☆ Mario Soria ☆ Beth Cavener

(Above) “These Are Not Droids” by Benjamin Garcia. Acrylic on stretched linen, 44.5″ x 33″

Press Release:

“There is more than meets the eye to every great work of art. Throughout history, artists have portrayed subjects that are alluring, beautiful, even cute, at first glance – the enigmatic smile of DaVinci’s Mona Lisa, Van Gogh’s mysterious starry night skies, and Takashi Murakami’s happy sunflowers, all share a deeper, if not darker, meaning below their surface. Hidden symbols and meanings are used to either captivate the viewer’s thoughts, or draw out the artist’s intended emotion. “Below the Surface” features 30 International contemporary artists who follow in this tradition of non-representational art to create a more interesting larger image. In other words, a common thread in their works is what lies below the surface of each.”

(Above) “What Lies Beneath” by R. Leveille. Oil and gold leaf on canvas, 30″ x 24″

(Above) “Arabesque 1” by Yasuyo Fujibe. Oil and acrylic on canvas, 21″ x 21

(Above) “Life Sauce Descents” by Yosuke Ueno. Acrylic on canvas, 16″ x 22″

(Above) “The Bone War” by Adam Miller. Oil on Canvas, 78″ x 96″

(Above) “End of Summer” by Tom Bagshaw. One off digital painting on cotton rag stock,
mounted on board, embellished with acrylics, varnished, 11″ x 14″16″ x 19″ framed

(Above) “She Tried to Escape” by Michael Takacs. Acrylic on canvas, 23.5″ x 31″

(Above) “Unrequited (Reclining Hare)“, side view, by Beth Cavener. Resin infused refractory material, paint,
steel base, 14.5″ (H) x 15″ (W) x 43” (L)