Brian Leo
dal 17/3/2010 al 1/5/2010
Segnalato da
17/3/2010
Brian Leo
Leo Kesting Gallery, New York
This Air is Full. The exhibition questions the media's role in terror, lies and false propaganda. Viewers are invited into the provocative realm of "garage-pop surrealism" examining everything from environmental destruction to tabloid sex scandals. Seduced by a stunning barrage of popular imagery, viewers quickly uncover haunting messages hidden just beneath the surface.
Brian Leo’s latest exhibition, This Air is Full, questions the media’s role in terror, lies and false propaganda. Viewers are invited into the provocative realm of "garage-pop surrealism" examining everything from environmental destruction to tabloid sex scandals. In Brian’s world, nothing is off limits and things are never what they seem.
Seduced by a stunning barrage of popular imagery, viewers quickly uncover haunting messages hidden just beneath the surface. In Cliche (mixed media, 72 x 60, 2010), a terrorized image of a polar bear can be seen with the word cliché on its head amongst an abstraction of modern warfare as a symbol of environmental disaster. With Nobel Peace Prize (mixed media, 72 x 60, 2010), Leo examines the irony of both the Prize’s origins and Obama’s premature reception of it through masturbatory gesture. In Tiger’s Speech, (mixed media, 24 x 24, 2010), an image of a tiger’s head is seen among a golf course in the distant background with the words "Is it a Crime to Love Pussy" in the foreground. Each candy-coated image sets the stage for Brian’s most salacious exhibition yet.
"The Snoopy house found in the center of the installation with a set of phalluses resembling the Twin Towers is a symbolic reference to the foreclosure financial crisis. In these hard times, even childhood icons are forced to leave their homes," states gallerist David Kesting
Brian Leo has exhibited in Tokyo, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles, and galleries throughout New York City. He was also noted in the July 29, 2007 issue of the NY Times and the April 2006 Brooklyn Rail Armory Review. He holds a B.F.A. from Rutgers University/ Mason Gross School of Arts.
Leo Kesting Gallery launched in 2003 and developed an aggressive campaign to introduce new figurative artists to collectors and art supporters. Leo Kesting offers the art viewing public an opportunity to see forthcoming talents in an intimate setting where undiscovered, cutting-edge artists are presented to the contemporary art scene.
Image: Toilet, mixed media on canvas, 8" x 6", 2010
Leo Kesting Gallery invites you to attend the opening night reception for Brian Leo’s new exhibition This Air is Full, March 18 from 7:00 to 10:00 pm.
Leo Kesting Gallery is located at 812 Washington Street at the corner of Gansevoort in Manhattan's Meat Packing District. A, C, E or L train to 8th Ave and 14th Street or 1, 2, 3 train to 14th Street.
Gallery hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 11am until 7pm.