When I was a kid my grandma used to have a turn of phrase that I still love and use often: “God doesn’t give with both hands.” More often than not she would use this to describe pretty people who weren’t very bright, muttered conspiratorially under her breath with a teasing elbow to the ribs. Despite my decidedly agnostic nature I love this little colloquialism and find myself repeating it often. “He’s really nice, but he doesn’t have much of a sense of humor,” my friend tells me. God doesn’t give with both hands. “I love being back in school, but I don’t have enough free time!” God doesn’t give with both hands. “This burrito is filling, but not very delicious…” God doesn’t give with both hands. And then on rare occasions, this simply isn’t true. He’s a great dancer and he volunteers at a soup kitchen on the weekends. This burrito is delicious and filling. The artwork of Alicia Escott is a perfect example of both hands giving generously. Too often artists sacrifice technique in the pursuit of high concept, or vice versa. Escott’s work is smart and markedly original on a conceptual level and exquisitely executed with masterful technique.

Escott is a San Francisco based artist, curator and environmental activist. She did her undergrad at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago and earned her MFA at California College of the Arts. Her work focuses on a recurrent theme of loss, on a personal level as well as a societal level. Much of the loss that Escott deals with is ecological: endangered species, loss of habitat, and lost battles against the ever encroaching threat of environmental devastation. She uses beautifully rendered paintings and drawings to communicate a sense of urgency about the state of the planet. Her work is intelligent, touching and at times deeply humorous, without trying too hard. Take for example the drawings she did using National Geographic articles about conservation from the 70s and 80s as source material. Escott redrew imagery from the texts tromploi el on biodegradable plastic bags to signify the lack of progress made in conservation in the past few decades. Like the efforts and ideals of past environmentalists, whose attempts at ecological redemption have sadly been eroded by the swelling tide of consumerism and short term thinking, these drawings will quickly disintegrate.

I was fortunate enough to stumble on Alicia’s work at her show at Portland’s SEA Change Gallery, which is a must see gallery for me on First Thursdays. Last month the gallery hosted her exhibit Last night, again, you were in my dreams…. a collection of conceptual paintings and installations. In the series Escott painted animals on plastic sheeting, which she installed in the gallery filled with lifelike volume, and often accompanied by photographs of the painted animals in their “natural environment.” Though the work was obviously meant to be both critical and conscientious, the absurdity of it often caused me to laugh out loud, an element of levity that served the work well, as it was overall quite sad to see the majestic animals juxtaposed with quotes about species loss. One of my favorite pieces was a highly detailed painting of a pelican done on a Barney’s New York bag. The title of the piece sums it up quite well: Drawing of a California Brown Pelican on a Barneys plastic garment bag. The California Brown Pelicans currently being considered for removal from the Endangered Species Act after thirty years of protection allowed populations to rebound. This is a documentation of the drawn bird’s reintroduction into its natural habitat after having achieved couture status via Barneys New York.

Alicia Escott is certainly one to watch. An almost implausible blend of intelligence, wit, vision and candor, her talent and dedication to her practice only seem to be growing. In a recent undertaking, while living at an artist residency where leakage caused her windows to be covered in plastic, Escott endeavored to paint the plastic sheeting with a composition of what the view would look like from the nearby Bishop Pine Preserve if the house were not there. With enviable painting technique, and an expansive, forward thinking imagination, Alicia Escott is a talent on the rise.

If you are in New York City, tomorrow, Thursday September 2nd don’t miss out on an opportunity to get some beautiful pieces by some of the top urban contemporary artists including Shepard Fairey, Reuben Rude, Dave Kinsey while still helping out a wonderful cost. The benefit which will be at Chacala is curated by New York curator, Frankie Velez and is organized by Art Asylum Boston. Check out their flyer below.

Lisa Kowalski’s love of painting is evident the moment you set eyes on one of her dynamic, succinct compositions. Reminiscent of Abstract Expressionism at it’s best, Kowalski seems to share her own intimate dialect with color and line. Her work has a startling honesty to it. The viewer has an immediate emotional response that leaves an indelible impression. They remind me of the livid purple bruises that appear on the inside of your eyelids when you look directly into the sun: vibrant but elusive, hard to define. I recall that while studying art history I struggled to learn the language of abstract painting. It was difficult for me talk about work that possessed no easily recognizable visual symbols. For me they often read like sheet music without notes. It was only the work that achieved that illusory symbiosis between simplicity and abandon that I felt any connection to. The kind of work that was purely sensory, like Mark Rothko; a raw feeling on canvas. Kowalski’s paintings possess this kind of balance. They are simple without being empty; elegant and sparing.

In her statement Kowalski writes, “I am in love with the eloquence of sparseness and everything to do with the act of painting: the smell, the lushness of oil paint, color.” Her technique is spontaneous and unmitigated. Inspiration “gets channeled and flows from brain to arm, hitting white board with that first wonderful stroke of vibrant color, and continues with adding and subtracting, stripping down to the most essential.” Her new body of work, “Into the Brilliance,” consists of large and small scale wet-on-wet oil paintings. The show will be opening Thursday, September 2nd at Portland’s Half/Dozen Gallery.

Lisa Kowalski currently lives and works in Denver, CO. She received her BFA from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL in 1988. She has exhibited work nationally and internationally including the Contemporary Art Workshop, Chicago, IL; Aqua Art Fair, Miami, Fl; Bridge Art Fair, London, UK; Square 101 Gallery, Denver, CO; NavtaSchulz Gallery, Chicago, IL; Half/Dozen Gallery, Portland, OR; Lafontsee Galleries, Grand Rapids, MI.

Half/Dozen is located in the Everett Station Galleries.
625 NW Everett St, #111, Portland, OR 97209

Despite being a new space, Vincent Michael Gallery in Philadelphia continues to impress us for the third time in a row. Check out this sneak preview of their next exhibition “Hidden Realization.” featuring the works of Tom French and Chloe Urban opening this Friday, September 3rd. “In their latest works, French and Urban focus on the illusions and realizations of identity and the resulting effect on our experiences. Both artists explore this theory of self by presenting multiple layers of engagement with their work in ‘Hidden Realizations’.”

French, who hails from England, carefully combines his attention to detail in figurative drawings while still allowing room for abstraction which amalgamate into a surrealist work. Urban, on the other hand, is an artist and a dancer whose work reflects the duality of her two gifts. Her drawing style resembles a search for an image which is an interesting middle ground between organic free flowing lines and very methodical marks.

Be sure to catch the show if you are in the Philadelphia / New York areas and see how both artists confront the issues of illusions and perception.

Hidden Realizations
Vincent Michael Gallery
1050 N. Hancock St., Suite #63
Philadelphia, PA 19123
September 3rd – September 25th
Opening Reception Friday, September 3rd, 7pm – 10pm
www.vincentmichael.com

In the art game consistency is paramount. When your audience has come to expect the best you’ve got to keep it coming. Luckily, Yves Laroche Gallerie D’Art in Montreal seems to have a firm grasp on this concept. Since 1991 Yves Laroche has unfailingly brought quality artists and exhibits to Canada. Specializing in art stemming from the underground worlds of tattooing, graffiti, and comics Yves Laroche represents Canada’s best emerging and established artists as well as an impressive line up of international talent. Their roster of artists includes Canadian art stars Martin Whittfooth, Dave Cooper, Jon Todd, Timer, Juan Carlos Noria and Jonathan Bergeron. From further afield they represent Cuban artist Adonis Flores, Rotterdam based art duo Sauerkids, and France’s Turf One. And they must have their pick of the litter when it comes to the States, because they represent some of the best including Van Arno, Shawn Barber, Liz McGrath, Ron English, Blaine Fontana, Chris Ryniak, Mike Shine, Greg Simkins and Amanda Wachob.

Opening Wednesday September 1st, Yves Laroche will launch a monumental group show with the US’s famed graffiti family 7th Letter Crew entitled “Will Rise”. Formed by graffiti granddaddy Eklips as a commercial launch pad for his two legendary crews MSK (Mad Kings Society) and AWR (Angels Will Rise/Art Work Rebels), 7th Letter Crew reps some of the most talented and prolific graffiti artists in the game including Revok, Saber, Norm, Reyes, Rime, Sever and Krush to name a few. Eklips merged AWR and MSK under the 7th Letter umbrella in 1999 with the intention of making inroads for graffiti in the realms of corporate sponsorship and merchandising. By now, more than a decade later, 7th Letter’s artists have taken the world by force, painting commissioned murals around the globe, branding a widely distributed clothing and accessories line and landing solo and group shows at the world’s top galleries.

From Yves Laroche’s press release: “Held in conjunction with Norm AWR & Basta!, YL will be presenting The Seventh Letter crew’s first Canadian group exhibition. In September, Montreal will join the esteemed list of Barcelona, New York, Seoul, Miami, Milano and other select The Seventh Letter destinations. Eponymously, named after the seventh letter in the alphabet, these ‘Gods of Graffiti’ represent one of the world’s most inspired, racially diverse and prolific graffiti crew ever assembled. Yves Laroche Galerie d’art will be showing new and exclusive works by six of the most influent members of the collective: REVOK, PUSH, NORM, POSE, REYES and RETNA.

Los Angeles based, The Seventh Letter is an institution born from street culture and taking form as iconic graffiti-based visuals and street references. More so, The Seventh Letter is a powerful trademark known by every avant-garde connoisseur. The influence of the crew is tremendous, since they are multidisciplinary artists with roots in graffiti and beyond; including fine art, tattooing, graphic design, sculpture and music. Always pushing the traditional limits imposed by media associated to the graffiti. Demonstrating a consistent pride in their craft and foresight for future generations of young and upcoming artists, Yves Laroche Galerie d’art is proud to commemorate this visual representation of unique individuals.”

All are invited to the opening, scheduled for Wednesday, September 1st 2010 from 6-9 pm at Yves Laroche Galerie d’art- 6355, Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montreal CAN. Music provided by DJ Sagewondah (French Connection) & special guests. Artists will be present.

YVES LAROCHE GALERIE D’ART PRESENTS
WILL RISE – THE SEVENTH LETTER
From September 1st to 15th 2010
Vernissage : Wednesday, September 1st 2010, 6pm to 9pm

Norm Photo Credit: Luna Park on Flickr