In de Plume’s spring group show, Skin and Bone, we examine the human figure — both structure and flesh. Each featured artist employs distinct style and media to examine the human form and its intricacies of being in physical space.
THEOHUXXX, also know as Phil Anderson Blythe, paints the imperfect beauty of the human body using a combination of watercolor and acrylic. Blending colorful imagination with stoic realism, his figures celebrate life while never forgetting that — in the words of the artist — “all of us end up in a hole in the ground.”
Gino Belassen creates minimalist portraits using a process that he refers to as “subtle / sound.” Deceptive in their simplicity, his paintings convey depths of meaning through words, symbols, and abstract imagery, with an aesthetic that reflects the artist’s background in design.
Matthew Floriani’s ink-on-paper illustrations distill the essence of the skull, then cover it with a drawn collage that evokes a childhood bedspread or the tablecloth at a family meal. Shielding raw bone with the patterns of home demands questions of vulnerability: what can be protected? what must be exposed?
Ilaria Bochicchio interrogates the essence of anatomy by layering pure colors to depict human forms. Her tightly cropped compositions set against solid backgrounds resemble cuts of meat in a butcher shop, immersed in solitude.
Bo Bosk’s oils interpret Old Master portraiture through a contemporary lens. He presents his subjects with an otherworldly calm; the bare edges of each canvas command focus on the textures and angles of each face.
Skin and Bone opens April 28, 2018 and runs until May 24 at de Plume Gallery in East Hollywood. Recent exhibitions at de Plume include Balanced Delirium, SHADE, and Gateway to the Moon 3.0, described by Los Angeles Magazine as “calculated and precise . . . a dizzying display of geometry.” Visit deplume.gallery/skin-and-bone for exhibition details and updates. Contact de Plume at 323-364-8062 or hello@deplume.gallery.
