Los Angeles (September 14, 2016) - On
October, 1st
,
Corey Helford Gallery
will proudly present
incomparable New York-based artist Martin Wittfooth, whose powerful works take on the majesty of a world in conflict with its most beautiful inhabitants in his newest series of oil paintings titled "The Archaic Revival."
Wittfooth
's latest series of paintings employs a variety of techniques, ranging from delicate and detailed brush treatments to heavily textured palette knife applications, and deliberate attention is given to the scale of the works to impart gravity and presence to the images. "The Archaic Revival" marks the first series in which
Wittfooth
has
explored bronze sculpture as a medium; plus, two large-scale sculptures will make their debut.
"Milk" oil on c
anvas, 60" x 78," 2016
"Moratorium" oil on canvas, 66" x 84," 2016
Of his new work, Wittfooth says: "'The Archaic Revival' is a title borrowed from late philosopher, author and ethnobotanist Terence McKe
nna, who explored the notion that Western culture and society has become sick, and is undergoing a healing process by a reversion to archaic values and behaviors. In my latest series of paintings and sculptures I aim to pay tribute to this idea, that in our species' long collective march out of the proverbial garden toward greater technological complexity and the effects this process has and will have on the world around us, it is in the past that we may truly see ourselves reflected back at us as we really are: nature itself. McKenna argued that this return toward the archaic began in earnest in the troubled 20
th
Century via an interest in the subconscious in the works of Freud and Jung, primitivism, surrealism and abstraction in art and music, and culminated in the psychedelic revolution of the 1960s, a revolution that was suppressed to a large degree until the dawn of the 21
st
Century. The new series seeks to contribute to this revitalized conversation: our era is riddled with turmoil and uncertainty stemming from our dominion rather than stewardship of the world that we inhabit. Perhaps our salvation lies in the recognition that beneath the veneer of our culture we are the very same nature that we have pushed to the margins."
"Tangle" oil on linen, 60" x 40", 2016
"The Archaic Revival"
marks Wittfooth'sfirst solo with
Corey Helford Gallery
since 2012 and will be on view through October 29th.
About Martin Wittfooth:
Martin Wittfooth was born in Toronto, Canada in 1981 and currently lives and works in Brooklyn and the Hudson Valley in New York. He earned his MFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 2008. Wittfooth's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, with solo exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, Seattle, and Montreal. His paintings have also appeared in numerous publications, including Juxtapoz, American Art Collector, and Vice, and cover features in New American Paintings, Hi-Fructose and American Artist Magazine.
Currently, Wittfooth's original painting "Incantation" is on view in Hi-Fructose's "Turn the Page: The First Ten Years of Hi-Fructose" exhibition at Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art through December 2016.
About Corey Helford Gallery:
Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) was first established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer and creator, Bruce Helford (Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, George Lopez, The Oblongs) and has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art.
Its goals as an institution are the support and growth of young and emerging, to well-known and internationally established artists, the production and promotion of their artwork, and the general production of their exhibits, events and projects.
CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today's pop culture and collectively encompassing style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti and Street Art, and Post-Graffiti.
After nine years in Culver City, CHG re-located in December 2015 to a robust 12,000 sq. ft. building in Downtown Los Angeles, seven times larger than its original space, where it continues to host exhibitions within the heart of the city's art community. The current space boasts three separate galleries, each of which house individual artist and group exhibitions, whereas the main gallery offers 4,500 sq. ft.,
providing total immersion for its attendees.
New exhibitions are presented approximately every four weeks. For more info and an upcoming exhibition schedule, visit
coreyhelfordgallery.com
and connect on
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,
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and
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COREY HELFORD GALLERY
571 S. Anderson St. (Enter on Willow St)
Los Angeles, CA 90033
Tel. 310.287.2340
Open Tuesday-Saturday, 12 Noon to 6pm
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