On Saturday, June 10, Downtown Los Angeles' Corey Helford Gallery is proud to present new works by Oakland-based artist Hueman and Miami-based artist Tatiana Suarez in their first exhibition with the gallery. Entitled "Fioritura," this two-women show will be on view in Gallery 2.
The flower has been employed in art as an analogy for the attributes of femininity since the Middle Ages. For "Fioritura" ("flowering" in Italian), Allison Tinati (known as Hueman) and Tatiana Suarez offer their joint expression of this symbol of the woman, powerful in its resilience, delicate, and beautiful. Hueman's art appears wonderfully spontaneous, but to her, it is a perfectly calculated blend of opposing elements. She is constantly "seeking balance between the beautiful and the grotesque, the abstract and the figurative, and that golden moment between sleep and awake." Her work has become instantly recognizable for its equally geometric and ethereal air, broken up as if seen through a colorful prism. In her series of acrylic and spray paint paintings for "Fioritura," Hueman integrates florals into exciting and electric-colored new imagery. Many works also feature motifs inspired by drapery in Old Master painting, made utterly contemporary with her signature palette and graphic style.
Hueman
shares: "'Fioritura' is an embellishment of a melody as improvised by an operatic singer. This body of work is at once theatrical, decadent, and romantic, a sweet visual melody abundant with ornamentation. Lush silks and flower petals twist and flow in zero gravity, the creases and folds of heavy robes spell opulence.
As my recent work has been leaning more towards the abstract, I've become increasingly interested in drapery's expressive possibilities. Painting fabrics and florals satisfies both my need for realism and my desire for expression beyond the human figure. In 'Fioritura,' portraiture is no longer a priority, and the faces and hands are only to provide context for the materials they interact with. 'Fioritura' signals a blossoming of my own voice, ethereal, free-flowing and unrestrained."
Hueman 'Aria' (spray paint and acrylic on canvas - 30 x 30 inches)
For Suarez, the exhibition alludes to a blossoming of her sensual, doe-eyed female figures, which invite you into realms both beautiful and unsettling. Drawing on the symbolism and myth of her rich Brazilian and El Salvadorian heritage, Suarez infuses her paintings not only with personal meaning, but also narrative. In recent years, she has expanded into the world of murals, pushing her compositions in both scale and content. Her new series features some of her largest works to date, including her impressive 6 x 6 feet titular oil painting, "Fioritura". In this latest body of work, Suarez brings us into the lush, humid throes of a tropical midnight illuminated by the blooming vibrations of her signature colors: "This sultry natural atmosphere is populated by women whose gestures and gazes speak of identity, vulnerability and transformation," she explains. They embody a spirit native to the artist the ever-alluring, complex spirit that is the dark feminine.
Tatiana Suarez 'Fioritura' (oil on canvas - 72 x 72 inches)
Suarez
shares: "Adorned by delicately-rendered floral headpieces, drifts of color and gestural marks, these women are all part of a tribe. They are queens, goddesses, life-providers and sisters. Ever-evolving, they are connected to the natural world in multiplicity...they are confident yet vulnerable; fully-formed and yet in flux. 'Fioritura' holds space for a tribe of women who have matured from my previous work. They have undergone a sort of transformation - ghostlier, more stylized characters have blossomed into an almost physically tangible, nuanced and commanding presence. 'Fioritura' unveils a new note of darkness and sophistication, and a tribe of women born by it."
The opening reception for "Fioritura" will be hosted Saturday, June 10 from 7- 11pm at Corey Helford Gallery. The reception is open to the public and the exhibition is on view through July 8.
About Hueman:
Allison Tinati, who paints under the moniker "Hueman," grew up drawing and painting in Northern California, and received her degree in Design | Media Arts from UCLA in 2008. Whether she is creating delicate visions on canvas, or crushing massive walls with a spray can, she often draws on the human condition to create colorful mash-ups of the abstract and figurative, and the beautiful and grotesque.
Hueman's unique freestyle process involves creating tightly refined compositions from a spontaneous beginning of paint splashes, drips, and sprays. Through this method she is interested in creating motion and dimension on flat, two-dimensional surfaces, and her layered works can be seen on public walls and in galleries worldwide.
About Tatiana Suarez:
Born and raised in Miami, Tatiana Suarez's work draws you into a surreal, creamy, and ethereal world filled with doe-eyed figures ornamented by unsettling accompaniments and sexual undertones. On both canvas and walls, Suarez's work is rich with symbols from her Brazilian and El Salvadorian heritage, juxtaposing the beautiful with the exotic and creepy to create enchanted narratives. The natural mythology and folklore from her respective parent cultures influence her work, from the indigenous face paint and adornment used to the rich and tropical color palettes of the South American landscape.
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 relocated 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
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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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