The relationship between money, life and death in art is one that has been explored for centuries.
In the afternoon, the aftermath of a New Mexican sunset I rub from eyes, as I walk into a stone white painted room. Wooden beams in the ceiling above tell the tales of an adobe constructed in 1935, a builder leaves his mark. The cool cement beneath my feet share the room a wonderful array of dinosaur and skulls, pyramids and monstrosity; capture the crazy mishaps of the local Southwestern Contemplative.
Scott Schneider experiments in a fun and playful way, turning cardboard to a framed movie scene of the young dusty cowboy who still shares that same idealized romance and violence with the sunset /sunrise of the Southwest of by gone years. Deathly faces lyrically scribed in marker and colored pencil embrace the New Mexican culture’s honest and brave relationship of the afterlife their world holds through their day of the dead celebrations. In the corner of the eye a sense of the genetically modified form sheds light on a more disturbing culture that exists within modern times.
Keith Yohai builds forms driven by the concern for the world around us, its misuse of power and a technology that grows beyond humanities control. Sometimes subtle, sometimes blatant interpretations make the artist turn in their sleep, then driven to materialize in their own voices understandings of the social culture we live in. Undertones of the deeper concerns within the global market dispersed in this exhibit.
Chris Collins casts the symbolism that surrounds us, embracing a language of the corporation and global economy. From the dollar note to the Mayan prophecy, his sculptures solidify and tweak these symbols in a variation of compositions with tongue and cheek intrigue.
These artists come together under one roof unified by their creative urges and interpretations of the world around them. Across the walls a combination of the elements of ideas that humor, celebrate and horrify the everyday culture of this wild world.
-Ange Leech: Visiting Artist; Australia, 2013
Monkeywrenched, a culmination of artworks created by four young energetic artists Chris Collins, Dan Collett, Scott Schneider and Keith Yohai use the walls and floors of the AC2 gallery to display a layout of ideas, concepts, and interpretations of our modern world. Each artist brings to the show their own unique process ranging from cast metals, paintings, drawings, montage and mixed media sculpture.
A light colorful array of ideas humorously depicts the beauty and sometimes uglier aspects of modern times. On the floor standing erect a metal Tyrannosaur; Dan Collett combines the power of ancient beings with a new type of power of the ever present oil rig that breaks the south western horizon line exploring ideas behind extinction and modern energy.
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