Mario Zoots, born 1981

Lives and works in Denver, CO

Statement:

In Mario Zoots is engaged in the excavation, reimagination and manipulation of contemporary cyber culture and networked popular culture. His imagery presents a steady stream of pop-data that has been abjectly obscured in some way, the content and imagery becomes hyperlinked and jumbled leaving viewers questioning media realities and ones perceptive lens.

mariozoots.com

Julie Weitz, born 1979

Lives and works in Tampa, FL

Statement:

In these new drawings, the mask becomes optically illusive, politically deflated and unpredictably simple.  I conflate foreground with background, repeat layers of striped pattern, and reduce color to highly contrasted values; at the crux of these new works is my investigation into the indistinguishability between self and other.

Bio:

Julie Weitz was born in Chicago, IL in 1979 and currently lives and works in Tampa, Florida. She is a 2010 recipient of the West Prize awarded by the West Collection. Weitz has shown nationally at Patricia Sweetow Gallery, San Francisco, CA, Schroeder Romero, New York, NY, Thomas Robertello Gallery, Chicago, IL and Marine Contemporary Art Salon, Santa Monica, CA.  Her work has been featured on the cover of New American Painting and has been reviewed in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Artweek, and Creative Loafing.  In October a solo show of her work will open at Tempus Projects in Tampa, FL.

www.julieweitz.com

Crush

Andrew Laumann

born 1987

Lives and works in Baltimore, MD

www.andrewlaumann.com
www.andrewlaumann.tumblr.com

Laurent Impeduglia, Born 1974

www.impeduglia.com

Jeff Luker, born 1985

Lives and works in Portland, OR

Statement:

“There was no end to the American sadness and the American madness. Someday we’ll all start laughing and roll on the ground when we realize how funny it’s been.” – Jack Kerouac

Bio:

Jeff Luker was born in Washington and raised in New England. He has published two books of photographs and has been featured in a number of publications including Beautiful/Decay, Dazed and Confused and Oxford American. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon.

www.jeffluker.com

Reuben Lorch-Miller, born 1971

Lives and works in New York, NY

www.lorch-miller.com

Gordon Magnin, born 1978, Reno, Nevada

Lives and works in Los Angeles, CA

Statement:

These activities may enhance your enjoyment of this work:

-Being paraded before press photographers by the FBI after a 10 week standoff at your Montana bunker

-Saving your urine in bottles to defend your squat when the pigs come.

-Finishing your beer before attempting to set your broken nose bare handed.

-Spending the evening walking up and down the street looking for a place to shoplift dinner.

-Shaking the roaches out of your clothes in the morning.

-Smoking your last cigarette.

These activities may interfere with your appreciation of this work:

-Consulting a lawyer

-Trimming your lawn

-Balancing your checkbook

-Shampooing and Conditioning your hair

-Joining a video buyers club.

-Becoming an officer of the peace

(Appropriated from Gehenna, “The War of the Sons of Light and the Suns of Darkness” LP liner notes)

Bio:

Gordon Magnin is a Los Angeles-based artist who works in collage and altered found image.  Magnin’s interest lies in the inventive use of geometry, pattern, repetition, form, perspective, and systematic operations as methods to distort and subvert the intended objective, interpretation, and significance of consumer based images. Gordon has shown both locally and internationally including a residency and exhibition in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec.  He recently closed his first solo exhibition titled 10:10 at gallery 825 in Los Angeles.  Gordon Holds a Masters Degree from the Southern California institute of architecture (SCI_arc) and a bachelors of science in structural engineering from the University of Nevada, Reno and completed studies at Mountain School of Arts in Chinatown in 2008.

www.gordonmagnin.com/work

Press:

iheartmyart

Tolleson Design

ghost-lighter

AvantGardeAllie

lauraineindigo

daily carbon.

dittygritty

Thomas Lelu, born 1976

Lives and works in Paris, France

Bio:

Thomas Lélu  is the author of “Manual of missed photography” (2002), “My name is Jeanne Mass” (2005) and ” The parisian” (2006). Artist, he is represented by Galerie Dominique Fiat.

thomaslelu.net

Ben Skinner

Ben Skinner, born 1977

Lives and works in Vancouver, BC

Statement:

Grandpa Wants The Tambourine is a survey of projects Skinner has made over the past 10 years. Skinner uses a multidisciplinary approach, often employing text and humor to act as absurdist social critique.

Bio:

Ben Skinner grew up in a small oil town in Southern Ontario.  He graduated with a BFA in Interdisciplinary Fine Art from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Halifax in 2000, and with an MFA in Art & Technology from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2003.  Ben lives and works in Vancouver, British Columbia.

benskinner.com

Press:

Accolades and Acclaim @ Aritzia.com

Erik Richard Parra, born 1975

Lives and works in San Francisco, CA

Statement:

Bio:

Erik Richard Parra was born and raised in a suburban Texas. He attended The University of Texas at Austin where he studied painting and received a Bachelor of Fine Art. He went on to receive his Master of Fine Art, from the University of Wisconsin—Madison, while on fellowship. In his relatively young career he has exhibited in numerous places, including Brazil, Chicago, New York, and San Francisco. He has also lectured at universities, been granted residencies and awards. Erik has recently moved his studio back to San Francisco in order to help develop Fivepoints Arthouse, an artist run alternative exhibition space.

erikparra.com