The Last Smile
October 6 ~ November 12th, 2018
“The Last Smile” Artists:
Luis Garcia Nerey
The premise of my work addresses how existence is questionable without participation. I’ve chosen the “Constructionism Philosophy” as the conceptual base in order to bring a theoretical approach to my work of the Self. The philosophy of the Self and the Other stems from the thought that all things need a counter or an Other to define them. In other words, concepts and things in general (i.e. material things, cultures to name a few) have an objective existence not precisely because they possess a natural essence, but because we as humans constructed them through our ingenuity and our creativity that emerges from our interaction through language. However, I believe this interaction does not solely come from human to human interaction but also can be achieved through different sources. In my work, for instance, the interaction between a painting and a person may be equally important in creating that sense of Self. Even though, I create the work, a conversation is taking place between the paintings and the viewer. In this dynamic, the viewer not only constructs the “essence” of the piece, but also observes him or herself constructing it. It is there, within this symbolic interaction, that the viewer is also being constructed by the work.
AM DeBrincat is a Maltese-American painter based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work blends painting, digital photography, and printmaking into layered works on canvas that explore how we construct identity in an online world.
AM DeBrincat was born in San Francisco, California and studied literature and art at the Universidad de Sevilla and the University of Oregon. She received her Master of Fine Arts from Parsons the New School for Design in New York City. In the past five years she has exhibited widely, including in Mexico, Europe, Canada, Australia, and throughout the US. She has received grants from the Durst Foundation and the Deming Fund, and been artist-in-residence at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), Chashama, and the Wassaic Project. Following a solo show in Sweden in 2017, DeBrincat had her first solo show in Australia at 19 Karen Gallery in May 2018
DeeDee is a street artist based out of Manhattan. Over these six years since Dee Dee’s work first appeared, very little has been learned about the artist. While street art has become saturated with those seeking greater exposure, Dee Dee has remained in the shadows, leaving the art to speak for itself.
“These works are more than just beautiful images. Through collage, Dee Dee seems to be deconstructing gothic, pop, and rock iconography, along with elements of storytelling. One of Dee Dee’s earliest pieces is a prime example: a model’s head is replaced with Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted skull, while the words “Surrender Dee Dee or Die” (a reference to the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz) hauntingly float to the side.”~ Dusty Rebel
Jacob Hicks is a Brooklyn-based painter, curator, and critical writer. He founded and maintains Quantumartreview, a platform for review and critical discourse on contemporary art. He currently creates collaged and painted glass relief sculpture for artist Dustin Yellin and has assisted Liu Bolin and Takashi Murakami.
Elizabeth McGrath is an American artist and singer. She is based in California who works primarily in the fields of sculpture and animation. Her work is often evocative of the darker side of life, and she has been nicknamed Bloodbath McGrath after the subject matter of her works. Along with her career in art, from 1989-1999 she was the lead singer for the hardcore band Tongue, and co-founded the fanzine Censor this . From 2000-2011 she was the lead singer of the Los Angeles-born band Miss Derringer along with her husband/songwriter Morgan Slade.
Ray Geary showed no interest in art at an early age, yet was drawn to it post college as a way to create the things he wanted to see. Comprised mostly of cast resin sculpture, Geary’s work deals with encapsulation and the unexpected elevation of commonplace items. A young New York talent, Geary’s work has already been exhibited at Scope NYC and Miami, Helium Cowboy in Hamburg and Shizaru Gallery in London.
Emily Thompson attended the prestigious High School of Art and Design and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York. She spent 10 years working as an art director for the In-house Advertising Department of Bloomingdale’s and after that a year as senior graphic designer of marketing at Playboy Enterprises. During those years and afterwards she also had a successful career as an editorial illustrator. Her illustrations appeared in major publications, books, on greeting cards, advertisements and products.
Today she focuses mainly on graphic design and fine art. As an award winning graphic designer, she works for clients all over the U.S. specializing in the design of printed materials.
As fine artist she has been recognized both regionally and nationally for her paintings. Her work is about the beauty of design, atmosphere, mood, color, the application of paint and texture. She is influenced by the landscape both rural and urban, roadside architecture and vintage signage. She has exhibited at The Woodmere Museum in Philadelphia, The Philadelphia Sketch Club, The Trenton City Museum, The Monmouth Museum and other venues in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and California. Her work is part of private collections throughout the U.S. Emily and her husband, fine artist George Thompson live and work in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
Jeremy Brown South African-born artist, Jeremy Brown is an abstract artist and mixed media artist. Brown has been making paintings during intimacy for over a decade, inspired by the 1960’s French artist Yves Klein and various performance art pieces by Andy Warhol. He created the successful company Love Is Art when One day, a close friend complimented him on a painting that was hung inside his house. After discovering how the painting was made, she asked him to provide her with everything she needed to make a painting with her husband on their anniversary. Brown put together a small package with all of the materials needed and wrote a little directional note for them to follow. They absolutely loved it, and the idea was born.
Eric Inkala Brooklyn-based Eric Inkala is a self-taught artist whose highly visual and ever-evolving style has ripened from graffiti to pop art to contemporary art. His work presents a playful graphic language in the form of a signature character who serves as a vehicle for an autobiographical narrative. It’s through this personal storyline that Inkala is able to channel thoughts and emotions into expressions of shape, color and text. His universally approachable concept is amplified through increasingly complex patterns and symmetry, which over the years have reflected both the abstract escapades of his trademark character and Inkala’s own artistic journey. Working primarily in acrylic, his paintings vary in size from largescale canvas to sculpture, prints and small works on paper.
Eric Inkala was born in Minneapolis, MN. His work has been exhibited nationally at galleries such as THIS Gallery (CA), Parlour Gallery (NJ), Public Functionary (MN), and most recently at Joseph Gross Gallery (NYC) Scope Miami beach 2015 and Blackbook gallery in Denver Colorado. His work has also been presented internationally, most recently at Gallery Poulsen in Copenhagen Denmark. Inkala murals have covered walls in Minneapolis, Palm Springs, and at the Ace Hotel in New York City.
Denis Randall is an Asbury Park, NJ based artist who works in many mediums. “Inspired by repurposing discarded materials and objects, my reclaimed wood pieces are an assemblage of naturally eroded parts of common man-made structures. Crumbling painted benches, cracked window panes, sun-scorched driftwood, and rusted metal objects are among the many found materials that are given a new life.” -DR
Jay Riggio, a self-taught visual artist, was born in Long Island, New York in 1978. Utilizing original source material from discarded magazines and books, Riggio’s work brings new life to once forgotten imagery through complex, mixed media collages. His works depict dream-inspired stories through unique, surrealistic visual pairings: a reflection of the artists interpretations on life, love, humor and the human condition.
In addition to exhibiting work in galleries around the world, Riggio has done commercial illustrations for brands like Gather Journal, The New York Times, Brooklyn Magazine, Alice McCall, A24 Films, Lovesick Skateboards and more. Jay currently lives and works in Los Angeles, CA.
Hannah Faith Yata is half Japanese and was born and raised in a small town in Georgia. She grew up with a deep love of nature and animals passed down by the beautiful surroundings in the country and her mother.
In her paintings, Yata seeks to interweave the parallels of the unconscious with the struggle of the natural environment and how it relates to views regarding the body of the woman and that of nature. Her use of masks express different types of emotion and characters while incorporating her fascination with culture and tribalism. Body paint and designs play with a romantic idea of becoming more in touch with the earth and the life forces that dwell within, while also celebrating the feeling of energy and wildness. The surreal and psychedelic landscapes of her work erupt with tension and beauty, the grotesque and the wild to form exhilarating and mind altering dreamscapes.
