It’s been some time away from the blog, the vacuum, the abyss of electrons. Since my last entry, a lot has happened. The market crashed; America elected a new president, and the Alternate Realists got a gig at the Fullerton in Santa Ana. How time goes.
At this show’s opening you would have seen the insane clown stylings of Extremo, the clown, both in his expertly rendered works and his extreme, hilarious clown energy at the opening. He is the star and the impetus behind all of this clowning around. He must be loved in Portland. Dark Vomit (a.k.a.- Kelly Hutchison) out does himself with a range of work that is in your face, colorful and moving, literally. Every time I see his paintings they are better than the last ones. His collaborative pieces with David Russell Talbot bring new dimension to painting and a sculptural quality to the works on skateboards. Dark Vomit's pieces with Bret Barrett are clown props relegated to artful use. A pistol packing clown painting that soaks the viewer with it's squirt gun charm. (Don't push the lit up big red button if your shirt can't get wet!), chattering teeth, clown paintings with eyes that look back and forth, and the most impressive fully animatronic Bozo mounted inside a classic 1950's box T.V., truly creepy.
Mulder 142's Schleppo the Clown series of large acrylics is painted with passion and color that you can't take your eyes off of. The story of the imagery in the scene captures your attention and then the colors dazzle from there. The skill level of all three of these painters is top-notch and interesting to compare. Together the works of these three show what painting can be when the artists follow their own inner voice and trust their own vision. I have not attended a group show yet that is as cohesive, fun and entertaining as the show these three artists put on here. The Clown Town show outdoes the GCAC 10 year anniversary show in the main gallery, which features Mark Ryden and Robert Williams (both of whose work I really admire) among many other heavy hitters. Is this the beginning of the next artistic movement in America? What does this all mean? If it means anything it is simply this, and I have said this time and again, watch the Alternate Realists—their work is evolving before us. They are art history in motion.
APRIL 4th - 26th (!!! EXTENDED TO MAY 3 !!!) "CLOWNTOWN" Grand Central Art Center 125 North Broadway, SANTA ANA, CA. Extremo the Clown + Dark Vomit & Mulder 142.
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