This exhibition is open by appointment only. When entering public spaces please follow social distancing guidelines set by the city and state. Nicasio Fernandez’s new series of work uses figurative language and life’s absurdity as its structure – disrupting the norm to create a dialogue that is outrageous, tragic, relatable and entertaining. The compositions come together with a surreal quality that is simultaneously enticing and discomforting. The figures are physically and emotionally pushed to the limit – in Under Pressure a massive hand forcefully pushes down on a waiter from above, in “Real” Friends the figure contorts in regret as he’s stabbed in the back, and in Sounds Tempting a figure is baited by a devil on their shoulder – questioning how much they can endure on a daily basis. ------------------- Austin Harris’s work explores adolescence in rural America where he grew up surrounded by hyper masculine behavior, drugs, alcohol, violence, and misogyny from both his peers and relatives. As Harris became aware of this toxicity in his community, he began looking at his upbringing through a lens of humor as a way of moving past anger and sadness. In his paintings Harris recreates the aggressive, violent, infectious and artificial nature that surrounded him in bright cheerful hues and patterns as a way to work through the lasting scars of youth. Colorful and playful in composition, the works show characters in typically “male” activities – lighting campfires, mowing lawns, and drinking alone. The young white male subjects, with deep-set mournful eyes and tan lines indicative of working-class labor or nonchalant adolescence, are pictured alone physically and emotionally distant from other characters in the scene. Harris exhibits his works in artist-made frames, physically trapping the subjects in their own toxic mindset. Despite the overwhelming desperation, Harris brings in pops of humor – a bright pink flamingo, a “sick juice” alcohol label. Together the works build a quiet narrative of troubled youth with the glimmer of hope that one day they can break free. ------------------- Aaron Johnson’s work presents a spontaneous approach to painting that favors unpredictability and fluidity. Working on raw canvas with washes of color, Johnson creates an enigmatic visual experience. The paintings vibrate with loose representations of ethereal figures that dissolve into hazes of disembodied color, juicy luminosity, and radiant blurs. His technique pays reverence to the abstract expressionism of Color Field painting, in combination with an eccentric mode of figuration. The works call on a range of influences from Helen Frankenthaler and Rothko on one end of the spectrum to Peter Saul and James Ensor on the other, while exploring a curiosity into astrophysics and mysticism. ------------------- For the first time, Ryan Schneider will present a new series of wooden sculptures carved with a chainsaw, charred, and painted in high-contrast oil pigment. Over his past 15-year career, Schneider’s emphasis in finding “surprise and joy” in the making of each new piece has translated from the canvas to sculptures which are spontaneously and instinctually formed. His saturated color palette favors high-contrast colors such as near-fluorescent pinks and oranges that pop against straight-from-the-tube radiant hues. His latest works of hand-carved wood are dreamy and richly colored, often featuring a spiritually charged, even shamanic quality. In critic and writer Trinie Dalton’s words, Schneider’s works seek to embody the “true spiritual legacy of Southern California’s Mojave Desert as a place of “rediscovery”—a place where various peoples and cultures dating at least ten thousand years back have found refuge, healing, and solace.”