Mike Davis 'Ghosts of the Future' / Derek Hess 'Don't Call the Police'
WHERE: Copro Gallery, 2525 Michigan Ave. T5, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Ph: 310/829-2156
E-Mail: CoproGallery@Live.com
WHAT: Mike Davis 'Ghosts of the Future' / Derek Hess 'Don't Call the Police'
MIKE DAVIS WEB-PREVIEW
WHEN: Exhibit runs; May 7 – May 28, 2016
Opening Reception: Saturday May 7, 2016 - 8:00 – 11:30 p.m.
ADMISSION FREE - NO AGE LIMIT - NO DRESS CODE
Contact: Gary Pressman, Gallery Director Copro Gallery
'Another Hole in the Ice' painting by Mike Davis for 'Ghosts of the Future' exhibit
Copro Gallery presents a solo exhibition by artist Mike Davis, "Ghosts of the Future ". This is Davis' second solo show with Copro Mike will be in attendance at the opening reception and available for signing his book 'Blind man's Journey'.Davis renders complex paintings embedded with symbols of mortality, folly, and hubris in the style of the Netherlandish Flemish Primitives such as Bosch, Bruegel and van Eyck. His oil paintings create an alternate world where anything is possible, combining arcane personal symbols with social commentary. His work depicts a world of myth and colliding timeframes, a land “on the other side of the bridge,” but one that resonates with our own—not as memory but as a dream.
Mike Davis is a self-taught painter and In addition to painting is a musician and woodworker as well the owner of an internationally-renowned tattoo shop, Everlasting Tattoo. Born in 1961 in Jacksonville, Florida, Mike Davis currently lives and works in San Francisco.
Derek Hess 'Everything Bleeds' Pen, DNA 10.3" x 8.7"
"I Told You Not To Call the Police" showcases recent works from the last two years by artist/illustrator Derek Hess ."The art is current, the vehicle is the human figure, the pain is honest, and the message is on point." says Derek. Bleak at times his work explores the rise and fall of relationships and his struggle with bipolar disorder. A documentary about his life and work 'Forced Perspective' was just released last month after screenings at several major film festivals and will be shown in the gallery during opening night.
Artist Derek Hess has been making waves in the art world since his first concert poster in 1993. Several of these posters are in the permanent collections of the Lourvé in Paris and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. In the late 90s Hess transitioned from concert posters to fine art, sharing his perception of the world and his struggle within it with a wider audience and allowing him to explore more diverse mediums.
“Forced Perspective” is an intimate portrait of iconic artist Derek Hess by filmmaker Nick Cavalier. Since he was a young boy, Clevelander Derek Hess has had a “knack” for drawing. As the son of a WWII veteran and professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Hess also has had a deep appreciation for the discipline and training necessary for creative growth. Nick Cavalier’s FORCED PERSPECTIVE – evokes Hess’s favored artistic technique of manipulating an object’s size in order to create the illusion of distance. It also traces how these values transformed Hess from an unknown concert poster illustrator at Euclid Tavern into an internationally renowned t-shirt designer, post-hardcore concert organizer, and fine artist. In extensive interviews, Hess opens up about his artistic process as well as his ongoing trials with alcoholism and bipolar disorder. Through his intensely expressive mixed media art, Hess not only works through his demons, but also inspires his fans from around the world to do the same. An impressive tribute to Hess’s oeuvre, Cavalier’s documentary highlights the unique perspective this artist brings to the art world.
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