TOMOO GOKITA – BÉSAME MUCHO

On view will be new works by Tokyo-based Tomoo Gokita, who is acclaimed for his black and white gouache canvases that incorporate exceptional draftsmanship with surreal imagery. Gokita continues his monochromatic series that explores the traditional portrait format on a range of scales, using source material from vintage postcards, magazines, found photos, and classic film stills. With a celebrated career in illustration and graphic design, Gokita first rose to prominence after creating a series of newsprint books. In 2005, he turned to painting, developing a distinctive greyscale aesthetic that combines deft tonal modeling of figures with a material flatness, both alluding to and obscuring characters appropriated from western popular culture and marginal countercultural sources. Alongside Gokita’s intimate portraits of individuals, this exhibition will feature large-scale group compositions that are an evolution in the artist’s oeuvre.

Gokita places his subjects in ambiguous picture planes that recall the photographic source while also reinforcing the works’ status as painting. Mixing a range of twentieth century art historical references, Gokita distorts his subjects’ bodies and obfuscates their faces, blurring them with gradients and shapes. Hands become aberrant and outsize, and eyes are replaced with tiny dots.

Opposite – How to Marry a Millionaire, 2015

Exhibition runs through to May 16th, 2015

Honor Fraser Gallery
2622 S La Cienega Blvd
Los Angeles
CA 90034

www.honorfraser.com

CHRIS LEVINE – GEOMETRY OF TRUTH

‘The Geometry of Truth’ represents the latest chapter in Levine’s exploration into the nature of light and perception; using technology and light to communicate natural geometries and draw people towards stillness.
The synchronicity of the universe is determined by certain mathematical constants which express themselves in the form of ‘patterns’ and ‘cycles’ in nature. Pure geometry transcends everything; impulses and patterns found in nature and the brain also exist in the technology we have created, and Levine’s work asks some fundamental questions about how we view art and examine life.
He has worked extensively with laser light, exploring its capacity to produce both illusions and elicit a subliminal response in the viewer. He has pioneered new mediums such as holograms, light boxes and lenticular lenses and has created and coined the name for new mechanisms such as laser pods and blipverts (peripheral vision light pieces). Levine’s innovative use of these technologies has brought to this field a fresh sensibility, making him a leading player in the field of light art.

For his new series, ‘The Geometry of Truth’ Levine has turned his attention inwards to the purity of form:

“if numbers are the purest form of thought as Plato states, then geometry is a translation of this purity into visual form. Sacred geometry has inspired artists for millennia. From Nano through to celestial, nature unfolds and life as we know it adheres to principles of divine order and sacred geometry.” – Chris Levine

Exhibition runs from April 24th to May 23rd, 2015

The Fine Art Society Contemporary
148 New Bond Street
London
W1S 2JT

www.faslondon.com

TODD JAMES / REAS – FANTASY ISLAND

Fantasy Island, is the new hyper-coloured solo exhibition by New York-based artist Todd James / REAS.
The provocative showcase features a striking cast of modern-day Somali pirates, UN soldiers and scantily clad females that have become synonymous with James’ work. The seamless mix of luminous compositions and graffiti-infused erotica extends the artist’s exploration into current socio-political affairs, continuing to stretch the boundary between the obscene and the humorous.

Alongside the gallery exhibition James is set to install a Chevrolet van on Rathbone Place, developing ideas first initiated in the artist’s Vandals Bedroom, featured at LA MOCA and Lazarides’ World Domination. The van will draw on fantasy art influences from the analogue age of his youth alongside a customised cluster of all-American 1970’s ephemera. The Fantasy Island Chevy will play host to the exclusive release of Beyond The Gates, James’ most recent 32-page full colour book available to purchase on the opening night.

Exhibition runs from May 1st to May 28th, 2015

Lazarides Rathbone
11 Rathbone Place
London
W1T 1HR

www.lazinc.com