[Tales Of Art]

THE FLATS

group show exhibition with:
Hilda Palafox, Quentin Monge, Jackson Joyce, Laura Berger, Lotte Keijzer and Adrian Kay Wong

curated by Sasha Bogojev
19th October - 1st December 2019

Tales of Art gallery in Imola, Italy, is proud to present their Fall 2019 group exhibition entitled The Flats, on view between 19th of October and 1st of December. Curated by Sasha Bogojev the showcase will include a selection of works by artists who work exclusively with flat, graphic visual language in the analog world of painting.

The idea of minimizing the image while keeping the context has been one of the great challenges for artists through centuries. Yet, it feels like nowadays this concept got a whole new meaning and purpose. And by that, we're not referring to the fact that our reality is being largely experienced through the flat screens of our gadgets, but the sad truth that people's mindsets are getting simpler and flatter. So while the world is, in reality, becoming a richer place, an abundance of sensory treats on many levels, there is an existing trend out there that drives individuals to shut down from it all. The ignorance and prejudice create a solid base for behaviors that reject inclusiveness, tolerance and acceptance, which results in borderline manic beliefs and theories.

From the US, over Mexico, all the way to France and The Netherlands, the artists featured in The Flats are purposely limiting their expression to the minimal, flat depiction of the desired imagery. Yet still, they are capable of touching critical issues through their work and capturing most intimate, honest emotions. Flat in their visual expression, they are exciting and surprising in their context, eager to point out injustice or simply celebrate love and life. In a way, they are a sparkling ray of confidence that it doesn't take a complex syntax for one to understand and experience the world in its true beauty.

Artists:

Hilda Palafox aka Poni (MEX)

Mexican artist that works with illustration, ceramics, and murals, as well as has a successful studio practice. Through her work she gracefully celebrates femininity, often constructing images with elements from native, traditional art. Regularly depicting subjects in moments of leisure, sometimes as part of a surreal composition, she is creating visual metaphors for the atmosphere of contemporary life imbued with leisure and apathy.

Quentin Monge (FRA)

French artist whose childhood days on sandy beaches in the south of France are still an endless inspiration for his work. Basing his work on captivating contrast between light and shadow, he is working with atmospheric patterns and compositions that celebrate beach life, surfing, love, and positivity. Purposely limiting his color palette and successfully mimicking vintage graphic techniques, he creates timeless snapshots of life's little pleasures.

Jackson Joyce (USA)

Louisana-born illustrator whose imagery captures the melancholy of his childhood and everyday life. Not focused on the exact depiction and precise rendition of the desired image he is using exaggerated hues and unexpected color shifts to build a unique atmosphere that carries the message. The simplicity of his work is partially a way of connecting to his childhood feeling and conveying the unmediated emotions and atmosphere of that time.

Laura Berger (USA)

Chicago-based artist working with illustration, painting, and sculpture, is using the female figure and a limited color palette of clay-like hues as the main tools to construct rich yet flat compositions. The elegant figures are regularly interacting with each other and their environment, creating patterns with their bodies as a poetic vision of society and social behavior. Loosely approaching depiction, her visual language carries a collage-like aesthetic that often extends from her subjects onto their idyllic landscape surroundings.

Lotte Keijzer (NED)

Dutch artist whose love for cartoons and fantasy books, along with years of working as a graphic designer, resulted in a clear visual language that focuses on the important, while confidently stepping away from the irrelevant, decorative, or the rules of perspective and dimension. Through elegant compositions dominated with subdued colors, she successfully translates her daily observations into witty visual self-critiques and life commentaries. By recognizing and celebrating the human and the imperfect, her work is sending out positive messages of hope and comfort.

Adrian Kay Wong (USA)

Los Angeles-based artist that developed deliberately simplified visual language in which an assemblage of almost geometric shapes form atmospheric snapshots of daily life. Mixing the flat and strict aesthetic of vectorized computer graphics with the analog methodology of painting, he is constructing a cohesive and deeply sentimental body of work. The use of repetition and imperfect depiction of perspective and depth pushes the work towards abstraction while keeping its figurative quality.

For any question or to see the pricelist of available works please email: [e-mail]

Many thanks!