Controlled Chaos, Peter Kempson
 
Known for his photo-realistic acrylic L.A.andscapes, Peter Kempson has been exploring a wide-range of subjects and new media for a little over a year. His new works include a portrait of Steven Spielberg rendered as a montage of scenes from his movies, and “20th Century Modern,” a large piece celebrating modernist architects from Frank Lloyd Wright to Frank Gehry. There are also color studies, an ode to the film industry, entitled “Cinemetropolis,” (which imagines an entire city devoted to film history, production and Hollywood ephemera like Angelyne’s billboards) and a tongue-in-cheek piece called “Abstract Painting Hung on an Inappropriate Wall.” Like a modern-day Hieronimous Bosch, Kempson renders these diverse subjects with meticulous attention to detail, employing photo-montage and painting together with a dose of social satire.
 
Spliced, Patricia Doede Klowden
 
Klowden’s current series, Sliced, continues her examination of the figure in ceramic and bronze, with representational forms as well as abstractions that invoke the figure without full representation, and ceramic vessels that approach the physical body from a more intuitive perspective. Each of the ceramics has been sliced into horizontal bands that are then re-pieced together to form the whole. Heads, torsos, vessels and abstracts, all sliced and re-made, with a resulting repetition of horizontal line that breaks the vertical pieces into complex compositions, and offers a sense of play mixed with dynamism. Klowden finds fascination in the resulting reconstructed forms, and the way in which the edges refuse to be re-pieced as they once were. The eye of the viewer then has the opportunity to conceive of the original form, and to make its own connections. The bronze figures, remaining whole and un-sliced, stand as a counterpoint and reminder of the unaltered physical body, while the multiple glazes Klowden uses on the surface of the ceramics in blues, greens, purples and golds offer luminous cool depths, with moments of warmth pulling us back in to a feeling of flesh.
 
The Food Series Continues, Gary Polonsky
 
In his latest exhibition, artist Gary Polonsky further explores large-scale food studies, focusing his most recent work on classic American confections. Working from real food while using non-traditional canvases of balsawood, styrofoam, and wire mesh, Polonsky’s three-dimensional works break the surface and effectively blur the line between painting and sculpture. “Each piece in this series attempts to advance my ability to describe, recreate, and emphasize the beauty and wonder that can be found in almost any object,” says Polonsky. Magnifying his subjects’ detail, Polonsky’s wall-based constructions echo themes of nostalgia while beckoning viewers to take a closer look at an array of tantalizing salty and sugary treats - just short of taking an indulgent bite.
 
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Santa Monica, May 2013 – Christopher Grimes Gallery is very pleased present an exhibition of new abstract paintings by Joshua Podoll. In his previous body of work Podoll introduced gestural brushstrokes that expressed honesty through imperfection. With these new paintings Podoll places greater emphasis on drawing – marks are built up layer upon layer from a white ground: blurry airbrush lines, transparent washy brushstrokes and heavy impasto piles all interweave to create a tapestry of mark-making. Within this densely layered space Podoll paints austere floating objects that act as portals and serve to create tension between themselves and the layers of marks. The paintings become energized through the bravado and angularity of brushwork and intensity of color and contrast.
 
Podoll (Seattle, WA, 1972) lives and works in San Francisco. His work has been included in exhibitions at Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA (2010); You Can Heal Your Life!, curated by Emma Gray at Circus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2010); Without Sun, curated by Carole Ann Klonarides at Christopher Grimes Gallery (2007); Headlands Center for the Arts, Fort Barry, CA (2003); and University of Iowa Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA (2002).
 
The South Gallery will feature new paintings by Carlos Bunga, made as a part of a dialogue with his recent site-specific installation at the gallery. Photographs of this work, Future Anterior, were printed and used as a foundation on which to make the paintings. The paintings act as a more permanent reference to the structure which was by nature ephemeral. The manner in which paint was applied to the exterior of the original installation is maintained in these works, providing continuity and shared formal sensibility.
 
Bunga (Porto, Portugal, 1976) lives and works in Barcelona. After studying Fine Arts at the Escola Superior de Arte e Design in Caldas da Rainha in Portugal, Bunga first attracted international attention with his work at the contemporary art biennial Manifesta 5 in San Sebastian, Spain (2004). Since then, has had solo shows of his work at Museu Serralves, Porto, Portugal (2012); Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2011); Miami Art Museum, Miami, FL (2009); and Museo de Arte Contemporanéa de Vigo, Spain (2009). His work is in the collections of such institutions as Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Serralves Foundation, Porto, Portugal; and Museo d'art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), Barcelona, Spain.

Color and Line, Christo Brock
 
Using his camera as a means of communication, artist Christo Brock’s compositions emerge from detailed observations of often ordinary objects. “I embrace color as a gateway to feeling and intuitive perception,” says Brock. After capturing the images, Brock digitally processes his photographs before printing them on metallic surfaces - further enhancing the intense color and luminosity within his work to physically reflect light. “Often through the processing of these images - images freed from their original, earthbound origins - new pictures are born,” says Brock. Numerous compositions focus on the intersection of man and nature, and how the two environments both collide and interact with the other. Whether through a building’s reflection or the rough texture of a painted tree root, Brock’s images consistently remind the viewer of this insightful interplay between these two worlds.
 
Pushing Color, Alison Lowe Platt
 
In her current exhibition, artist Alison Lowe Platt focuses on the psychology of color and its emotive properties. Working in the spirit of the post-impressionists, Platt’s high contrast palette brings forth vivid abstractions of natural forms. “When I’m working directly from life, I not only paint what I see, but hope to describe the essence and feeling of that life force,” says Platt. Stepping away from conventional Plein-Air painting techniques, Platt’s organic brushwork brings forth boldly illuminated forests and seascapes that balance high chroma intensity with muted tones to create atmospheric landscapes. Dramatic exaggerations of jagged rocks and shadowed forest floors are further enhanced by Platt’s evocative use of highlights to communicate her own adoration of the natural environment.
 
Rhinos, Anne Ramis
 
Diverging from her previous body of work exploring digital painting techniques, artist Anne Ramis’ current exhibition experiments with a broad spectrum of media. Painting, sculpture, mixed media and assemblage comprise her current show, which pays homage to the on-going rhino poaching crisis in Africa. Even while working with a specific subject, Ramis takes a spontaneous approach to her artwork. “I actually don’t have an end image in mind. I trust that I can get to a point where I’m satisfied,” says Ramis. In the spirit of her current work, Ramis will dedicate eighty percent of her show proceeds to supporting Save the Rhino International.