Derek Albeck -
Works in a variety of medias, including drawing, serigraphs, video and
small installation, heavily weighed on his interested in the occult,
heavy metal and History. Albeck lives and works in Los Angeles,
developing complex figurative works influenced by his background in
graphic printmaking.
David Choong Lee -
Born in Seoul, Korea, David Choong Lee moved to America in 1993, in
pursuit of gaining the skills to be a traditional fine artist. He
ended up creating his own artist style that is a combination of
graffiti, collage, portrait and classical realistic skill with bold
elements.
Eric Bailey -
Growing up, Eric found inspiration from skateboard graphics and
graffiti art. After high school, he went on to study art in San
Francisco. As a professional artist, he says he’s now driven by
reminiscing his childhood and trying to obtain the uninhibited
creativity and curiosity about art that he had back in the day.
Hiro Kurata -
Depicted in bright pastel colors, the disproportioned figures
simultaneously show confidence and sickness. Innocent but frightened
by an enemy at the same time, his subjects being covered with macho
bodies seem to hide inside extremely weak souls.)
Tommii Lim -
Paintings problematize the paradigms governing the (in)activity of
“minority” races and of Hollywood against an urban American landscape
rife with social, cultural and political challenges. his previous work
captured complacent asians in america through characters with
unidentifiable faces. current work places familiar celebrities or
other skeletal subjects in unwittingly destructive situations. he
lives, paints & designs in Long Beach, Calif.
Luke Ramsey -
Luke Ramsey is the art and design half of Islands Fold. In addition to
Luke’s creative input and collaborations with other artists, Luke does
freelance work for various people and organizations. The majority of
his proceeds go towards funding Islands Fold.
Hannah Stouffer -
One day she might enjoy dollar beers at the horse races and the next
she might spend some time sitting on a piece of Baroque furniture
navigating through picture books of vintage pin-ups- but the third day
will always be spent in her studio hybridizing the dualities of her
experiences into pictures and illustrations that portray the world as
it is to her and her lovely feminine gaze.
Marco Zamora -
Marco Zamora was born and currently lives and works in Pomona,
California. In 2004 he graduated from California Institute of the
Arts, with a Bachelor of Fine Art. Using the paintbrush and pen to
draw, Marco develops imagery about the urban landscape and the people
that inhabit it. City life, his culture, color/scale experimentation,
and the working class have influenced his artwork.

The artists of “Freak of Nature” adopt natural imagery as a central point of inquiry in their work. Expressions of human, plant, animal, insect life and landscape range from the realistic, mutated, beautiful, cliché, surreal, psychedelic, romantic and kitsch. This reflects a range of responses to the current sentiment of ecological disaster and genetic modification; including appreciation of the elegance of natural forms as well as disenchantment with environmentalist ideals. The use of visual references to science textbooks and commercial illustration are utilized to comment on the commoditization of natural life as an abstract entity to
be manipulated.

November 6-29, 2008
Conceptualized by Lisa Ostanpinski
Co-curated by Lisa Ostapinski and Gabe Scott

These artists investigate the interaction between humans and the environment including both reverence and destruction of the natural world. This highlights the contemporary complexity of human response and interpretation of nature as well as global environmental crises. Many of the artists in “Freak of Nature” celebrate the inherent beauty of natural imagery as well as ask the viewer to consider the current implications of human lifestyle choices. In this context, the expression “Freak of Nature” serves both as a metaphor for the anomalous expression of nature as well as reference to consequences of human interference.

Artists:
Allison Kendall
Amanda Smith
Alexis Mackenzie
Henry Gunderson
Colleen Sanders
Andrew Schoultz
Hilary Pecis
Lisa Ostapinski
Hannah Stouffer
Casey Jex Smith
Josh Keyes
Jacob Tillman
Christopher Russell
Matthew Hart