PROJECT: POW! Pop Now at TNC Gallery
Curated by Sean Noyce and Verrinia Amatulli
Exhibiting artists: Forest Allread, José Arenas, Dan Christofferson, Boo Davis, Felix Flores, Erin Rachel Hudak, Jacqueline Levine, Alfie Lee, Dafna Steinberg, and Katya Usvitsky
On View: April 17 – May 19, 2012
TNC Gallery presents POW! Pop Now, an exhibition of 10 mixed-media artists whose works explore new directions in Pop Art. POW! provides a visual exploration of why the movement 50 years after its inception has maintained such a stronghold in the American visual lexicon.
Responding to the proliferation of global corporate branding, these 10 artists from across the U.S. have found inspiration in the Pop movement as a means of visual communication. Most grew up in a world saturated with Coca-Cola, MTV, and Nintendo. They are a generation familiar with the power of branding, consumer culture, illustration, and comic books. Like Andy Warhol before them, many support themselves in graphic design, advertising and mass media.
The artists works have familiar overtones: bright, saturated hues; bold, graphic shapes; and simple, clean lines. But just under the surface, the works communicate a heavier dialogue. Issues of race, feminism, religion, sexuality, and modern identity carry relevancy in this era of self-reflection and socialized media. These modern storytellers use their craft as a way to sublimely spread their message through an impactful and familiar medium rather than just the pure exposé of popular culture.