I hopped back to Carelyna’s ArtCare Gallery this week to take in the latest round of art exhibitions, and once again found a rich mix of art from Second Life and the physical world to appreciate.
I was initially drawn back to the gallery with the announcement of new exhibitions by Kimeu Korg (Kimeu) and Matt Thomson (MTH63), both of which are located on the lower level of the gallery space, although a trip to the upper level of the gallery also reveal art that captures the eye.
Kimeu is, for me, Second Life’s most noted surrealist artist. His work easily matches the likes of Max Ernst and René Magritte, and is unique manner in which it can so often blend elements from the physical world and Second Life to create vignettes – although at ArtCare, Procrastination focus solely on pieces produced within Second Life. These are simply delightful, each one a story unto itself, featuring Kimeu’s distinctive character, frequently laced with a gentle humour.
Matt Thompson built his reputation as a landscape photographer in Second Life, but has been spreading his canvas – so to speak – and with New Journeys presents a series of abstract paintings, the title doubtless a nod to this being a further expansion of his artistic expression. As Matt himself notes, abstractionism oft comes with convoluted explanations as to what each splash and swirl of colour represents (perhaps not always postulated by the artist), which can get in the way of simply enjoying the mix of colours and the suggestions of of life, motion, patterns and form.
And for those who care to read his bio, Matt has a wicked sense of humour (and a love of Douglas Adams, which makes him more than OK in my book 🙂 ).
The upper level of the gallery space features exhibitions by LikaCameo, Downboy (MarcJersey), April (Agleo Runningbear) and Jolie (JolieElle Parfort).
Known as April Louise Turner in the the physical world, Agleo is a woman of many talents – artist, shaman, teacher, poetess, to name but four. Here she presents a series of the most engaging paintings of animals what might be considered spirit paintings of the creatures involved. In the neighbouring hall, Jolie offers images from Second Life that have been processed to resemble paintings, forming another engaging collection.
However, and with due respect to Jolie and April, both of whom have been covered several times in these pages, I was particularly drawn to the exhibitions by LikaCameo and Downboy, both of whom are artists I’ve not previously encountered in Second Life.
Downboy is another artist who seeks to tell stories through his images – all of which have been produced in Second Life. However, his work is particularly attractive for the manner in which he uses soft tones, an almost brushed monochrome, and depth of life.
Lika, meanwhile, presents a series of the most incredible true life studies and portraits that deserve to be seen first-hand, as witnessed by the hero image at the top of this article.
I’m not sure how much longer the installations by April, Jolie, Lika and Downboy will remain at ArtCare (as noted above, Matt’s and Kimeu’s exhibitions have just opened and so will be around for about another month), so I do recommend dropping in to see them sooner rather than later.
SLurl Details
- ArtCare Gallery (Prychek, rated: Moderate)
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 