Despite the Fantasy

OPENING RECEPTION
November 2, 2019 | 7pm - 11pm

ON VIEW
November 2 – December 7, 2019

“I Go Where I’m Led”

Click here for sample of exhibit images

Downtown Los Angeles’ Corey Helford Gallery is proud to announce a solo show with Chicago-based painter Nicole Gordon, entitled Despite the Fantasy, in Gallery 2.

Gordon’s landscapes lean on the whimsical and somewhat grim, an expression of beauty met with the horrors of real-world change and transformation. She describes her work as a combination of fantasy with darker truths: her use of bright colors and out-of-place objects create an imaginative view of reality. Despite the Fantasy will feature 14 stunning paintings, all of them oil on canvas, varying in size (largest being 5’ x 7’ and smallest being 12” x 12”).

Regarding her new show Despite the Fantasy, Gordon shares, “The ongoing battle between time, nature and civilization is a fascinating one to observe if you put yourself on the sidelines. This series depicts the awkward beauty of our continually evolving landscape and a curiosity for how those who inherit the ruins will persevere. In the development of this theme, I have purposefully allowed the internal logic to build on itself, even if flawed or nonsensical. Certain elements subconsciously emerge and repeat due to this free form methodology.

As in my past work, the narratives function as dreamscapes, juxtaposing actual and metaphorical, and the observed with the imagined. The paintings weave together elements of childlike innocence with darker undertones, a dynamic that echoes the makeup of human existence.

The heightened colors and out-of-place objects create absurd and sometimes disturbing stage-like scenes that cannot possibly exist in nature and become an alternate reality. The landscapes reference fairy tale settings in which complex and often disturbing narratives are revealed within a context of dreamlike prettiness. The disturbance to the serenity animates the setting and breathes new life into the space, highlighting the tension between the artificial and the real.”

She adds, “In my last body of work, each painting was composed of a solitary figure, painted in negative, set against a backdrop of common, pleasurable experiences crossed with destructive events. The figures were often separate from the narrative, looking in from a distance at the narrative that unfolded. In this newest body of work, the figures become much smaller, more plentiful and more integrated into the composition, taking an active role in the absurd narratives that unfold. New imagery that is being explored includes skate parks, aquariums, carnival rides and other forms of ‘amusement,’ often in various states of abandonment or decay.”

Despite the Fantasy opens Saturday, November 2nd from 7:00pm-11:00pm in Gallery 2, alongside a solo show from Handiedan in the Main Gallery and mini-solo shows from Miho Hirano and Nicoletta Ceccoli in Gallery 3. Corey Helford Gallery is located at 571 S. Anderson St. Los Angeles, CA 90033 and normal hours are Tuesday – Saturday, from 12pm - 6pm.

About Nicole Gordon:
Nicole Gordon is painter and installation-based artist living in Chicago. She received a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

She has completed public art projects for the CTA, sponsored by the Chicago Public Art Group and New England Biolabs, in Ipswich, MA. Her landscapes lean on the whimsical and somewhat grim, an expression of beauty met with the horrors of real-world change and transformation. Gordon cites namely 16th century painters Pieter Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch as her inspiration, whose works while dramatic and highly stylized, also offered expressions of the every day of their time. Similarly, Gordon describes her work as a combination of fantasy with darker truths: her use of bright colors and out-of-place objects create an imaginative view of reality. In an artist statement about her work, she shares, “each timeless setting has been infiltrated by imagery that represents the chaos that invades the quiet space that we long for. The heightened colors and out-of-place objects create absurd and sometimes disturbing stage-like scenes that cannot possibly exist in nature and become an alternate reality. The landscapes reference fairy tale settings in which complex and often disturbing narratives are revealed within a context of dreamlike prettiness. The disturbance to the serenity animates the setting and breathes new life into the space, highlighting the tension between the artificial and the real.”

About Corey Helford Gallery:
Corey Helford Gallery (CHG) was first established in 2006 by Jan Corey Helford and her husband, television producer and creator, Bruce Helford (The Conners, Anger Management, The Drew Carey Show, George Lopez) and has since evolved into one of the premier galleries of New Contemporary art. Its goals as an institution are the support and growth of young and emerging, to well-known and internationally established artists.

CHG represents a diverse collection of international artists, primarily influenced by today’s pop culture and collectively encompassing style genres such as New Figurative Art, Pop Surrealism, Neo Pop, Graffiti and Street Art. CHG is located in Downtown Los Angeles in a robust 12,000 square foot building presenting new exhibitions approximately every six weeks.

For more info and an upcoming exhibition schedule, visit CoreyHelfordGallery.com and connect on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

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