Roq la Rue Gallery is having a group art show with Andrew Brandou, Keith Weesner, Ryan Heshka, and Dale Sizer. They all look like excellent artists.
Andrew Brandou’s new paintings are an unexpectedly moving series based on the infiltration of the corporation into all aspects of life, and the resistance to that, particularly in the form taken by the Situationist Internationale , as well as radical posters created by the Black Panther party and Chinese Communist propaganda posters. Seeing these iconic images translated through Brandou’s trademark Golden Books style animals and colors adds a new dimension to the impact of these images, rather than diluting them with “cuteness”.
Ryan Heshka creates paintings that reference the classic sci fi pulp covers of the 40’s-60’s. Culling from his interest in pin up art, comic books, typography, candy packages, and strange things found at flea markets, Heshka uses vintage imagery combined with a striking, richly colored palette and off kilter typography to create contemporary paintings with a retro-futuristic flair.
Painter and illustrator Keith Weesner’s work reflects his obsession with cars and vintage pinup illustration. As an artist and hot rodder, he appears frequently in american, english and japanese car magazines. He is well know to the Kustom Kulture set for his exquisitely painted tableaus of beautiful cars and hot rods, usually accompanied by a savvy and sexy dame. His fantastic technical precision is due to years of drawing and painting his obsession,hot rods, and his exceptional color sensibility has been honed by his years of designing animation backgrounds for various studios (including Warner Bros. and the Cartoon Network.)
L.A. painter Dale Sizer paints homages to classic retro themes, particularly drawing on his childhood facination with all things tropical (he grew up in Tacoma, Wa). Dale varies his style and technique on each painting ,creating mash ups of Polynesian pop, pulp romance, the Rat Pack, and lounge culture. Rough and tumble lovelorn ladies gaze from mid century houses, and dangerous vixens hang out in front of the Space Needle in Dale’s cartoon noir world.