Press Release
Saturday, September 18th, 6 to 9 PM
Blythe Projects is pleased to present Black Tie, White Noise, the first Los Angeles solo exhibition of work by John Andolsek. Hinging on the charged energy and aesthetic of punk culture from the late 1970s and early 1980s (a culture where Andolsek first cut his working- artist teeth in New York’s Lower East Side), Andolsek re-contextualizes that spirit into large-scale paintings, sculpture, sound-works and found objects re-interpreted into musing objects. Drawing on the legacies of Pop and Abstract Expressionism, Andolsek tackles the symbiotic relationships between consumerism, politics, patriotism and high society in the early 21st century.
Andolsek’s intent is to create a visually “explosive” environment, an ambience that reflects grit, greed and glamour, and to provide an experience that is simultaneously liberating and terrifying.
Typical of his artistic style, Andolsek imbues Black Tie, White Noise with elements of both ambiguity and critique. His recent artistic identity is a position of both rebellion and nostalgia. The work is physical and intense, made from thick oil paint, asphalt, cows blood, mirrors, Astroturf, and picturing falling stars, decadent chandeliers, mud flap girls (and boys) and drag race engines. Yet the work is not raw or brute, rather Andolsek elegantly and honestly examines the capacity for being human in an age where anything is seemingly attainable and everything is for sale. Andolsek encourages us to think critically about the future as it carves its path through the present. And to thoughtfully reflect on what’s worth saving.
John Andolsek was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1961. He studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, receiving his BFA in 1983. His work resides in public and private collections across the United States.
Blythe Projects is located at 5797 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California 90232. For more information please contact Hillary Metz at 323.272.3642 or hillary@blytheprojects.net. www.blytheprojects.net.
Black Tie, White Noise
John Andolsek
September 28 - October 23, 2010
Opening Reception:Saturday, September 18th, 6 to 9 PM
Blythe Projects is pleased to present Black Tie, White Noise, the first Los Angeles solo exhibition of work by John Andolsek. Hinging on the charged energy and aesthetic of punk culture from the late 1970s and early 1980s (a culture where Andolsek first cut his working- artist teeth in New York’s Lower East Side), Andolsek re-contextualizes that spirit into large-scale paintings, sculpture, sound-works and found objects re-interpreted into musing objects. Drawing on the legacies of Pop and Abstract Expressionism, Andolsek tackles the symbiotic relationships between consumerism, politics, patriotism and high society in the early 21st century.
Andolsek’s intent is to create a visually “explosive” environment, an ambience that reflects grit, greed and glamour, and to provide an experience that is simultaneously liberating and terrifying.
Typical of his artistic style, Andolsek imbues Black Tie, White Noise with elements of both ambiguity and critique. His recent artistic identity is a position of both rebellion and nostalgia. The work is physical and intense, made from thick oil paint, asphalt, cows blood, mirrors, Astroturf, and picturing falling stars, decadent chandeliers, mud flap girls (and boys) and drag race engines. Yet the work is not raw or brute, rather Andolsek elegantly and honestly examines the capacity for being human in an age where anything is seemingly attainable and everything is for sale. Andolsek encourages us to think critically about the future as it carves its path through the present. And to thoughtfully reflect on what’s worth saving.
John Andolsek was born in Nuremberg, Germany in 1961. He studied at the School of Visual Arts in New York, receiving his BFA in 1983. His work resides in public and private collections across the United States.
Blythe Projects is located at 5797 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, California 90232. For more information please contact Hillary Metz at 323.272.3642 or hillary@blytheprojects.net. www.blytheprojects.net.
