This December, Loakal presents the three-person group show “Authoring Evolution,” featuring new work by Robert Bowen, Xiau-Fong Wee and Lauren YS. The oeuvres of these Bay Area-based painters are steeped in science fiction. The three artists create a tension between the futuristic and the mythological with their otherworldly, figurative work. The human, animal and machine are combined to create hybridized forms that speak of the human condition in today’s increasingly digitized society.
Curated by Nastia Voynovskaya and Eddie Colla, “Authoring Evolution” probes the ways in which tropes that were once science fiction are becoming reality. Anthropomorphized animals have long been at the core of folklore across different cultures and time periods. In likening other creatures to ourselves, we illuminate our own strengths and follies. Yet, in recent history, our proximity to technological advances has changed the visual language of the human imagination. As drones become a factor in military operations and advents such as Google Glass and easily-accessible 3D printing are not too far on the horizon, the exhibition invites viewers to reflect upon how the surreal is bleeding into reality.
Robert Bowen’s paintings infuse a realist style with action-packed (and often militaristic) imagery. His depictions of insects crossbred with lethal weapons seduce viewers with their dangerous beauty. Focusing primarily on female protagonists, Lauren YS’s work recalls Donna Haraway’s famous essay, “A Cyborg Manifesto,” with its futuristic vision of womanhood that diverges from the traditional narrative of femininity. While Bowen and YS’s work is rife with dystopian elements, Xiau-Fong Wee’s contemplative paintings immerse viewers in a utopian setting where the spirits of nature seem to emerge from an enlivened landscape.
About Robert Bowen: The bastard son of 1000 maniacs, Robert Bowen is a San Francisco based artist who watched entirely too much TV as a kid. A connoisseur of bad habits and collector of all things wrong, this “artist” feels it is his duty to bombard you with whatever inane and juvenile imagery falls from his hand. Hell bent on world domination, he pauses only occasionally for Mexican food and Lindsay Lohan movies.
About Lauren YS: Lauren YS is an artist and illustrator from Denver, Colorado. After studying art and english at Stanford, Lauren moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in fine art, street art and full-time troublemaking. Her work is a mixture of graphic and painterly, exploring the escapist dream-worlds of an errant imagination.
About Xiau-Fong Wee: Xiau-Fong Wee is really three different artists stuck in one body. Her work branches into three different categories each with a distinct style that covers different ideas and subjects. The images are an alternate dimension, a new world that tells a story, hints at an underlying message, and provides a small adventure for people looking in from the outside. She finds inspiration in the bizarre and strange, as well as the beauty of what the urban environment and nature has to offer; the challenge is to connect what is unknown with what is familiar and create an altered view of aesthetics.
About Loakal: Loakal is an art space and boutique in Oakland collaboratively founded by clothing label fiftyseven-thirtythree and the East Bay Express. Our monthly art exhibitions showcase the work of mid-career and emerging artists with a boundary-pushing sensibility and our vibrant boutique is stocked with handmade clothing, jewelry, home decor products and more from over 90 indie designers. Loakal is part of Oakland Art Murmur and we have an opening reception for our art shows every First Friday.