The Angels

The Angels
June 2^nd ~ 30^th, 2023

Baik Art and Noblesse Collection are pleased to present the exhibition The Angels in Seoul. This exhibition is curated by Baik Art and presented in partnership with Noblesse Collection. Sited in two locations, the works are configured into two groups – one that reflects an engagement with the world outside through commerce, landscape, socialization, and intellect, and another that deals with the interior world of romance, feeling, introspection, and history. Together, these works paint a portrait of Los Angeles in its effervescent, noir glory.

Los Angeles artists see things differently. Colors, light, depth and surface. Shaped by the hyper real flatness of commercial photography and film on one side and the wild desert roughness of the western frontier on the other, LA artists look for meaning in soft focus and low resolution. Their work spatially expands the painted frame and extends sculptural form into every corner. Strong sunny pastels and dark, moody shadows reflect the duality of Los Angeles, which is both dark and light. Contrary to the image of California as superficial, subtle gestures here reflect a sensitivity to the region’s natural and cultural characteristics. Above all, these artists embrace the city’s call to reimagine ourselves in new and unfamiliar ways.

Sculptor Alex Anderson draws from the lineage of California Funk in ceramic objects and wall-based works with colorful, textured surfaces.

Amy Bessone navigates value systems through iconographies derived from art history and the fantastical landscapes of LA.

Carrie Cook paints dark, mysterious compositions that evoke mystical and psychological states of mind, reminiscent of the memento mori paintings of the Northern Renaissance but updated to contemporary LA.

Conrad Ruiz delves into the concept of machismo in works that oscillate between figurative and abstract, capturing freeze-frame instances of stirring sporting events, amusement park thrills, and mass group exercises that situate the masculine figure within a heroic cultural status.

Jonathan Casella uses acrylic paint to create layered abstract compositions that describe the beauty and the anxiety of Los Angeles through color, shape, pattern, and juxtaposition.

Kristopher Raos’s graphic Pop paintings pull from advertising and art history while his drawings use comic and illustration references to question the power of numbers and currencies over our lives.

Kira Maria Shewfelt explores transitional states through personal memories and sensualities, while Conrad Ruiz updates history painting for the internet age with observations of masculine power in all its forms.

Manuel Lopez’s pencil drawings capture the eastside of Los Angeles with its humble single-family homes lived in by immigrant families and their stories.

Ramiro Hernandez paints found scenes of Southern California suburbia with faded color palettes of sun-bleached photographs, revealing and concealing mediated realities at the same time.

Rema Ghuloum pours acrylic and gouache paint on the canvas, piling transparent glaze on top after the layer dries. The layers of the work are excavated with sanding techniques. On the surface, traces of improvised gestures remain intact, showing the overall spectrum of color and sensation from calm tones to deep shades.