Opening Reception 6-10pm on Saturday September 16th.

About Dean Styers

Historically the paintings of Dean Styers have been distinguished by their juxtaposition of iconic, often comforting imagery combined with bitter, sardonic text that undermines the viewers’ associations with the subjects - an astronaut, a hanged man, two lovers locked an an embrace - and challenge the expectations we have toward the familiar and the normal. The simple, banal things that we see everyday - a beautiful woman, a well-dressed man, a child - are suddenly imbued with danger or despair; they become tainted with cynicism, hopelessness and fear, transforming our nostalgia into melancholy. 

Dean’s recent work deviates from his last series in several noticeable ways. For one thing, he has stopped using acrylic paint in his compositions, opting for spray paint exclusively. Also, unlike his previous work, none of these paintings utilize printed words, phrases or sentences in any way. 

Over four hundred of these paintings have been composed over the last three years, mostly on wood panels recycled from old set walls from the defunct TV soap opera “All My Children”.

Six variations of each piece were made.

As far as his latest work, perhaps the most dramatic departure is the canvas itself. Rather than executing his new compositions on a blank canvas or wood panel, his new pieces are constructed on top of extant, vintage paintings that the artist has found in thrift stores, flea markets, and even in the garbage. 

Executing his characters through the use of stencils on top of these traditional landscapes makes this new series something of an echo and reversal of his previous output. While in his earlier paintings the text is used to undermine or challenge the images that he has painted, in these newer pieces the images themselves seem to challenge and undermine the topography of the classic landscapes that they are painted over. This overlaying of figures creates an additional depth, beyond what the found painting originally contained. And, as the characters are typically offset from the center of the canvas, and continue over the original paintings frame, the overlying subject seems to break free from the traditional boundaries of the painting itself.

Follow on Instagram at deanstyers

About Colin Burns:

I am primarily a printmaker, and have recently rediscovered my passion for drawing.

My work is generally concerned with memory, desire, obsession, humor and beauty.

Sometimes through complex layers of texture, other times in an almost iconic simplicity, and often with the use of text.

Born 1966

Attended Corcoran School of Art in Washington DC

Received diploma from School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts

Sang in numerous rock n roll outfits in Boston and New York

Founding member of Goldmine Shithouse

Lives with wife and kids in Los Angeles

Most recent solo show at Cash Machine in Atwater Village June 2016

Books, t shirts, books on tape and zines published by Cash Machine available at cashmachine.la

Prints available at glassinebox.com

Follow on Instagram at colinburnsart