Sometimes disturbing, always intriguing, figurative oil paintings of LOUIE METZ juxtapose flawless technical detail with a raw, emotionally charged stimulus. An urbane and unique perspective tempers the work, fusing old world classicism onto an outsider art aesthetic. Sensual, confrontational nudes with emaciated souls recline and hesitate in the foreground of plush, photo-realistic landscapes or darkly psychological tableaus. The recent works of LOUIE METZ have earned him a special distinction among the Los Angeles art community, where he has had numerous shows. Louie is a prolific artist, casting local Silverlake personalities to model as his intense survivors. His subjects are usually offset by anthropomorphic landscapes: a suburban backyard and apartment courtyard, a sweeping vista, all rendered in a way that reflects the subject’s inner psychological reality. “Luckily the models are usually going through some kind of psycho drama,” he says, “which makes it interesting.” There is a traditional aspect to Louie's work that reflects a deep interest in the work of the old masters; however, Louie conveys a classicism without investing the work with a classical style,” I don't usually like contemporary art that looks pretentiously old masterish as I find that its a prevailing tendency for figurative painters to stylize their paintings with too many jokey pop-cultural references and self conscious chiaroscuro." Complexity and straight forwardness, tradition and personal vision, beauty and brutality are issues that conflict in life and art, yet because of their importance to the painter they must be dealt with and synthesized in his work. Please find more information on his website: www.louiemetz.com
STACY LANDE was born in Granada Hills, in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. From an early age, she took pride in both stage performance and her art. As a youngster, she would regularly stage variety shows on her family’s front porch. In the late 1970's she was exposed to the explosion of punk rock, via seminal bands such as the Weirdos, the Dead Boys, the Stooges and the Ramones. Lande was formally trained in art at California State University, Northridge. After graduation from art school, she began doing performance art at clubs like Sin-a-Matic and LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions). Lande has painted more than 120 portraits of both men and women in deified and dramatic light. In her book Vicious, Delicious and Ambitious, Sherri Cullision describes Lande as creating "demons and she-gods, hinting at both their ‘phantastical’ pasts and immortual futures.” Lande’s work has been featured in various magazines, including Juxtapoz, Juxtapoz Erotica, Detour magazine, and Petersen’s Hot Rod Deluxe, as well as in the film Gone in 60 Seconds. She has been interviewed on National Public Radio's Airtalk with Larry Mantle. In addition to her own book The Red Box, Lande’s work is also included in lowbrow compilations Vicious, Delicious and Ambitious, and Weirdo Deluxe, by Matt Dukes Jordan (Chronicle Books, 2005). Her work has been seen in solo and group shows in Billy Shire’s La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, and Copro/Nason and Track 16 Gallery at Bergamot Station. Her work appears in collections in Japan, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, and England.
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