The constant bombardment of overwhelming visual stimuli begs the question: is there anything out there that is able to truly shocks us anymore? Have we become desensitized to art?

From sexual content on TV, graphic violence in the news, and flashy ads everywhere we look, obtrusive images are in constant competition for our attention.

Brian Viveros & Dan Quintana address this question with “Desensitized", opening this weekend at the Copro Gallery in Santa Monica.

Collaboration between Quintana & Viveros

Both artists have backgrounds in design and marketing and can be said to have aided in creating the strong commercial imagery we see everyday. Both artists have uses their provocative imagery to propel them into the world of fine art. They aim to arrest the attention of audiences and captivate viewers living in a world saturated with visual stimuli.

Their paintings are both reflections of their own inner worlds and society at large; realms where fantasy intermingles with pop culture. Whether it be a doe-eyed beauty with a Marlboro dangling from her lips, or a Dominatrix acting as sheriff in the untamed West, in these painstakingly rendered vignettes romance battles vice and sensuality meets consumerism.

Viveros

Quintana

Brian Viveros' images of sexy women with their sensual eyes and a cigarette dangling in the corner of their mouths have became his trademark .With no formal training, his medium is a drunken mix of oil/acrylic/airbrush and ink. Dan Quintana's oil on wood panel paintings are influenced by his Catholic upbringing, the Streamline architecture of Los Angeles, street art, hot rods, and comics. Quintana creates a world where angels and demons intermingle with girls and cars and Art Deco cityscapes meet surreal dreamscapes


Also opening at Copro Gallery this Saturday is a new exhibition by artist Bad Otis Link, called "You'll Be Sorry When I'm Dead" (More Junk for a World Out of Order).

Bad Otis Link

In the words of Bad Otis Link, his new show consists of works "all done wrong, perfect for our current atmosphere." In this show, Link revisits ink and watercolor on Bristol. "I worked with these mediums in the '80s and recently realized that I miss this style" states the artist, who puts a slightly different twist on the pieces, using more line work and less stipple than in his previous works. The show will also consist of acrylic on hardboard and some three dimensional pieces: puppets and experimental foam work. "



More info at Copro Gallery

Share on Tumblr