
“Texploitation: Art, Guns, Girls, and BBQ”
Artists: Cirkit of Mythos: Steve Cruz, Omar Hernandez, Eddy Rawlinson,
Ryder Richards
Opening Friday July 27 from 6pm-10pm
July 27- August 25, 2012
Dallas artist group examines Texas clichés and big egos at Antena, Chicago.
“We can’t help it. Living in Texas makes us better than
you. Just look at the art. We deal with real issues, like chicks,
engines, guns, and sex. None of this political pantywaist, hand
wringing, and whining about ourselves or crying about the earth or any
of that hippy shit. We make work about real stuff. Like how men jump in
head-first, breaking shit and fucking anything, and how lame it is that
people get all caught up in power when all you need is a warm hole to
holster your gun in and some wind in your hair.”
Or not…
Exposing the dialectic of hypocrisy entrenched in
stereotype, the Dallas based art group Cirkit of Mythos presents
“Texploitation: Art, Guns, Girls and BBQ,” an examination of cliché as
the ambiguous prophet of truth. Focused on personal mythology as
environmentally determined, the Texas artists take on the icons of the
West and modern masculinity as politically charged and contentious while
heralding a warning of extremity and romanticized notions of power.
Held at Antena in Chicago on July 27- Aug 24 , 2012 the exhibit will
feature a series of small paintings and drawings proving that not
everything is bigger in Texas, ya’ll. Please join us for the reception
on Friday, July 27 from 6-9 PM.
Cirkit of Mythos (est. 2008) formed as a collaborative
exercise to increase dialogue between Dallas based artists.
“Texploitation” developed from conversations about importing culture as
an exotic penchant for the locals. Embracing our inescapable origins,
Cirkit of Mythos revels in the Texas commonplace as highly undervalued
and over scrutinized. Shrinking our work size to accommodate tourism
style gifts, we display our works as the quaint other embalmed in
political incorrectness and rebellious turmoil.
With a cast of rotating members this exhibition features
works from four artists: Steve Cruz (Director of MFA Gallery, Dallas),
Omar Hernandez (Professor at El Centro College), Eddy Rawlinson (Dean of
Arts and Sciences at El Centro College) and Ryder Richards (Gallery
Director at Richland College). Cruz’s paintings present a series of
characters humorously struggling with sin and the consequences of
spiritual and sexual stagnation. As a moral corollary, Hernandez offers a
series of constructed pieces featuring retro-pop imagery reanalyzed in
light of current global and community values. Rawlinson’s vivid
paintings of cultural icons re-examines the plight of outlaw and outcast
as the sacrificial hero necessary for the continuation of spirit amidst
a civilized bureaucracy. Concerned with the subliminal influences
embedded within Western culture, Richards gunpowder drawings examine the
romance of violence.
SEE PHOTOS FROM THE OPENING ON FLICKR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lapsus5/sets/72157630999879066/
Antena
1755 S. Laflin, St.
Chicago, IL 60608
antenapilsen (at) gmail.com
Hours: by appointment
(773) 340-3516