Judy Sarup is a copywriting intern at our brand strategy and creative services firm Project X Media. She likes art. She likes to write. She gets to review.
The "Birds n' Booze" exhibit at Project X:Art, running from February 26 to March 20, features works by artists Mark Leone and Christine Rho. At first glance, the juxtaposed subjects of birds and alcohol appearing together in an exhibit appear disparate. But a common thread unifies the show, the theme of mental struggles and physical illness experienced both by the individual and society as a whole.
Mark Leone's impeccably-created works feature mostly bright acrylic paints. They could double as animation cels infused with delightful artistic overkill—Leone's skill in applying enameling technique is evident. He might have taken on a personal challenge to break the boundary of painting on wood as a medium—and incorporate technique normally reserved for painting on metal. We can easily imagine miniature-scale replicas of his paintings appearing on contemporary-themed jewelry boxes or even on enamel Easter eggs!
We could wonder why Leone has spent so much time, energy and talent on one subject, birds. Perhaps he's needed a catharsis for his worries since the bird flu epidemic hit a few years ago. And, his somewhat comedic portrayals of sick birds may provide us with a more comfortable way of addressing our own struggles with illness.
Mark Leone's works:
We know what the green bird is sick with—a "Bird Flu" sign sits above him [Image 1 of 34]. The shape and background design of the wooden board with nails suggests the bird is sick "at home," in a tree. With sad eyes and a protruding tummy, we may wish to pet his cloisonné-like feathers.
A stonework mosaic-encrusted armadillo-like creature [Image 2 of 34], looks a bit unhappy and must reckon with its pink rabbit-like ears. Leone breaks boundaries here with his textural interpretation.
It's almost too painful to gaze for more than a moment at Leone's double "X-ray" paintings [Image 3 of 34] of a bird skeleton in two views of black, grays and white. The bird's expression is sad; a thermometer hangs from its mouth. A single X-ray-type study [Image 13 of 34], tinged with tragedy, is of another bird skeleton in black, with a white thermometer hanging from its mouth Leone's works on the same theme [Image 12 and 14 of 34], but with bright backgrounds in fuchsia and purple, and with a white thermometer dangling from the bird's mouth—is not as emotionally wrenching for the viewer.
Leone's cloisonné painting technique abounds in the yellow-and-red bird [Image 4 of 34]. The eyelids are heavy, and we probably don't wish to pet this bird—some of his feathers look too-sharp tipped and unruly.
Leone lets his wooden panel show through [Image 5 of 34] for an etching-like young bird, looking sad and small. His rounded head looks endearing.
Another bird [Image 6 of 34], mostly in black and gray shades, wears a helmet or a cap, and there's a thermometer red from top to bottom, hanging from the mouth. A black-and-gray spotted background suggests illness, too. Another similar work [Image 9 of 34], but with a yellow-and-orange, brightly-colored bird, has an orange fever showing on his thermometer, as he wears a warm hat.
Then comes an aqua caricatured bird [Image 7 of 34] with a pink breast! This one's sick, too, with a thermometer hanging from the mouth. [Maybe the pink breast suggests a lovesick female bird.]
With its wings outstretched, and a mosaic-type design suggesting its prehistoric roots, the next etching-like bird [Image 8 of 34] sadly gazes toward the sun and sees a jug of water in the center—or could that be some liquor?
Two eyes in what looks like a giant eyelid, with a thermometer stuck in the lower lid, lend much expression to Leone's next work, "Clam Flu" [Image 10 of 34]. The thermometer is upside down, with the mouth tip pointed upward! Our bird feels horribly sick and has decided, at least figuratively, to hide in a clam shell until he recovers.
The black-and-white bird studies [Image 15 of 34], "Shadow Party," are thrilling texturally because of the enamel-like design element. One of the birds must have a headache because of swellings on top of his head. Leone has repeated the cloisonné-like feathers here, too.
"Space Peacock" [Image 16 of 34], is a thrilling work to behold. Yes, it's another bird skeleton study—but it's a painting infused with dazzling color and suggestion of texture—a velvety blue head, and a skeleton of colored mosaics on gray-and-white bones. Glass encloses his head, and a gray rocket is ready for him.
"The Og" [Image 17 of 34] is an etching-like Tweety Bird type, with a distended abdomen.
In "The Parrot" Leone provides his most detailed etching-like bird study in the collection, with a full head, a grimace on the mouth and a most distended abdomen.
"Cell Free Silhouette" is fascinating and different than the other Leone works. Here, a bird sits on a traffic light, across from a palm tree, and electric lines are visible.
Christine Rho's art is a study of alcohol as popular iconography, with the degenerate results of over-consumption shown in her pictures of people. All all of the cans and bottles she depicts through painting are especially attractive, contrasting with her pictures of seedy-looking people suffering with hangovers, apathy and depression. Rho incorporates hand drawing and painting into her works.
Christine Rho's works:
"Man on Couch" and "Man on Bed" are perhaps a bit embarrassing to look at but the treatment is appropriate. The subject has been drinking and smoking, and he's relaxed at home, in a state of undress. His legs are open too much before us—because we're not supposed to be there looking at him! In "Man on Bed," his skin is a discolored shade of orange, and his penis is shown in cross-section, shaped like a cigar!
In "Pasqual," and "Sanchez Ink," Rho shows us a seedy-looking man's hairy chest. She draws chest hair in a graphic, almost wormy fashion.
An unusual Rho work is the one of a man with a Bulleit Bourbon Frontier Whiskey bottle. He watches pornography on his computer, and a web address on it reads: www.megaloporn.com/video/: TG: VXCLXG. We get the message!
Rho's beer cans and liquor bottles appeal because they look like storybook illustration versions. Logos and pictures are soft-edged and a bit dreamlike. Pictures of Budweiser and Sapporo cans are with the tops open, and we see black holes that look a little scary. We are steadily aware of Rho's intent to communicate messages with us.