Hot town, summer in the city.

So Bristol City Museum & Art Gallery is currently housing the Art from the new world exhibition, under the curation of the Corey Helford Gallery in LA.

And to be fair, its pretty damn good.
The exhibition encompasses a variety of media, exposing an American art scene that is bold and provocative.
And I kind of loved it a little bit.

What was unavoidable was the unashamed nod of appreciation towards the traditional skills of painting and drawingthat are so often overlooked in modern conceptual exhibitions. The technical skill here is exquisite, and the artists knowledge and understanding is impressive.
Each piece is laced with a dark sense of humour, as well as conventional ideas of society, beauty and glamour. The show comes as a breath of fresh air, often seen as a rejection of the highbrow conceptual art in favour of work that reflects more on technical skill and narrative, often with a figureative focus.

The show claims to set about dissolveing the elitism in the art world and blurring the boundries of what people consider 'high' and 'low' art. It highlights everything that attracted me to art in the first place.

I remember doing a little project on Buff Monster when I was studying for my A.S level, drawn in by the flattened cans with the tag painted on, nailed to lamp-posts. Nowdays Buff Monster has established himself as a reputable modern artists, braching out into silk screen and designer toys. It was cool to see his work up close after so long !



The piece that caught my eye immediatly was Elizabeth McGrath's 'Cerberus.'





Combining two of my most favorite things, dogs and things that sparkle in a garish fashion. Her disturbingly lifelike sculptures are led by her curiosity about the relationship between the natural world and the excess of consumer culture, so we share some ideas and inspirations surrounding our work !

While Natalia Fabia's 'wet tea party' depicts pretty much my ideal evening. Down to the eccentric headwear, diamonte skull and kitsch teapot.



Its a cool, quirky, thought provoking and powerful exhibition, housing a collaboration of artists never shown together outside of the U.S before now. It runs until Augest 22nd, so def hop down if you have the chance and it will more likely than not brighten your day.