This Friday, a mind-blowing fantasy and science fiction art show opens at Seattle's Roq La Rue Gallery. Curated by Kirsten Anderson and Travis Louie, the "Amazing Visions" exhibition includes an incredible line-up of artists. Fortunately, all of the works are viewable on the gallery's Web site. (Below, "The Sky People" by Gregory Manchess.)
From the show description:
Often vilified and kept firmly underground, (with the exception of some commercial work) Fantasy Art has been relegated to the back corner of the art world's consciousness, despite being a pervasive art genre appreciated by many. Contrary to some public perception that Fantasy Art is "unicorns and wizards", it is actually often deeply rooted in both mythological and archetypal psychology and imagery, mixed with man's innate wonder and contemplation about cultures and technology of the future. Much like the best fantasy and sci fi literature, the best work is able to transcend labels and genres to simply be "great art" and in fact much of it shares traits with academically sanctioned art movements such as Surrealism, Symbolism, and the Pre-Raphaelites. In the words of J.R.R. Tolkien "Fantasy is overcoming one's poverty of imagination".
(Below left, "Girl With Oxpecker: by Omar Rayyan. Below right, "Unnatural Selection" by Brian Despain.)
While "fantasy" as far as stories and images containing fantastical elements and the speculation of other worlds is ancient, the current definition of Fantasy art usually refers to the work being created as an offshoot of the Sci Fi art scene of the 1960's. Pioneers like Frank Frazetta and H.R. Giger inspired a slew of young artists who followed in their footsteps while creating intricate worlds of their own, and in fact help define some of the ways we visualize our own future. (Such as H.R. Giger's dark biotech nightmares, or Syd Mead's design work on the film "Blade Runner")…
Artists: Matt Wilson, Wayne Barlowe, James Gurney, H.R. Giger, Charles Vess, John Brophy, Terese Neilsen, Kinuko Y Craft, Vincent Di Fate, Vince Natale, Don Maitz, Gregory Manchess, Jeremy Bennett, Brian Despain, Ezra Tucker, Brom, Mark Garro, Stephen Hickman, Chet Zar, James Warhola, Kirk Reinert, Basil Gogos, Donato Giancola, Miles Teves, Bob Eggleton, Omar Rayyan, Joe DeVito, Tristan Elwell, Gabe Marquez, John Jude Palencar, Constantine
