Amazing Visions Opening3 April 13, 2007

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”.

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”)

For “Amazing Visions”, curators Travis Louie and Kirsten Anderson picked some of the brightest stars of the scene, whose work spans the Sci Fi, Fantasy, Horror, and Magical Realism genres. This is one of the first times a show devotedly solely to modern Fantasy art has been shown in a U.S. gallery, and we will hope you will enjoy these truly amazing visions.

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.

Official Website: http://roqlarue.com/showpages/AmazingVisions/AmazingVisions.html