Nightmares & Landscapes

Drawings, etchings, paintings, video

Ronald J. Llanos

Aaron Martinez

Stephanie Mercado

Miguel Olivares

Rebecca Urias

Opening Reception:  Saturday, August 11, 2007 from 7-10 pm

The Avenue 50 Studio is proud to present its new exhibit, “Nightmares & Landscapes”, featuring drawings, etchings, paintings, and video from five young emerging artists.  The use of line is the common thread.

Ronald J. Llanos deals with people -- at times real or a combination of reality and imagination. Honoré Daumier and Francisco Goya are two artists he is greatly influenced by.  In his series of robots, Ron explores human frailty and the darker aspects of fear, regret and loneliness as motifs for his work.

Aaron Martinez portrays his dreams, fantasies and memories, placing them in a surreal landscape evocative of comic book illustration and film noir.  He graduated from Art Center College of Design with honors.

Stephanie Mercado emphasizes absurdity through caricature and the theatrical, painting portrait-like depictions of individuals and archetypes within her Mexican-American community.  Using the circus as a metaphor for life, Stephanie is constantly looking and searching for information that can be translated into a critique of society.

Miguel Olivares appreciates the “awe” that children and the insane have, and fills his work with this awe in a magical and fantastic manner.  He works in any medium necessary to formulate work in an “art brute” or surrealistic style.  Miguel will be presenting a video specially prepared for this exhibit.

Rebecca Urias’s charming images focus on childhood themes, street culture and violence.  Being raised a Chicana Catholic powerfully impacted her life.  Rebecca paints with watercolors, ink and acrylics, and has no formal training.

When:                        Opening Reception:  Saturday, August 11, 2007 from 7-10 pm

Where:                       Avenue 50 Studio, Inc., 131 No. Avenue 50, Highland Park, CA  90042
Duration:                   August 11 through September 2, 2007