curated by Chloé Derderian

featuring Deedee Cheriel, Hirokazu Takahashi, Jen Stark, Jenny Riffle, Matt Leines, Molly Landreth, Richard Colman, Ryan Foerster, Taylor McKimens

The works in Tiger in a Tropical Storm concentrate on the subject matter of exotic flora and fauna. Each artist in the show created works in the spirit of freedom and exploration, bringing to mind the works of Henri Rousseau. The title “Tiger in a Tropical Storm” comes from a Rousseau painting of exactly that- a tiger caught in a tropical storm.

“Tiger in a Tropical Storm” features works by the following artists:Deedee Cheriel, Hirokazu Takahashi, Jen Stark, Jenny Riffle, Matt Leines, Molly Landreth, Richard Colman, Ryan Foerster, Taylor McKimens

Deedee Cheriel and Richard Colman are artists working in the Los Angeles area. Hirokazu Takahashi, Matt Leines, Ryan Foerster, Taylor McKimens are artists working in the New York metropolitan area. Jen Stark hails from Miami, Florida and Molly Landreth and Jenny Riffle come to us from Seattle Washington.

Deedee Cheriel’s work has the closest relationship to Rousseau, as she creates her work using animal motifs, although Ms. Cheriel renders her animals and women in sweet, yet very sexually explicit poses. Taylor McKimens creates comical works that evoke a different side of the luxuriant jungle, one filled with flies, weeds and sweat. Jen Stark creates the lone abstract work in the show. Yet, the colors and shapes she uses in her video, sculptures and drawings are evocative of a vibrant flourishing jungle setting.

The three photographers represented: Jenny Riffle, Molly Landreth and Ryan Foerster bring a refreshing vision of the theme with work that continues the lush nature iconography of the show. Interestingly, they bring the theme to another level of fantasy and dreamscape with the figures in their works often captured at ethereal moments in day-dreamy surroundings.

Richard Colman, Hirokazu Takahashi and Matt Leines create much more detail oriented work than the rest, yet still with a youthful nouveau-naïve feel. They create magical mythical universes within their works. The works become a personal mythology, which carries through their entire body of work. They leave the viewer needing to see the next piece in order to continue with the story.