| WHERE: Copro Nason Gallery (11265 Washington Bl., Culver City, Ca. 90230 WHAT: Art Showdown 9-11-04 ; Dave Leamon, Skot Olsen, Esao Andrews, Vincent Locke DATE: September 11, 2004 through November 13, 2004 CONTACT: Gary Pressman, Copro/Nason Fine Art Gallery Four artists from different parts of the country will match their skills in a group show. All of the work compliments each other so it will be a great combination of talent. The work ranges from Surreal to Obscene. Expect to see dark images of hacked up bodies alongside historical anecdotes of Captains at sea with maybe a few "Pig priests" and cute girls thrown in. Sublime and ridiculous, there should be something for everyone in this show. Dave Leamon was born in Guam in 1968. He has been an artist for as long as he has been allowed to play with sharp objects. He has lived all over the U.S. in various cities including Atlanta , Lincoln , and San Francisco , but he has called Los Angeles "home" (among other names) for the past 10 years. He went a small school in Phoenix for advertising and graphic design. He has no formal training in painting, but that clearly hasn't stopped him from drunkenly slapping pigment on any available surface and then bugging people to buy them - the obvious signs of a true artist. Dave claims inspiration from a myriad of sources, including high-speed television chases, tabloid stories about 5-legged animals, microwave burritos and 99-cent sake. Dave displays a disturbing tendency to gravitate towards the bottom of the barrel in terms of both his subject matter and his lifestyle. Dave says "I think the challenge is to present subject matter that most people deem unacceptable or unattractive, and make it appealing. Also, there are more than enough artists painting flowers and bunnies. You need to try to achieve equilibrium by creating a netherworld filled with booze and bums to ensure that the natural balance of the universe is maintained. It's my job to maintain that balance." Skot Olsen was born at Fort Hood , Texas in 1969. After his father returned from Vietnam , the family moved to Connecticut , where they stayed through Skot's graduation from High School. He went on to receive his diploma from the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic art in 1991. While growing up in Connecticut , Skot and his parents spent their summers sailing up and down the coast of New England and all over the West Indies . It was on these long trips that Olsen developed his love for the culture and history of sea-faring people. Having lived near the Florida Everglades for the past 12 years, Skot has also developed an affinity for the Deep South . When not painting giant squid and sea captains, cypress trees and fresh water springs populated with hillbillies are the topics he most enjoys to depict. Skot's art training is evident in his paintings, which are cartoon like in style, with somewhat realistic rendering. His work primarily deals with the human condition via a story that unravels within the picture before the viewer. Growing up in the Arizona desert and now a part of New York City's creative community, Esao Andrews has carved himself a niche as a unique artist and painter of dark, dreamy worlds. Inhabiting the paintings is a gothic cast of strange creatures and mysterious females. Esao works in the illustration business but with his fine art he paints oil on wood. His subject matter is a bizarre mix of nightmarish surrealism teetering in balance with Dark humor. Esao graduated from the " School of Visual Arts " in NYC and currently lives in Brooklyn. Vince Locke began his career in 1986 as a co-creator of Deadworld, a zombie horror comic that soon became a cult hit. Since then his Illustrative talents in comics have included Sandman, A History of Violence, American Freak, Batman and The Spectre. He has worked with many fine comic book creators over the years such as Neil Gaiman, Jill Thompson, John Wagner, Michael Zulli and Guy Davis to name a few. He has done hundreds of illustrations for "White Wolf and Wizards of the Coast", specializing in gothic horror with a unique vision. He has also gained notoriety as the album cover artist for the death metal band Cannibal Corpse. Vince's primary painting mediums are watercolor and oil. The paintings range from eerie to ultra-violent with a fine art sensibility. His personal work continues to be dark and sometimes violent with a Macabre sense of humor. ####
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