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Surreal Painted Postcards from a Post-Apocalyptic World

A surreal post-apocalyptic wasteland of skeletons and flying sharks composes a group show at Modern Eden Gallery.
Ring of Fire, Sandra Yagi. All images courtesy the artists and Modern Eden Gallery

An unconventional scene depicting flying swordfish reeled in by the bony hands of skeleton fishermen is filled with stringent detail by Sandra Yagi, one of four artists brought together by curator Bradley Platz for Hindsight, a new show opening November 5th at San Francisco's Modern Eden Gallery. The gradient tones of the marine fish effortlessly mirror the deep sapphires of an ocean backdrop. An intervention of two skeleton fishers adds an element of the unexpected, but the artist’s commitment to a realistic tableau temper any such oddities. Akin to the strange picture of "gone fishing" skeletons surrounded by waterlife, Platz shares how the nonchalant attitude of the paintings’ characters reflect a growing comfort with ecological destruction.

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A great deal of painterly skill is evident throughout Hindsight, be it through Josh Keyes' flying sharks, Ellen Jewett's colorful fowl, or Ahren Hertel's grim landscapes. In a statement sent to The Creators Project, Platz shares the idea that the imaginary post-apocalypse is merely a conduit to dig into deeper themes in a "visually beautiful manner, encompassing themes of natural selection, and unnatural intervention into our fragile ecosystem. Each work, an ecological warning sign for our times.” Check out more works from Hindsight in the images below:

Phantom, Josh Keyes

That Most Familiar Couplet, Ellen Jewett

As the Land, Ahren Hertel

The Last Harvest, Sandra Yagi

I'llmeltwithyou, Josh Keyes

Out Foxed I, II, Ellen Jewett

Of Plagues and Prey, Ahren Hertel

Hindsight is on display from November 5 – December 3, 2016 at Modern Eden Gallery in San Francisco. To find more information about the show and its featured artists, visit the gallery’s website here.

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