Press release

Debuting at the Baldwin Gallery will be New York artist Matthew Weinstein, who explores contemporary concepts of reality and simulacra through visual narratives that combine imaginative botanical elements, doll figures, and eccentric interior spaces. Bypassing photography altogether, Weinstein works with the latest 3-D computer animation technology which he believes provides the perfect balance between reality and abstraction. Drawing on a variety of influences ranging from early Japanese animation and the ancient aesthetic discipline of Ikebana floral arranging to futuristic science fiction, the artist explores the relationship between artifice and nature in his lush, constructed compositions. He will present a series of sculptures and video as well as two-dimensional works.

Born in New York, Matthew Weinstein earned a B.A. from Columbia University in 1987. His art has been exhibited in Germany, Switzerland, Brazil, the Netherlands, Italy, and the United States. He recently collaborated with artist Laurie Simmons on a film project. Weinstein investigates the shifting nature of visual discernment which is affected by the forces of context and distortion. We are living in a time where our perceptions are no longer an adequate gauge for what is real. As an exchange student in Japan, the artist was inspired by the blend of innocence and surrealistic narrative of early Japanese children’s cartoons, as well as the simplified sculptural vocabulary of Ikebana. Additional influences include science fiction and Cyberpunk novels which explore the idea of robots or holograms that are so authentic they become human.

Accompanying the exhibition will be a fully-illustrated catalogue featuring the original story “Witch Tree” by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Michael Cunningham (“The Hours”), and an essay by the artist.

Also showing at the Baldwin Gallery will be Los Angeles artist Greg Colson, who presents new paintings and sculptures in his exhibition “Mall Suites and Media Boxes”. Within precise formal aesthetic structures, the artist addresses ideas about advertising and consumption in contemporary society and how they function as distractions from real issues.

Colson will display large acrylic, oil and enamel paintings from his “Mall Suite” series; sculptures from his “Media Box” series; and related drawings made with enamel, crayon, ink, and pencil on paper. The “Media Boxes” comprise a group of faceted wall sculptures that touch on the pervasive sense of distraction in our post-modern culture. These works continue Colson’s interest in how the information stream is processed, filtered and eventually categorized by a society inundated with data. From lottery ads and weather forecasts to terrorist alerts and the latest diet fads, we are bombarded with warnings and generic advice through the news media. These ubiquitous messages actually divert our attention from more important underlying issues.

Born in Seattle, Colson earned an MFA from Claremont Graduate School after graduating from California State University. Solo shows of his art have been held in Italy, Great Britain, Germany, and Belgium, as well as the United States. His work is represented in collections in France, Russia, United States, Switzerland, Mexico and Germany. The artist lives and works in Venice, California.