PAST EXHIBITION

Danny Cole is remarked as one of New York’s most active figures in the emerging new world of post-institutional art. Cole uses an imaginary universe inhabited by Creatures to bring the city’s youth together. Cole fabricates this alternative universe through his: paintings, stories, installations, and participatory experiences. Cole took his experiences with The Creature World as an opportunity to hear his subconscious by tracing his visions back to their routes. Through his art of The Creature World, Cole fosters a shared dream land for people to explore together. Open-ended imagery and stories force participants to interpret from their unique perspectives, resulting in imposed additions to the creature world from the subconscious of each participant.

Based in Rochester, NY, Bradd Young creates work that is a result of endless hours of watching cartoons as a child. It taught him, at a young age, to appreciate absurdity in humor and the portrayals of day to day life. He channels that state of mind in his art by taking simple premises like gardening, swimming, or companionship, and filtering them through the lens of a kid. His paintings are an outlet that allow him to reminisce, as his vivid color palette and bizarre characters make him nostalgic for those Saturday morning shows. Thematically, Bradd enjoys juxtaposing bold colors and overtly happy characters with somber and mature undertones. Having grown into his young adult life, he is fascinated by balancing the surrealistically optimistic kid in him with the more realistic and, albeit pessimistic adult in him; and that is reflective in his approach to his art. Though at surface level, his work is warm, peaceful, and lighthearted, there is a starkness to them that stems from Bradd’s longing for a time when things actually were carefree.