MAGNUS FUROREM – oil on canvas – 16″ x 20″
Next week, on December 17th Corey Helford Gallery will be hosting a new solo exhibition featuring works by Toronto-based artist, Troy Brooks.
Titled “The B-Girls“, the new body of work consists of a unique series of oil paintings; surrealist portraits of delicate and elongated women, often observed in allegorical settings. His work seems to be influenced by a mixture of classic Hollywood imagery, gothic culture and ancient mythology, and of course his fascination for women which the artist describes as follows:
“I paint women because, for me, they are ultimately the most visually lyrical subject and to be honest I relate to women much more than I do men. Always have. When I was a teenager I used to spend all day in the town library pouring over books about silent movie actresses. I loved the prostitutes in Van Dongen and Otto Dix paintings. I was obsessed with the 1930’s drunken Parisian lesbians in Brassaï photographs and the “bitch goddesses” from 40’s film noir etc. I amassed quite an extensive collection of old photographs. I made endless drawings of these women. One thing that used to drive me crazy was that I always made the faces too long. It was something I used to have to go back and fix in my drawings. When I began creating my own characters I decided to just accentuate it.” – Troy Brooks
His glamorous characters are both seductive and intensely emotional, and always surrounded by an air of melancholy and mystery. Exploring the theme of Veiled Hearts, the artist examined the veil as a metaphor. After finishing Volume 1, he began work on Volume 2 but feeling the need to listen closer to the voices of his muse and the girls who feature in his paintings, Brooks decided to take his initial theme and turn it on its head. He felt it was time to seek out the misfits, to bring his women out of the shadows and from behind the veil – the B-Sides to his Veiled Hearts series. The result is a haunting body of work that will captivate you.
“The B-Girls“ will be on view through January 14th, 2017 in Gallery 3 located on 571 S. Anderson St. (Enter on Willow St) Los Angeles, CA 90033.
More about Troy Brooks on Website | Instagram | Facebook
BUMBLE SONNET FOR SAINT LUCIFER oil on canvas – 20″ x 24″
BITTER ROSE – oil on canvas – 16″ x 20″
BLACK DOVE – oil on canvas – 16″ X 20″
RID OF ME – oil on canvas – 16″ x 20″
BURIED BY A NIGHT STAND – oil on canvas – 30″ x 24″
SILENCE I BECOME – oil on canvas – 24″ x 20″
BLACK VEIN HONEY – oil on canvas – 16″ x 12″
Author: Fran
Founder and editor of Urbanite. Street Art lover who after the finishing her MA thesis on the Mexican and Norwegian muralist movement in the 1920-50s, developed a fascination for street art and graffiti that eventually led to collaborations with different art blogs, including the creation of this one.
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