AJ Fosik @Guerrero Gallery     Thursday, 15 November 2012 /// Written by Rachel Ralph Blue Green Chimera by AJ Fosik Daniel Albrigo in the Project Room If you can only get to one art show in the next couple of weeks, get to AJ Fosik's Lamplighter to the Promised Land at Guerrero Gallery. This is seriously not one to be missed. Guerrero opened their huge space to Portland-based Fosik and his wooden totemic animal figures this last Friday, and many took the opportunity to find themselves some awe and amazement. The wood sculptures are either free-standing or wall mounted, looking like either a taxidermy standing bear or a mounted elk's head, but the color really separates them from any natural characteristics. For the wall-mounted pieces, spray painted patterns can be seen on their bases before layer upon layer of the figure extends from them. I was especially drawn to Strange Regions in Search of Beauty, Awe or Terror from this year which compounds a human face, a human skull, and a bull's head, revealing the animalistic nature in us all. Each of us has days when we feel there is a bull inside struggling to break free, and this piece reminds us of our own power to do so. For me, this one was all about internal drives and desires, and the power in embracing and releasing them unto the world. The small Project Gallery in the back also held works by Daniel Albrigo with smiley face paintings and a sculpture made of smiley beach balls. The paintings are light and fun and have titles like Don't Forget to Smile with hues of pink and light blue. I kind of feel bad for Albrigo because his work does deserve attention, but I just had to get back to Fosik's pieces. They are endlessly exciting and each detail is superb. One of my favorite details of the work was the shingle-like scales he employed on his free-standing figures such as Exploder Installation. These scales are sharp-edged and painted colorfully, so why do I believe them to be realistic? It seems like that head is going to start snarling and it is going to leap off the pedestal at any minute. And the hands! The animalistic figure has human hands, and unlike the other figures which have them in distinct gestures, these are positioned more as if in prayer-pose. Maybe its meditation is what is keeping the beast back, so it is necessary to be left in peace. Words cannot do these pieces justice, and neither do the pictures that follow. Please, go see this show. You will not be disappointed. No matter what age, gender or culture you are coming from, you will find something in this work that speaks to you. With about twenty large pieces, Fosik's work will stick in your brain, and I have absolutely no doubt that you will be seeing a lot more of him in the future. Exploder Installation by AJ Fosik, 2012 Everything is Fine on Mars by Daniel Albrigo, 2012 Read more...