“Texploitation: Art, Guns, Girls, and BBQ”
Artists: Cirkit of Mythos: Steve Cruz, Omar Hernandez, Eddy Rawlinson,
Ryder Richards

Opening Friday July 27 from 6pm-10pm
July 27- August 25, 2012

Dallas artist group examines Texas clichés and big egos at Antena, Chicago.

“We can’t help it. Living in Texas makes us better than you. Just look at the art. We deal with real issues, like chicks, engines, guns, and sex. None of this political pantywaist, hand wringing, and whining about ourselves or crying about the earth or any of that hippy shit. We make work about real stuff. Like how men jump in head-first, breaking shit and fucking anything, and how lame it is that people get all caught up in power when all you need is a warm hole to holster your gun in and some wind in your hair.”

Or not…

Exposing the dialectic of hypocrisy entrenched in stereotype, the Dallas based art group Cirkit of Mythos presents “Texploitation: Art, Guns, Girls and BBQ,” an examination of cliché as the ambiguous prophet of truth. Focused on personal mythology as environmentally determined, the Texas artists take on the icons of the West and modern masculinity as politically charged and contentious while heralding a warning of extremity and romanticized notions of power. Held at Antena in Chicago on July 27- Aug 24 , 2012 the exhibit will feature a series of small paintings and drawings proving that not everything is bigger in Texas, ya’ll. Please join us for the reception on Friday, July 27 from 6-9 PM.

Cirkit of Mythos (est. 2008) formed as a collaborative exercise to increase dialogue between Dallas based artists. “Texploitation” developed from conversations about importing culture as an exotic penchant for the locals. Embracing our inescapable origins, Cirkit of Mythos revels in the Texas commonplace as highly undervalued and over scrutinized. Shrinking our work size to accommodate tourism style gifts, we display our works as the quaint other embalmed in political incorrectness and rebellious turmoil.

With a cast of rotating members this exhibition features works from four artists: Steve Cruz (Director of MFA Gallery, Dallas), Omar Hernandez (Professor at El Centro College), Eddy Rawlinson (Dean of Arts and Sciences at El Centro College) and Ryder Richards (Gallery Director at Richland College). Cruz’s paintings present a series of characters humorously struggling with sin and the consequences of spiritual and sexual stagnation. As a moral corollary, Hernandez offers a series of constructed pieces featuring retro-pop imagery reanalyzed in light of current global and community values. Rawlinson’s vivid paintings of cultural icons re-examines the plight of outlaw and outcast as the sacrificial hero necessary for the continuation of spirit amidst a civilized bureaucracy. Concerned with the subliminal influences embedded within Western culture, Richards gunpowder drawings examine the romance of violence.

Antena
1755 S. Laflin, St.
Chicago, IL 60608
antenapilsen (at) gmail.com
Hours: by appointment
(773) 340-3516

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Tags: antena, Eddy Rawlinson, Omar Hernandez, Pilsen, Ryder Richards, Steve Cruz