The art world has lately seen a bevy of Chris Johanson acolytes whose homespun devotionals to quotidian beauty and awkwardly intimate social encounters don't quite match up to his peculiar mix of hope and melancholy. "Solo Show/Solo Soul" allows Johanson to gather together six artists who, instead of traveling in his wake, were all influenced by the street, skate, and slacker subcultures in San Francisco from which he has drawn inspiration. Los Angeles-based Ashley Macomber paints slick and slightly surreal combinations of whales, wolves, dolphins and people floating in the middle of washy monochromatic backgrounds. Fan, 2004, perhaps the best single work in the exhibition, depicts a free-floating female hand clutching a delightfully odd fashion accessory: a fan made of feathers and blue whales. Chris Corales downgrades materials—his bits of cardboard, paper, plastic candy wrappers, and fabric are described on the checklist as simply “found shapes”—to emphasize form. His Untitled (blue & white), 2004, is an elegant garbage-day take on Ellsworth Kelly, and his floor-based accumulations call to mind Ian Kiaer without the fussiness.
2004-07
"Solo Show/Solo Soul"
Artforum.com
Review
177 words

Ashley Macomber
Fan
2004
Acrylic on wood
24 x 18"
Courtesy of the artist and Vedanta Gallery, Chicago