Some of the best things I know Daniel Attoe

 

"Some of the best things I know" includes a group of paintings by Dan Attoe that focus on stories about bars, trees, birds, heavy metal, love, dirt roads, insults, yard ornaments, lakes, fights, liquor, religion, mythological creatures, strippers, idiots, tents, bugs, chemicals, malls, country music, farms, friends, lies, road trips, fish, skateboards, dirt, jerks, truck stops, my brothers, Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and the sky.

 

Landscapes play a dominant role in Attoe's paintings although he infuses them with people engaged in various activities, some expected - camping, hunting, wondering, others less so - a man dragging a corpse through a dark field, a torn lover having his head cut off by a detached hand, a woman standing in the middle of a deserted plain in a one piece swimsuit. Both surreal and hyperreal, Attoe’s paintings evoke classic painting styles from the renaissance, to Dutch old masters to the Barbizon school yet his works are always infused with a subtle statements. At the core of his work is a great sense of observation, a keen awareness of his surroundings and a great deal of commentary about the current state of affairs in his life and what is present in all of our lives.

 

For his first solo exhibition in Los Angeles, Daniel Attoe (b. Bremerton, Washington, 1975) will present 5 new large paintings from his “Accretion” series and a group of about 20 small paintings on MDF panels.

 

Some of the best things I know by Daniel Attoe will be on view at Peres Projects, Los Angeles (969 Chung King Road, Los Angeles, CA 90012) through June 19, 2004. Hours: Wednesday through Saturday, from 12:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M and by appointment.