16 Nov 2011

Micki Pellerano: Revelation at envoy enterprises, NY

envoy enterprises is pleased to present Revelation, a series of recent drawings by Micki Pellerano. Taking his inspiration from ancient pagan or biblical stories and characters, fused with his own imagination, the artist creates new mythologies through these classically rendered drawings.

In their timeless style, Pellerano's depictions of the grotesque and morbid, narrative and pictorial, invite the viewer to step out of their reality into another world. The result is fantastical, and descriptive of the dark recesses of the human psyche. In this way he aims to challenge our understanding of what is real or primitive, versus what is imagined or conditioned in our everyday lives. Rather than contemplating life's temporality though his art, he explores the limits of eternity, alternate universes, and fictional spaces – all of which speak to our innermost desires and fears.

For example in 'Solar Temple,' a baroque-like painted ceiling comes to life, its characters descending like ghosts from another time. Architectural structures blend into one another, dimensional planes are intentionally confused and distorted, implementing a technical perspective that is at once created and destroyed.. An ambiguous group of figures in the 'background' hover together, perhaps existing in the same world, or as a memory from some other unknown time or place. In another work called 'Behemoth,' a part-man part-beast creature looks outward beyond the limits of its paper prison. In its form, it is unclear where body parts begin and end. The creature's mysterious role in the scene unfolding around him, combined with its ominous stare, creates an overall sinister effect that sparks our primal curiosity.

In his first solo exhibition at the gallery, Pellerano confronts the comprehensive boundaries of metaphysical concepts such as eternity, existentialism, and religion. He entwines contemporary apocalyptic crises with scriptural and Neo-Platonic themes, commanding a re-examination of humanity's existential plight. The sacred, the damned, struggle, and despair are the conceptual roots of the artist's work as well as his literal subjects.

Trained in theater at New York University's Tisch School, Micki Pellerano also works in performance art and film. He has exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Milan, and Mexico City, and has been included in several publications in New York and abroad. Some of these include the New York Times, Vice Magazine, Useless, and Nylon magazine, among others. Micki Pellerano lives and works in New York.