160 QUID SHIPPED! PM ME!

Phone Booth Gallery is pleased to present it’s third exhibition by Dutch artist Handiedan, an intricate opus of new mixed media work that expands the artist’s exploration of bodies, sensuality and iconography. The exhibition opens with a reception on November 6th from 7-10pm. The all ages event is located at Phone Booth Gallery’s exhibition space, 2533 East Broadway, Long Beach, CA 90803. After opening night, the work will be available through December 18, 2010 at the exhibition space, as well as www.phoneboothgallery.com.

Handiedan’s collage work, now even more layered and labyrinthine than in the past, feeds on the tainted history of pin-up girl posters, using torn, aged surfaces to subvert sexiness. At first glance, the images have a nostalgic feeling, fueled by their ornate details and seemingly straightforward compositions, but a closer look quickly reveals their brutality.

Handiedan’s work is neither clear-cut nor gentle. Limbs tangle with each other, eyes, or even whole swaths of figures’ faces, have been scratched out or blurred to the point of obscurity; texts and flourishes from antique ads become almost sinister as environments for these nearly dismembered figures; tattoos and hidden patterns etched into the images add to the density; and gilt frames emphasize an already over stimulating effect.

Like her equally obsessively predecessors Joseph Cornell and Hans Bellmer, Handiedan acts as a collector of the mundane and eccentric, telling visual stories that are familiar but far from linear. In this exhibition, her interest in Victorian erotica and burlesque meshes with Eastern influences—barely clad girls begin to resemble Hindu goddesses, with multiple limbs and towering headdresses. As divergent icons and eras merge, women become symbols of power as much as desire, yet it’s not clear which, or if either, is better.

Though her current work tends toward multi-faceted, multi-hued theatricality, it also embraces an element of noir-inspired starkness. For the first time, Handiedan has experimented with black and white imagery, and to haunting effect. In “Valkyries No. 2,” a cool white skull becomes a habitat for two grayish, ghostly bodies and, in “Thats a damn fine coat your wearing No. 2,” two gun-wielding women embrace each other with suaveness worthy of Bogart and Bacall.

Ultimately, Handiedan presents a new history by repurposing an old one. Posters, icons, typography, constructs, and decorations of earlier eras are toggled together in a way that scratches away at the past’s objectification while celebrating its glamour.

Looks like a great show, I'm in England though so I won't be able to make it.

Once again the small one went lightning fast. Some day I will get in there.

"THATS A DAMN FINE COAT YOUR WEARING NO. 2" is insane

Yup, Valkyries will be available first at the opening reception, then any remaining copies will be made available online shortly thereafter... Plus if you are here in person, expect some other cool things as well. =)

Lovely stuff as usual!

Prints and originals up now.

I think this is great value for money at $950:



HANDIEDAN
"Beautiful Decay No. 3"
Print, Collage, Acrylic and Pen on Old Metal (Zinc)
9" x 16.9"

Did anyone go along to the opening?

These are really good. Love the dollar theme. Need the dollar to crash though

Hey guys! We put up some photos of opening night on our blog if you are interested:

phoneboothgallery.com/pbg/blog

GO MISS H!! WOW!

Typical! Like this and a good price!

you and me both toby