September 8 - October 13, 2007

MAGNIFICENT BASTARDS | THE ART OF WAR
New works by Karl Erickson and Andrew Falkowski

HIGH ENERGY CONSTRUCTS is pleased to present Magnificent Bastards | The Art of War, featuring new drawings by Karl Erickson and paintings by Andrew Falkowski.

Magnificent Bastards | The Art of War is a retarded reaction to an impossible situation: living in a time of war. Not your typical anti-authority, anti-war perspective, this exhibition is a considered response, reflecting arbitrary and insufficient answers to the untenable power struggles that envelope us all.

The absurdity of our historical moment cries out for a reaction. The Magnificent Bastards express a mood: the angst and hapless bewilderment of an entire generation. The Art of War is that expression: If you can’t stop’em, describe’em.

About the artists:

Karl Erickson is an artist whose interests include psychedelia, language, transcendental experiences, and counter-cultures throughout the ages. His primary media are video, posters, drawing, and latch-hook rugs and pillows. Erickson received his BFA from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI, in 1996, and his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, in 2002. He has also written about art, literature, music and sports for magazines such as Xtra, Flash Art, New Art Examiner and Artnet. Erickson currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

Andrew Falkowski received his BA from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1995, his MA from the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1999, and his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, in 2003. Selected solo shows include Remain in Light at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois, New Paintings at Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Santa Monica, California, and Sing Your Life at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, California. Falkowski currently lives and works in Chicago.

(Karl Erickson, My Two Colonels, 2007, graphite on paper, 15.5 x 12.5 inches)


(Karl Erickson, Screaming Hawkeye BJ, 2007, graphite on paper, 13.5 x 15.5 inches)

(Karl Erickson, Beard of M*A*S*H, 2007, graphite on paper, 15.5 x 12.5 inches)

(Karl Erickson, Third Eye Radar, 2007, graphite on paper, 15.5 x 12.5 inches)

(Andrew Falkowski, Hogan the Barbarian, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 29 x 24 inches)

(Andrew Falkowski, Frenemies, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 36 x 27 inches)

(Andrew Falkowski, One Shocked Nazi, 2007, acrylic on canvas, 17 x 15 inches)
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artforum.com, Critics’ Picks, review by Micol Hebron

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