Last month I met up with Anthony Pontius to check out his studio and get a sneak peek of the progress of his upcoming show the caped cobra and his merry band of riders at Thinkspace. Anthony walked a half hour with his dog, Dude to bring me back to his Greenpoint studio. So nice of him!
Kirsten Anderson of Roq la Rue describes Anthony's work as “Gorgeously apocalyptic and subtly infused with a dark whimsy." That defines his work perfectly. It was a real treat to get to see him smack dab in the middle of working on his show. The whole studio was filled with paintings in all states of progress. I wish I could share how really exciting it was to be in an environment full of so much work ready for a great show. There was great energy in the air. Hopefully the pics below will convey that!
Here's the story behind Anthony's show:
"The caped cobra and his merry band of riders are a group of humans that evolved during the end of the technological world of old in order to survive, they must coexist with nature by any means much like early human nomads. The band traverse the land searching for their long lost connections to the world as they grow the union creates their new identity the caped cobra is the elder of the group. He has reached his goal, he is the most experienced and unified. The merry band of riders represent the youth and the future of the culture. They are represented at various stages of their journeys. The entire group of paintings and drawings document all of the stages that are required for the riders to exist...there are over 30 paintings and drawings that depict the rise of the troupe."
I just love a good story! The caped cobra and his merry band of riders at Thinkspace opens April 9th. See more behind the scene pics of Anthony's work on Thinkspace's flickr page. And as always more images after the jump.
One of the beginning stages of Tony's process, the layers of paint.
Tony sent over a few pics of his finished paintings, so we've got a nice view of the beginning stages. First the sketch/drawing...
almost finished, when I laid eyes on it...
...and as it looks now:
Another painting mid progress...
...and finished.
Tony has some incredible prints being made, I'll keep you posted on when they are available. I was luckily enough to be given one, and the quality is incredible.
Dude, the most talented curly haired German Shepherd you'll ever meet.
Beautiful work, one of my favorite new artists.
Posted by: Joshua Retterer | Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 07:26 PM