"Fear of the Known" Jacob Correa, Sohrab Nahreini

Review #1

One gallery, two artists and a horror movie soundtrack, Fear of the Known, is a journey into the strange and one-dimensional. The presentation of the paintings on canvas, panel and skateboards is well done. It’s the banality of the subject matter that’s disconcerting. Monsters that speak in funny one-liners and teenagers dressed like Eminem. Sculptural works include deformed heads that look like either 1950’s horror film props or exotic produce. The purposefulness and intimacy of Sohrob’s paintings in particular seem to be of the Ex-Voto tradition, only instead of the spiritual they offer a recollection of the bizarre. Besides an ample showing of his Mi Familia tattoo, Jacob’s paintings fuse an urban hip-hop imagery with cute curvilinear forms. Much of his work is finished in the tradition of a steakhouse tabletop and is Windex safe. The richness of the oil paints and the shared love of a tiny brush make for great eye snacking. ENJOYABLE

-P. Castellanos

Review #2

Plenty to look at this week in the Witt, with works from Jacob Correa and Sohrab Nahreini. The show features over 30 pieces of art, mainly oil paintings and several colorful, busts from Nahreini, which look as though they could be found on the cover of a Radiohead album, particularly Politician. The paintings have an eerie quality to them, somewhat surrealistic and bizarre. The music only adds to the mood; tracks from horror movies such as Psycho give a sinister edge. Some of the titles for Nahreini’s paintings are highly amusing, such as Why Did Dad Have Sex With an Oak Tree? or The Work of a Dick. A Head stands out for me, with its slightly holographic look, as does P.O.E., which reminds me of Luz Emergente by Remedios Varo. Correa’s untitled diptych of a night sky with park benches tied to clouds is another standout. The one piece I felt was out of place was Correa’s self-portrait of him tearing his chest open to reveal his heart. It is the most straight-forward piece in the show, and the shiny lacquer on the panel makes it look like something one would find at a novelty shop in Arden Fair, or as a tabletop in a college frat house. All in all, a show worth checking out.

-Susanna Tu

Review #3

Kadema, 06:30am

I was followed by a squirrel. Yes a squirrel.

On my way to peek through the glass doors of the Witt this morning to get a glimpse of the exhibit on display this week: “Fear of the Known,” I was followed by a squirrel. Nose pressed against the glass, I strained to see something, anything. And my trusty acorn-loving companion did the same. (I am not lying)

This absolutely surreal encounter with Marcello (the squirrel) fits in perfectly with the artwork I could make out in the morning light through the Witt’s doors. Colorful skateboard art, framed surrealist looking compositions, the walls of the front gallery feel dreamlike and exciting. The few head sculptures that could be seen remind one of Paul Gauguin’s Self-Portrait inspired by Moche ceramic pieces. What appear to be oil paintings remind me of pop album covers. I hope from what my crack of dawn sneak peek promises, will hold true later this afternoon when I’m able to pass through those glass doors and enter the neo-surrealist world of Jacob Correa and Sohrab Nahreini.

Say hi to Marcello for me if you see him, when I left he was still pressed up against the glass.

iPod suggestion: The Who, RadioHead, “Fear (of the unknown)” by siouxsie & the banshees, or any dance-oriented beat with heavy percussion work.

-C. Castaneda

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