ART & LIVING JUNE ‘08

Los Angeles based artist Cole Sternberg’s latest paintings are a potent urban commentary reflecting on environmental expansiveness, civic folly and egocentric culture. Owing more to pop culture than bound to art history, the works evoke a graphic tradition that suits the content. Persuasively capturing metropolitan life by the use of a limited color palette, his economical commitment to mark- making foreshadows a chaotic landscape slouching towards an apocalyptic future. The physicality of the large canvases and the fluidity of the paint underscore the sense of overpowering dread at hand in 2008. Moreover the sheer scale of the work accentuates the synthetic nature of contemporary nightlife arguably at the center of Sternberg’s conceptual framework.

Painting at his Beverly Hills studio, the artist displays a winning smile and a restless eagerness that oddly cohabitates with a timely critical sensibility. “There’s a social undercurrent that runs throughout this body of work – a desire to question the way we treat the environment, each other and the silly things that our culture values” states the busy artist. This questioning manifests in paintings that engage the viewer in a dialog of the obvious, while addressing relevant issues. Elaborating further, Sternberg states that his “seemingly dystopian world view also inherently implies a rebirth for our shared culture – a breakthrough that follows the breakdown”. Beyond any overt conceptual context, the works also succeed as paintings, engaging his audience on a aesthetic level – always a welcome occurrence.

Old Times Square, 2006, Oil on Canvas, 30”x40”, $4,800