exhibitions

for immediate release


“Sheep of Fools”
April 1 - May 7, 2006

Works by: Sue Coe, Amy Ross
opening reception: Saturday, April 1, 2006; 7-11pm

OVERTONES is pleased to present "Sheep of Fools", a two-person exhibition featuring recent work by artists SUE COE and AMY ROSS. "Sheep of Fools" is titled after Sue Coe's most recent book, published in 2005.

In "Sheep of Fools", Sue Coe continues and expands upon her ongoing interest in the relationship between humans and animals. Whereas her highly acclaimed 1980's Porkopolis series was an on-the-scene indictment of slaughterhouses and factory farms, the newer work melds factual information with allegorical symbolism. Meticulous in their detail and often apocalyptic in scope, Coe's latest drawings are reminiscent of Bosch and Breughel. "Sheep of Fools" (a pun on Sebastian Brant's fifteenth-century catalogue of human vice, "Ship of Fools") encompasses a broad history of sheep farming. Starting in the Middle Ages, when the wool industry laid the foundation for England's economic dominance, Coe's emotionally charged rendering of animal and worker exploitation concludes with present-day sheep transports, in which live sheep are shipped by truck and boat, at great cost in animal and human life. Sue can always be counted on to remind us of the damage it does to our souls as well.

On of the most profound of our socially conscious artists, Sue will be with us at the opening on April 1st -a rare opportunity for us on the west coast to not only experience her large recent drawings, but to spend a little time with her before she goes back to her mountain top studio to be with her animals in upstate New York.

In contrast to Sue Coe's dark investigation of humans' exploitation of animals, the drawings of Amy Ross have a whimsical quality, even as they touch up on the controversial issue of cloning. Ross has a background in religious studies and this informed her early work, where she first began to use images of sacrificial animals: goats, sheep and cows. In her most recent work, she morphs together images of animals with those of flowers, mushrooms and other plant life to form curiously implausible, surprisingly sympathetic creatures. Her large-scale wall drawings are created using walnut ink: the soft sepia tones of this medium fashion fantastical worlds in which animals emerge from branches and blossoms, inviting the viewer to imagine a different kind of world while at the same time questioning the one we live and create in.

OVERTONES is a Los Angeles art venue that supports and promotes creative endeavors in all artistic disciplines, with emphasis on emerging and mid-career artists, international collaboration and social responsibility. OVERTONES is dedicated to searching outside the confines of established art institutions and presenting work that has the potential to engage a wide range of audiences.

For more information or images please contact OVERTONES Director, Elizabeta Betinski @ 310-915-0346.

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