NERS: Magical Wonderfulness

NERS currently has a solo show at Big Car Gallery in Indianapolis called Magical Wonderfulness. After his abrupt departure from Indianapolis on a Westward road trip to national parks and different cities which resulted in a blog called The Magical Wonderfulness of PBS Goes West, he has returned to his native Indianapolis and created this show of 28 new framed works, all of them inspired by and created after his trip. The works are all made with markers and discarded paper that often has printed text on the opposite side that still shows through. Seeing this text faintly on the other side of the paper sometimes affects his compositional elements, and also serves to remind the viewer of issues of sustainability, which is important to the artist. NERS explains, "I had very little materials to work with, which suits my work well, but just working with a few materials, being highly technical with graphite or Crayola marker."

The iconography in this body of work is largely based on animals, which is inspired by NERS' experiences in national parks during his voyage. Animals have often figured into his artwork in the past, but they are especially prominent here. The familiar rainbows that NERS loves to utilize are also present, but in Magical Wonderfulness the art has become decidedly more violent. There is lots of gore and disembowelment throughout the work, which provides an interesting juxtaposition to the rather light and flowery iconographic elements that the violence combines with in these drawings. There is also a great emphasis on what is drawn due to the large amounts of negative space, which is used as a compositional element. Since there are few backdrops or background details, each image commands the viewer's full attention.

Producing this artwork represents a sort of catharsis for NERS as he grapples with emotional strife and difficult life circumstances. His past work has included sculpture and photography, and it is interesting to see such a focused show from him that is all drawings and all based on a set of experiences and feelings. The well-chosen, bright colors and tight line structure in this body of work are excellent.

Care And Boo 2010
help a friend out. 2010
Desert Albedo 2010
Attack On Christmas. 2010

Ya I Shot a Bear Once, But Only Because It Shot Me First. 2010

I had a conversation with NERS. See what he had to say:

Conversations With NERS from Charles Fox on Vimeo.