HOLLYWOOD///TODD SCHORR UNVEILS NEW MASTERPIECES OF CARTOON SURREALISM AT MERRY KARNOWSKY GALLERY

March 30, 2009 | art, LA, News

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A lot has changed in the LA underground art world in the last five years. While a frighteningly huge array of marginal painters popped up during the unprecedented art boom of recent times, the rather small contingent of the town's heavyweight talent scaled back, seemingly hiding out until either the false-as-fake-tits art bubble burst or the scene purged itself of wannabe "street artists" and "lowbrow" rejects, or both. Luckily, we're in the process of seeing that last option coming into play and the timing for the re-emergence of one of Hollywood's foremost painters in the form of one Mr. TODD SCHORR couldn't be more welcome. Unveiling "The World We Live In," a small collection of staggering large-scale new works at MERRY KARNOWSKY GALLERY last weekend, Todd left hanging the collective jaws of his legion of loyal fans that have been wondering where exactly he's been all this time. Dripping with allegory and nearly impossible technical virtuosity, Shorr's new work represents a more streamlined stylistic evolution for the artist who has been flaunting his copious chops in a series of secretly produced massive-scale commissioned works in recent years. While these staggering works have all but secured his mantle as "King of the Brush" in the world of so-called Cartoon Surrealism for years to come, the sheer density of these masterpieces demanded a more minimalistic visual counterpoint, amply provided in Schorr's gorgeous and well focused new work. Hosted by legendary local collector DAVID ARQUETTE with the help of wingmen collectors LEONARDO DiCAPRIO and his father GEORGE DiCAPRIO, the opening recalled the heyday of the late-90s hotbed art scene while simultaneously setting a new high water mark for the town's young artists-in-waiting. HAVE A LOOK:

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