Art Show Review

          The VIP (Viewing In Private) Art Fair is an online exhibition that was active in real time from January 22-30, 2011.  However, the entire website and its interface are still up and active.  "VIP Art Fair is the first art fair to mobilize the collective force of the world’s leading contemporary art galleries with the unlimited reach of the Internet."  Basically, the event compiled the content of galleries from around the world on this one single site.  The site is open to the public, and people can access thousands of art located around the globe with the click of a button.  People can click on images, view close-ups of the work, and read more information all from this website.  So with a good chunk of the art world at your fingertips, all there's left to do is begin randomly clicking away!
         As I searched through this massive archive of art, I came across an artist called Patricia Piccinini, who was exhibited at Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Sidney, Australia.  Piccinini's work is hyperrealistic, disturbing, and totally weird.  She makes fantastical renditions of human-like figures, which are so obviously not human.  She uses materials such as silicone, fiberglass, and human hair.

Bottom Feeder, 2009

          Seriously, what the heck is this thing? It's so realistic, it looks like it could actually be a creature of this earth, but it is so totally wrong.  I can't un-see this. I will probably have nightmares tonight, not gonna lie.  Oh, and in case you wanted more, here is the backside of this guy:

          The craftsmanship is amazing.  The texture of the skin is so convincing.  Why did I ever look at this website?  Well, this one is actually a little cute:

Newborn, 2010

          It really is astounding how Piccinini has rendered her figures.  She created incredibly fantastical and organic looking beings out of mainly synthetic material.  Her work is totally weird, but strangely nurturing.  It's as if she coddled these figures into existence.

Patricia Piccinini's site

The Gallery's Website: Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery

VIP's Website: Viewing in Private