Princess Toadstool finds a Sickling

Yosiell Lorenzo’s work fits into that saying: “never judge a book by its cover”. At first glance, his artwork is all cuteness: cupcakes, cherries and candy. But beneath the facade of frosting and the rainbow sprinkles camouflage, a sadness is stirring. Yosiell uses sweetness to reel us in. Once he has us in his saccharine net, we settle and see beyond the surface: these are cheerless creatures. They are all searching for love. The Sicklings are a troop of Yosiell’s recurring characters who are particularly mopey and needy. Rendered in sexless simplicity, the Sicklings function like anthropomorphic feelings: Frustration, loneliness, despair…Often the Sicklings wear masks. Yosiell uses masks as a device throughout his paintings and three dimensional work. The masks represent dual and hidden identities, as well as society’s attempts to label individuals who resist categorization. Yosiell has dealt with these identity issues first hand. As a gay, Puerto Rican artist, he was often told that he didn’t “look gay” or he was a “fake Rican”. Yosiell was introduced to art in his youth during a time when hip hop and graffiti defined urban culture. Growing up in Bridgeport, CT, he’d hop the train to New York and absorb it all. In Mixed media tends to refer to a work of visual art that combines various traditionally distinct visual art media. For example, a work on canvas that combines paint, ink, and collage could properly be called a "mixed media" work. When creating a painted or photographed work using mixed media it is important to choose the layers carefully and allow enough drying time between the layers to ensure the final work will have integrity. If many different media are used it is equally important to choose a sturdy foundation upon which the different layers are imposed. Many interesting effects can be achieved by using mixed media. Often, found objects are used in conjunction with traditional artist media, such as paints and graphite, to express a meaning in the everyday life. In this manner, many different elements of art become more flexible than with traditional artist media. OhNo!Doom is a Chicago artist collective made up of designers, illustrators and plush artists (who all work creative jobs during the week). The group operates an art gallery-shop in Bucktown, that showcases it’s members work as well as other artists from around the world and is home to ON!D's designer toy and clothing line. This space also does triple duty as the collective’s design studio headquarters. The OhNo!Doom Collective is: Oscar Alatorre, Max Bare, Joseph Call, Lana Crooks, Jordan Owen and Andrew Thompson. A group exhibition where artists pick a video game (be it arcade or family console) from their past or present and reinterpret in their individual vision. "Super Button Mashers" addresses the history of gaming culture and its effect on today's generation. Virtually and physically, the "Arcade" represents the town meeting ground and social arena, comparable to that of the circus, festival and neighborhood fair of their day. Featuring artwork from: Aya Kakeda, Alex Willan, Ben Spencer (Galaxxor), Blütt, Brandon Garrison, Brian Keller, Brian Stuhr, Brian Walline, Brianne Drouhard, Cory Benhatzel, CZR PRZ, David Palumbo, David Rettker, Eric Broers (phoneticontrol), Glen Brogan, Isaac Bidwell, James Lui (Veggiesomething), Jason Castillo, Jenny Frison, Joe Shea, Joey D, Jordan Elise (Horrible Adorables), Lana Crooks, Leeanna Butcher, Luisa Castellanos (Pocket Pals), Martin Hsu, Matt Hawkins (Custom Paper Toy), Matthew Ryan Sharp, Max Bare, Melissa Sue Stanley, Mike Budai, Mike Graves, Mr. Walters, Natalie Blue Phillips, Nathan West, Sean Dove, Shawn Smith, Shayne Labadie, Steff Bomb, Stephanie Laberis, Tyler Coey, Yosiell Lorenzo & The Plush Team. + more!