UNIX Gallery is pleased to present our Summer Show featuring works by Ellen de Meijer, Gavin Rain, Zhuang Hong Yi, Fabrizio Cestari, Marcello Lo Giudice, Desire Obtain Cherish, and Alexi Torres on view at UNIX Gallery New York, 532 W 24th St, from July 17th - September 6th, 2014. An opening reception will be held on Thursday July 17th, 2014 from 6:00-8:00pm.

Her ruthless "ceremony portraits" address what Ellen de Meijer regards as the derailed and distorted human qualities that determine modern mankind. Her subjects, placed in the center of the canvas, stare senselessly and indifferently out from their empty surrounding as they form the solitary center of their own universe. The disproportionate bodies of sophisticated business people and small children equipped with digital gadgets reflect the struggle of communication in today's digital age. Their solemn and worn expressions hint at a hid-den battle for understanding. Beginning her artistic career in photography with a fine arts education in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Tilburg, the Netherlands, de Meijer began to combine the truth of a real image with the fantastical ability of paint into a "complete image;" one which marries both the seen and the unseen.

Inspired by his Cuban upbringing, Alexi Torres sees the creation of art as planting and harvesting an idea. He employs this metaphor in starting and finishing each painting on the waning moon, as his ancestors did during the harvest. Addressing the urgency to recover balance and harmony with the environment, the artist paints meticulously detailed leaves, feathers, and other organic materials to create his works and thus grapples with ways to express the influences of the past, the responsibilities of the now, and possibilities of the future. Torres's work can be found in major private and public collections, including the private collections of Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith; Hoover Public Library (Hoover, AL); and the Museum of Art Matanzas (Cuba).

Zhuang Hong Yi's Chinese training combined with Western Impressionist elements produces a vast collection of work. With studios in Beijing and Amsterdam, this cross-cultural artist brings traditional Chinese materials such as rice paper and ink into the modern era, fusing contemporary form and culturally significant mediums. A graduate of the SiChuan College of Fine Arts, China and Academy Minerva, the Netherlands, Zhuang Hong Yi has participated at Art Basel Scope (2009); Art HongKong 2009; Art Paris 2010; and Art Amsterdam(2011).

South African artist Gavin Rain draws from traditional pointillist studies with a mix of the Russian avant garde of the early 1900's and modern digital images. The layering of styles come together to communicate a particular message, "I usually dislike art that doesn't communicate anything. I also hate it when I'm viewing art and I don't know the message. I wanted to avoid that — everyone has to get my message — which is to step back." Rain's works aims to stimulate the eye and mind simultaneously, creating a constant fluctuation of information being transmitted between the work and the viewer. Educated in Art and Neuropsychology at the University of Cape Town, Rain has been featured in the 2011 Venice Biennale, TEFAF Maastricht, and has commissioned portraits for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in his home country.

Marcello Lo Giudice is considered one of the most innovative artists on the new frontier of European Art Informal. His multifaceted projects are a meditation of the alliance between cosmic energies and human beings; focusing on the intimacy of nature, human dignity, and rejection of war and barbary. Internationally renowned art critic Pierre Restany defined Lo Giudice as an exceptional "telluric" painter. The artist participated in the Venice Biennial (2011; 2009) and has exhibited in numerous solo and group shows in Europe, North America, and Asia. Since 2002, Lo Giudice's art has been auctioned by Christie's and Sotheby's.

Since his emergence as a street artist in the early 2000s, Desire Obtain Cherish (DOC) has explored contemporary pop sculpture working across a variety of different media and with a combination of styles including street, conceptual, and appropriation art. His controversial artwork explores desires and obsessions with sex, gender, drugs, commerce, media, and fame. Transporting satirical mes-sages, DOC's vibrantly colourful, entertaining, and impeccably produced art exposes society's inability to control itself and examines the commercial promise of fulfilment and happiness that ends in dependency. Desire Obtain Cherish graduated from the Parson's School of Design. Since his first solo show at Lab Art street gallery in Los Angeles (2011), he has been featured in numerous shows and fairs including Scope International Art Show at Art Basel Miami (2012); Palm Beach Art Fair (2013); Wynwood Art Fair, Miami; UNIX Gallery, Miami (2013) and UNIX Gallery, New York (2014).

Born in Rome, Italy, Fabrizio Cestari was obsessed with the image from a young age and began to photograph under the guidance of his father. His focus became the portrait, specifically the deliberate commercialism of a human subject and their manipulation in digital post-production. Educated at the Institute of Cinematography and Television, Rome, Cestari's works have received numerous awards at the International Photography Awards, New York (2013); PX3 Prix de la Photographie, Paris (2011); and the Sony World Photography Awards, Cannes (2009).