Grady Gordon - The Wild Hunt
Grady Gordon (b.1979) is originally from Santa Fe, NM. In the high-desert, he grew up alongside various art forms, most notably the Native American “Kachina” wood carvings of numerous spirits. Another inspiration to his work are the Japanese “yokai”. These spirits allow him to investigate the world beyond our visible limit.

Over the years, Grady has been diligently exploring the unique process of monotype printmaking. The monotype print is a study of impermanence. Unlike other forms of printmaking the monotype offers only one copy. The original image on the plate is then given back to the ether, back into the fabric.

In each one of his series, Grady examines a different cultural mythology and recreates it through imagined narrative. The new work for the ‘The Wild Hunt’ exhibition is inspired by the ‘sluagh’ mythos – based on an old gaelic word that in some instances refers to the “unrested dead” and can also mean the “working man”. For ‘The Wild Hunt’ series, Grady creates an amalgamation of spiritual beings caught rampaging through mystical environs. The stark contrast and permanence of the black ink on the white paper is juxtaposed by the beautiful, ethereal quality of the forms. In his prints, Grady searches for xrays of mortality, the face behind the veil, and aims to illuminate what is staring back at us. Grady has a BFA in illustration from California College of the Arts. He teaches art at San Francisco day school and lives in Oakland California.

Nathan Cartwright - Excursion beyond the cosmic veil
Nathan Cartwright is a Los Angeles based, mixed media artist whose impressive sculptural paintings have received international attention in recent years. He is also the acclaimed founder/curator for The Hive Gallery and Studios, in downtown Los Angeles (founded in 2005), and is known for curating large festival style shows around the country.

What drives Cartwright’s work is his belief that there is no more important odyssey in life than that of self-discovery. The viewer’s process of discovery is a metaphor for this artist-shaman’s long practiced journey into the dark depths of the “self”. The artist believes that hunting, taming and cultivating a personal mythology is one of the most important aspects of a healthy, creative and full life.

“My work is a personal mythology about the importance of living an authentic life, keeping an open mind and having fun as a creator. I often incorporate “happy face” characters into my mythology. These characters I call “The Man”, and are symbolic of humans residing in a sleep-like state. The simple happy faced humanoid characters are emoticons. Devoid of core truth, they represent mankind existing in an unawakened, inauthentic state. My sculptural paintings map the process of “The Man” evolving from sleep to an awakened state through stories of adventure, success, failure, death and rebirth. To express the temporary state of all things, I depict eastern and western deities destroying “The Man” whose sole purpose is to gain money, power and then die.

In other scenarios, my characters experience an “awakening” to their true selves: taking off their masks, or their preconceived and media-created ideas of themselves. Different levels of “The Man” are symbolized by various states of awareness: A “happy face” character with a business outfit symbolizes sleep; a farmer’s outfit symbolizes slowly waking up; walking into the dark forest represents waking up and becoming a hero; and a maskless character equals being awakened and engaged in the creative life.

This new series, ‘Excursions Beyond the Cosmic Veil’ is about transformation and growth. Alongside the transmuted sculptural reliefs, I have included the sketchbook drawings that reflect my process. Saturated in alchemical symbolism and personal mythology, I challenge my viewers to take a plunge into the darkness, to fight mythic titans, and to emerge victorious with a treasure chest filled with gold.”

*Megan Majewski - Apocalypse Forest
*Megan Majewski returns to C.A.V.E. Gallery with new tales from her curiously bizarre underworld of the dead. For this exhibition, Majewski’s zombiesqe girls have morphed into peculiar human – animal hybrids as a result of centuries of exposure to a poisonous environment. With subjects that can be placed in the realm of Victor Van Dort and Beatleguese, Majewski has a clever – and often comical – talent of creating oddball creatures in which one can relate to their spidery souls and their trials and tribulations.

Megz got her start painting murals in her home-town of Cranbrook and soon after moved to Vancouver to attend Vancouver Film School to start a successful career as a Computer Graphics Animator. ”Spook” Majewski’s student film has gone to many festivals including Annecy and was even used as the music video for Tunng’s song ‘Fair Doreen’. She has worked in all areas of CG including films such as IRobot, television series such as Battlestar Galactica, and cartoons including Viva Pinata.

As much as she enjoys bringing life to characters on screen her true passion is painting those that inhabit a fantastical underworld. Her first solo art show was an incredible accomplishment in which she successfully created 100 paintings in 100 days. The positive response to her art, and selling 82 of the 100 paintings on opening night has inspired her to keep painting more ghoulish vixens and zombie-eyed sweethearts. “Apocalypse Forest” is Majewski’s third feature show with C.A.V.E. Gallery.

Eatcho - Radiate For Now
Naturally oscillating between various mediums, Eatcho continues to develop his signature style of tightly knit, surreal swirls of real and imagined creatures – intertwined in a symbiotic, dynamic, yet balanced tension. Each piece is a complex, visceral symphony created by an honest and alert perception of the world. Peering faces show an awkward, touching vulnerability, while his familiar creatures express a playful, dry humor.

“Through the chaos, there’s a thread” – and it is by exploring this thread that the artist finds comfort and is able to reflect upon fundamental questions about life and his or her place in the world. Eatcho articulates and develops this reflection through the totemic structure of his work. The viewer is lured deeper and deeper into each piece, to find a chaotic yet captivating energy radiating from the work – which always results in Eatcho’s fans hungry for more.