Joe Sorren

Joe Sorrens oil paintings redefine traditional naturalist scenery such as caves, reefs, and seashores, inserting a surreal mood through soft but eerie imagery, thick Impressionist-inspired brushstrokes, and childlike, yet animalistic, figures caught in mid-motion. The new gothic sentiment is subtly imbued in pale hued paintings that feature organic and distorted forms with exaggerated heads springing out of gelatinous blobs. Although the subjects are often childlike, the postures and weariness betray adult maturity, drawing a fine line between the vulnerable and precocious. Bulls and minotaurs parade guiltily with parasols and umbrellas through both Sorrens original paintings and the sculptures created in collaboration with Jud Bergeron. This monograph of work from 2004-2010 is published in conjunction with the exhibition Joe Sorren Ruby Lips Above the Water, Blowing Bubbles, Soft and Fine for the Grand Central Art Center at California State University, Fullerton. Sorrens artworkhas appeared in numerous publications, including The New Yorker, Time, and Rolling Stone, and has been featured by Warner Bros. and Atlantic Records.