AUTOMAT is pleased to announce Deep South, an exhibition of painting and sculpture by New York artist Colin O’Con. Deep South brings together objects and images, which as the artist states “come out of the tradition of the sublime and lie at a cross section between nature and representation.”  O’Con’s images give the viewer an opportunity to engage in a space that seems familiar, but often robust color interactions create an illusion of fantasy.  The line between observation and fabrication is frequently blurred, engaging notions of the sublime.  Various forms within the paintings and painted sculptures discuss the interaction between nature, man made structures, and their corollaries.  While the amplification of color saturation in a range of forms seem to reference a constructed abstract reality, the viewer is also confronted with the awareness that, in nature, phenomena are real.

COLIN O’CON presents viewers with the mystery of nature in paintings, sculptures, and immersive installations. Colin graduated Cum Laude with a BFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of North Texas in 2000. In 2004, he earned his MFA from Hunter College in New York and won the Tony Smith Sculpture Award. His work has been included in exhibitions at David Zwirner Gallery (New York), Fresh Window (Brooklyn), Rawson Gallery (New York), Lesley Heller Workspace (New York), The Alexandria Museum of Art (Louisiana), Boston Center for the Arts, Artspace (San Antonio), and CSAW (Houston). Alongside his visual art practice, he plays in the bands Dark Carpet and Big High Hills. Colin was born in Natchitoches, LA, and lives and works in Holmes, NY and Brooklyn.