Los Angeles based artist Andrew Foster's current leaning towards a traditional mode of creating 'picturesque' works on canvas. Foster considers his new paintings an exploration of nostalgia and an attempt, in the words of Pierre Bonnard, "to escape the monotony of life."
Though light and whimsy in tone, Foster maintains his sardonic sense of humor. He employs a romanticized palette referencing Rococo and Impressionism with themes that revolve around overtly joyous, day dreaming girls who frolic and lounge in idealistic landscapes. Following the tradition that a young painter should copy from the work of past masters, there is an instant and romantic familiarity deeply rooted in each painting. Many of Foster's works are constructed with derivative subjects, themes, and compositions from 19th and early 20th century paintings coupled with ingenuous scenarios. Resurrecting a state of adolescence, boundless yet tumultuous, we are prompted to escape. He weaves in and out of reality but remains distant from surrealism’s visual tricks, obscurities, and cluttered imagery. Foster defines memory, familiarity, history, and paint as the vehicle for his process.
Andrew Foster received his BFA in 2004 from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA. Foster's work has been exhibited in galleries such as Earl McGrath Gallery, (West Hollywood), Jonathan LeVine Gallery (NY), Merry Karnowsky Gallery (LA), George Billis Gallery (LA), and included in ARTNOW Fair (Basel, Miami) and Red Dot Fair (NY) among others. In past years, curators Mark Murphy and Brad Benedict have included Foster's works in their exhibits.