WEST HOLLYWOOD, CA.- CMay Gallery presents Materially Defined, a group exhibition of three Los Angeles-based artists, Chris Pate, Macha Suzuki and Devon Tsuno, whose works are created from unusual amalgamations of materials.

Veteran LA artist Chris Pate has for many years explored a wide range of materials in his creative practice. In his most recent body of work Pate investigates combining the photograph with the painted image.

These hybrid works utilize imagery he pulls from the Internet that is then printed as inkjet prints. These prints are then collaged onto canvas and are then painted back into. Combining these two techniques, Pate creates an entirely new image that supplies a second and more prominent narrative.

Pate recently featured three large photo hybrid paintings at the Irvine Fine Arts Center in an exhibition titled After Image.

Macha Suzuki, originally from Japan, was educated in Los Angeles, receiving his MFA from Claremont Graduate University in 2006. At Claremont he was a classmate of Devon Tsuno, who was pursuing a sculptural art practice.

From the onset, Suzuki found ways to use unusual materials creating very unique sculptural works. He often combines appropriated materials with self-created elements forming idiosyncratic works that convey a strong narrative. Elements within the works often contain metaphorical content that layers his narrative even further.

A large body of Suzuki’s sculptures was recently featured in a solo project show at the Laguna Art Museum.

Devon Tsuno, also a Claremont Graduate, focused his early art practice on painting and most recently also added printmaking to his artistic repertoire. Tsuno’s approach to his art practice has always been experimental, often pushing the limits of the materials he uses.

His paintings are often made on Washi, a thick Japanese handmade paper in which material presence is very evident. Acrylic paint and spray paint thinly coat the paper defining the landscape image in the work. Layer upon layer of painting creates a dense imagery that is often taken from the nature within LA’s urban landscape, where he grew up and still lives. The subject of Tsuno’s paintings often feature non-native plants and was the focus of a recent solo exhibition at Occidental College earlier this year.

In a second body of work in the exhibition, Tsuno presents a series of Risograph prints, a 1980s-era printing system using technology similar to fax machines and designed for high-volume photocopying and printing. Search for new material and technique is a constant in Tsuno’s creative practice.

This exhibition focuses on three artists, Chris Pate, Macha Suzuki, and Devon Tsuno, whose uses of material are unique and individual to their artistic practices. All three use materials in distinctive and unusual ways, creating narratives that are uniquely portrayed to the viewer.