This is Not the End of the World
Comune’s Drop City group show in LA
By Mark Buche
Drop City is the artist community formed by clothing company COMUNE to attract like-minded artists to come together and collaborate on special projects. With an impressive group of new and returning artists Drop City launched their second group exhibition “Ce n’est pas la fin du Monde” or “This is Not The End of The World” at R&R Gallery in Los Angeles.
“We just wanted to have a lighthearted optimistic title for the show. Because it is a group show we wanted it to be a celebration of all of our friendship, creative freedom, and a positive outlook for the future,” said COMUNE Art Director, Corey Smith. This sentiment was evident through the range of art, the crowd and the energy that crammed the space and spilled into the street.”
New work from Adam Harteau based on pages of books and large maps inspired exploration and travel. Work from twin sisters Ashlie and Amber Chavez encouraged hope for the future of traditional photography through the power of the their images and the medium.
The distorted photographs from Alexis Gross represent times when she was feeling like she was on another planet. The sheer size of Bryan Schnelle‘s diptych demanded attention but it was his signature shrouding of faces that was keeping the audience static as they tried to fill in their own meaning.
In addition to various exhibits, Drop City serves as an incubator for artist collaborations into the COMUNE clothing line. Past seasons have seen three to four works from the family of artists incorporated into special signature tees from artists Devendra Banhart, Noel Sinclair Boyt and Corey. However, with the recent addition of more artists, expect to see 10-20 collaborations for coming seasons. After any piece of art makes its way to a tee, the brand and artists stay engaged, evolving and feeding off the shared creativity like a true family.
