"Sean Anderson’s uptake on the exotic landscape uses fluorescent auto enamel and oil paint to create a series of canvases that make the eyes squint at the consumer marketing aimed at the 3rd world. Beneath the flashing glow, the artist communicates to us the imperiled primitive beauty of the jungle and formidable Andes. Devoid of people, his series focuses on their handcrafted households suggesting the inhabitants fragility in the face of western economics.

Through the Influential Pigment series, Anderson seeks to create bridges between America and the 3rd world. In Hobson-Jobson, the artist makes reference to British rule of India superimposed on the Andes Mountains. This neatly transfers the arena of Western impacts on indigenous cultures to South America. Sean’s visual word play is here a bridge pointing out a sad repeat of history. Hobson-Jobson is a glossary first published in 1886 of colloquial Anglo-Indian words and terms that resulted from colonial occupation.

Born in 1985, Sean Anderson currently lives and works out of Santa Barbara. After extensive artistic training in Santa Barbara through the Visual Arts & Design Academy, he attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco continuing his education in classical figuration. His time involved in the art scene in San Francisco found him creating a commissioned portrait for Gavin Newson Mayor and winning numerous Academy awards. Sean’s art has been included in exhibits at the Sullivan Goss Gallery in Santa Barbara, the James Gray Gallery at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica and the 2010 Red Dot Art Fair in Miami.

Traveling worldwide to further his knowledge of the arts, Anderson has toured Europe as well as North, Central and South America, creating and showing art. Sean has made two trips to Bolivia to the Rio Beni area, the inspiration for Influential Pigment. Made in 2004 and 2009 in conjunction with the Rio Beni Health Foundation, these trips involved the artist in humanitarian projects distributing medical supplies and health education. The Artist’s second trip involved educating locals on art and developing his own artwork from his native experiences."

-----Suzanne Bellah, Head Curator, Director

Carnegie Art Museum

"At only 25 years of age Sean Anderson seems to have made it to shore from the sea of lost mid-twenties artist’s searching for their voice, trying to find land amongst the vast turbulent seas that make up the daunting art world. As co-curator/owner of the budding Anderson ART Collective in Carpinteria, Ca, he has not only found earthy purchase for his own work, but also throws the occasional life vest to other adrift art souls in his attempt to curate cutting edge exhibitions at the gallery. After organizing the well received ‘Exchange’ the most recent show at AAC, Mr. Anderson is now gearing up for his second solo show at the gallery opening March 12.

Aptly titled Influential Pigment, Anderson continues to play with themes of advertising and commercialism and their influence on daily life. This most recent work searching for bridges that connect America and its 3rd world counterparts and finding mass marketing tools of color theory and fluorescents at the core. With a visceral palette of neon enamel, oils and mixed media, Anderson’s paintings and installations for this show portray simple huts and jungles that seem to clash elegantly with the juggernaut that is American Capitalism.

When first viewed, this most recent body of work exudes a certain, eye-catching ‘you can’t not look at me’ feel with neon greens, oranges and pinks that are inescapable. Almost as if hidden in the jungle, bathing the primitive huts in a fluorescent glow, are neon signs just out of eyes reach urging one to buy, sell or trade at western world pace. Yet, once past the initial impact of color, the content of serene scenes and classic ideals of ‘hut in jungle’, seem to tame the buzz of neons and form the ideas behind Anderson’s newest paintings. Provoking notions as simple and profound as man vs. nature, need vs. greed and insinuating a movement towards an obsequiously homogenous world-culture, these works not only ask questions, but are unnervingly provocative in their neon hues.

With nods to Katz’s neo-expressionist nature, Ruscha’s mass media commentary and Doig’s dream-like magical realism, Anderson has found his own voice in this new work that bespeaks a need to move forward in art practice and retain honest heart-felt commentary."

------ via SBArtsBlog