Java.DEC.20162-2

ARTS
GEOFFREY BOHM’S SOLO
DEBUT AT THE HIVE
By Nicole Royse
Native Phoenician and emerging self-taught
painter Geoffrey Bohm makes his debut with a solo
exhibition at The Hive. Titled Trotting Through the
Glue Factory, the show features a cohesive, yet
diverse collection of works created over that last
few years. Bohm’s paintings have a raw quality that
effortlessly captures life’s everyday struggles in an
unfiltered and often crude manner.
“Geoffrey’s work provides a peephole into the world of
the down and out, a celebration of hard times, and the
strange and the beautiful,” says The Hive owner and
curator Julia Fournier. “Trotting Through the Glue Factory
is a collection of paintings I did following a series of
personal downfalls,” says Bohm, who went on to say,
“The work is essentially a toast to the many strengths
and weaknesses of the human spirit. It’s about ‘trotting’
through life without limitation.”
Fournier knew she wanted to exhibit Bohm’s work
after seeing only a few small pieces. “I was surprised
that he had never shown before, never sold work and
that he is virtually self taught,” says Fournier. “As a
second-generation native Phoenician myself [Bohm is as
well], the images are familiar yet strange, intense and
magnetic in a way.”
“In 2013 I was drifting from one place to another,
moving in and out of spare bedrooms and apartments
and through all the madness, I was still working on art in
some capacity or another,” says Bohm. This was when
he decided to focus solely on painting and only recently
began exhibiting his artwork, participating in a few
group exhibitions at the {9} The Gallery.
Bohm’s subject matter is engaging with a distinctive
style that utilizes graphic lines, subtly distorted forms,
explosive brushstrokes and a rich color palette. He
has created a world filled with eclectic array imagery,
symbolism and fantastical characters, as seen in
intriguing works like “Trigger Fingers” and “Stable
hand in a Ketamine Hole.” His paintings seamlessly
blend pop art with expressionism, with a post-modern
sensibility. He is inspired by “Picasso and Matisse who both
created masterpieces at such a furious rate. Contemporary
British painters Danny Fox and Samuel Bassett, along
with LA-based painter Henry Taylor, have significantly
changed the world as I see it,” says Bohm.
His paintings offer a modern aesthetic reminiscent
of Fritz Scholder with surrealist undertones. This is
evident the painting titled “White Man with Double,”
a striking portrait of an elderly man decked out in a
suit and sunglasses, sitting alone drinking. Fournier
describes Bohm’s work as having, “Southwestern
boozy tones, with beautiful losers and honkey tonk
regulars, like out of a Robert Rodriguez movie.”
Bohm also presents several mixed media works that
incorporate an interesting combination of materials
including anything from cardboard and gold to
Oxycontin. His piece “Rolls” depicts the many faces of
gambling and integrates dice and imagery of a racing dog.
Bohm is excited for 2017 and plans to focus on
exploring new techniques and mediums.
Trotting Through the Glue Factory
Through December 11
The Hive Gallery
2222 N. 16th St, Phoenix.
www.geoffreybohm.com
White Man With A Double, 24” x 24.5”, acrylic on board, 2016
West Lemonade, 4’ x 5’, acrylic on canvas, 2016
It’s The Flowers Cutting You, Down, 4’ x 4’, acrylic and stain on panel, 2016
16 JAVA
MAGAZINE