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Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow

By Stephen Gibb | Published: 27/09/2019

Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow

Pop Surrealism has a broad range of influences, a reverence for art history, an unsettling presence and a wicked sense of humour. One thing that unites the pop surrealist community is their comfortable and insatiable relationship with weirdness. If describing in words what is and what isn’t pop surrealism, one only has to look at the work to get the distinction.

To me, pop surrealism and lowbrow are just labels that I fit easily into. It’s a category that helps you describe my work to someone else, and to locate it or discover it Online. Chances are you are reading this right now because of some connection the “movement”. At any rate, you are here, so take a minute to plunge deeper into my world…

pop surrealism and lowbrow
Can You Pass The Marshmallow Test?
In this painting I explore themes that relate to psychology. If you have a working knowledge of some of experimental psychology’s fundamentals, you probably have a good idea what’s going on here. There are effigies of Freud and Skinner, as well as references to Rorschach, Pavlov and other classic research experiments. Plus a few little random things I wanted to add.


pop surrealism and lowbrow painting
Head Trip to the Uncanny Valley of the Shadow
This painting began as an exploration of “the journey” or “the trip” and because of the connotations took on some drug references as well. Aside from the planes, trains and automobiles and the drug paraphernalia, there is the flaming skull, which I imagine is the hell of addiction. The so-called “loss of ego” is symbolized by the crown floating away, while the desperate lizard (lizard brain) tries to stay with it.


pop surrealism and lowbrow painting
Give Me A Break
Taking idioms of the word “break” and incorporating them into visual symbols was the thought behind this painting. Break the bank, heart broken, break the spell, etc. Though this may have been the motivation and the roots of the composition, my mind took it in many different directions as well.


pop surrealism depicting happiness and despair Happy! — Stephen Gibb, 36″ x 24″, oil on panel, 2020


surrealism depicting chocolate god Vengeful Wrath of the Chocolate Gods — Stephen Gibb 36″ x 24″, oil on panel


For more Pop Surrealism and Lowbrow fun try SurrealismToday

Happy Pie - gallery of surrealism paintingBack to Gallery

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