Ones to Watch shows ATL as a dialog of differences

The Ones to Watch at Alan Avery Art Company makes its boldest statement up front, by pairing the works of Meg Aubrey and Dosa Kim. The former creates austere landscapes of endless manicured lawns; Aubrey lives in the suburbs and paints what she knows. The latter paints cuddly Asian-esque teddy bears. In one stroke, the room unites two artists from wildly different backgrounds.

The exhibit is gallery owner Alan Avery’s snapshot summary of what’s hot in Atlanta art today. Perhaps coincidentally, it’s also a nod to veteran art dealer Fay Gold, whose final show before closing her gallery in April was titled Four Artists to Watch. Similarly, with only four artists, Avery’s Ones to Watch each have ample space to fully articulate a moment of their career.

At 14 feet in length, Daniel Biddy’s Monomaniac, Ahab (Post Bastard) features behemoth whales surfacing an ocean of magazine clippings and rainbow paint. Monomaniac is powerful, but Biddy seems a little too eager to fill space. His smaller works are more smartly composed. In Sacred Rites, Biddy achieves a shabby-chic kudzu garden of paper and abstract dots, while Pugilisticism features a pair of dueling Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.