“Frohawk Two Feathers: Crocodile Company, Part I. La Guerre Des Machettes Danseuses (The War of The Dancing Machetes)” at Culver City's Taylor de Cordoba Gallery (one of several galleries on the block opening new shows the same evening) is perhaps the artist's most ambitious show to date. This fresh iteration of his continuing interpretation of the events surrounding Haiti's historical struggle for independence comprises paintings and drawings in his trademark faux-naive style. Addressing the brutal tactics of imperial colonialism with a sly, unflinching wit that brings contemporary pop culture, headline news, and a gift for folkloric fantasy into play, Two Feathers undermines the authoritative voice of a history written by vanquishers in this never-ending project whose fiction is perhaps more true than the accepted “truth” of the matter. Figures in the artist's new old history range from deposed nobility to traitorous shamans, heartless conquistadors, brave champions of oppressed peoples, and sundry tricksters. His compositions include stately portraits, battle scenes, city and coastal views, and ceremonial undertakings — all rendered with a confident hand that channels outsider and folk aesthetics while being undeniably informed by modern and contemporary illustration and photography. His combination of dry humor, serious ideas, and the seemingly infinite range of the parallel universe he creates does double duty as stinging political satire and irresistibly lively fine art, reminding us of the power of both to win the eyes and minds of audiences.

Tuesdays-Saturdays. Starts: Feb. 19. Continues through March 26, 2011

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