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InspirationArt & Culture

Border Creatures: Adrian Cox's paintings of mythtical, grostesque characters that merge with nature

In his series Border Creatures, Missouri-based artist Adrian Cox weaves an ongoing narrative that "mythologises the lives of a grotesque cast of protagonists". These recurring characters exist in a state of perpetual metamorphosis. As they mutate, they hybridise with mineral deposits, flora, and fauna, allowing an intense physical connection to their environment.

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Pink and purple hybrid creatures with organic, flowing forms merge with flowers and vegetation in a misty forest clearing in Adrian Cox's Border Creatures painting

"I consider the narrative in my paintings to be a mythology, a way for me to use fiction or even fantasy in order to speak to a contemporary human experience," Adrian explains. "With this mythic setting, I'm creating a world in which there is no 'pure' way to exist as a human in the world, in which qualities that could be seen as monstrous or grotesque are synonymous with beauty. Ultimately, these paintings create an Arcadia for the Other, for creatures with fluid identities, a space where the language of difference breaks down."

Based in St. Louis, Missouri, Adrian attended the University of Georgia for his undergraduate studies, and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with honours in 2010. He obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2012. In addition to exhibiting his work nationally, Adrian is the gallery coordinator at the Millitzer Gallery, an alternative art-space in Saint Louis, and currently works as an adjunct lecturer in painting in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University. Discover more at www.adriancoxart.com.

Via Creative Boom submission | All images courtesy of Adrian Cox

Adrian Cox painting of a grotesque figure merging with cascading pink and purple flowers, beside an open book under moonlight in a dark forest
Grotesque humanoid figure with translucent flesh, protruding spherical forms and a fish eye, merged with red and green organic matter and vegetation against a starlit forest backdrop
A colourful, flower-covered humanoid figure sits reading an open book in a misty forest, its body merging with coral-like organic forms in shades of pink, orange and purple
Vibrant abstracted form of pink, red and orange crystalline textures merging with organic petal-like shapes against a dramatic sunset sky
Adrian Cox painting depicting grotesque pink and purple figures merging with moss-covered earth and hanging organic forms in a state of metamorphosis
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