August 6 – November 28, 2009

“When the luxuries of capitalism are inconvenienced with the catastrophic results of its own greed, should we let her believe this is just a dream?”

Fritz Aragon is an artist from Riverside. The above quote serves almost as a guiding aphorism of the exhibit, a subjective truth and question about the nature of society today in an age of recession and unemployment. The work on display also refers to a lyric by Annie Lalania and Anna Joy, prominent musicians of the California punk music scene. “Sleep little one, sleep.  Take comfort in the night’s embrace, cause the morning sun will open your eyes and you’ll see that you live in a broken place.”

The subject matter of Aragon’s paintings are a product of his politics and music. It follows that Aragon’s most known work include punk album covers and fliers. Aragon’s love of pen and ink greatly influences his painting style and mimics the black and white aesthetic of early punk flyers. In addition to his artwork, Fritz runs the Ethospine Noise record label with the mantra “the economy will not boom, your stereo must.”