"Groundwork" in a broader context

A couple of weeks ago Foundation One Gallery opened their first anniversary exhibit "Groundwork", a show that collected pop surrealist art from across the country including some local talent. I'd been hoping to conjure up some sort of collaborative review of the show, but it was not to be. If you didn't get a chance to see this show you can check out pics of the art work here. For me, this show really represents a lot of issues regarding the local art scene, the pop surrealist movement, and Atlanta's place in the art world, lowbrow or otherwise. On one hand I was very excited to see so many west coast artists represented as this is extremely uncommon in Atlanta's underground scene. But more important for me was the level of the work submitted by local artists including TindelMichi, BORN, and one of my favorites of the show, Blink. The locals showed a similar level of talent without completely succumbing to the inclinations of west coast lowbrow. I hope that this trend can continue, allowing a unique style of southern underground art to progress without total assimilation into the pop surrealist movement. The fight against globalization is difficult, and I think that influences from around the art world are important, but should be transcended by local artists with their own culture and experiences incorporated. This is my hope for Atlanta, and I believe that galleries like Foundation One can help us to achieve this by continuing to show the best artists they can along with local and emerging artists. If anyone has thoughts on this, please comment or email me because this is something I've been thinking about and would love to discuss further.