Jonathon Rosen, artist, educator, illustrator

UK artist Mister Andrew Foster’s Resurrections show is a total knock-out, says me.

At first glance these pictures which appear to be happy and full of childlike whimsy, quickly decompose into something more ominous, multi-layered and multi-faceted.

Sacred profanities & symbolic surprises are hidden in pain view. A color palette saturated in delirious debauchery. These are pictures to be possessed and obsessed by, which only makes me covet them more….
Nice work, Mister Andrew Foster.

Father Simon Foster, Episcopal Priest and brother

Andrew Foster’s work speaks of an intense passion for the earthy and real. His art is a feast of color and detail drawing the viewer in. This is no quick painting and sketch. His work comes from a depth of engagement which Andrew has with notions of religion, the divine, sexuality, grief, sexual expression and the contours and interfaces between theology and art. This is no intellectual light weight with fuzzy around the edges blandness. He is a very alive artist with a great mind and wonderful technique. He has been challenged by religious narrative and life’s journey and seeks to see where they can speak to each other. There is such detail involving the artists’ life and work and showing what signs and motifs have helped him make sense of the Universe or which have influenced him. The paintings so often speak of the juxtaposition of traditional Christian imagery and then turned on their head and questioned. In terms of Queer theory Andrew provides us with a thought provoking exhibition of some variously sized paintings using different media and textures. I look forward to seeing a book of this art. It needs to be in a book and sat with as well as seen by many people. Some will find some of it shocking but often out of comfort zones. Christian theology is supposed to be incarnational, earthy and that is how I find this work, gloriously edgy, healthy and thought provoking. Like all art it can be seen simply as pictures or as icons pointing to other things and to engage us all and at various levels. Art is sign and pointing to and this to a lot. There is lot going on and for this artist and art I am so beyond grateful.

Charles Hively, Publisher 3×3, Sarah Munt, Co-publisher, Creative Quarterly, The Journal of Art & Design, New York.

We’ve known the illustrator, artist, educator Andrew Foster since 2009. So we were happy to hear that his work was finally getting its due on this side of the pond. Andrew’s current show Resurrections is exhibited in an urban, west side ultra-liberal house of worship in New York City. And Foster’s work seems right at home with the slightly rough-around-the-edges, down-to-earth, brass-tacks mission of the church.

You may at first be taken aback as Foster plumbs the depths of the sacred through the profane. Entering the gallery space the series of drawings, paintings, multimedia pieces  line the wall grid-like, reminding one of stained glass. But unlike the crystalline, multihued rays of light you might find echoing in any cathedral, Foster’s paintings are opaque. No light comes in, your enlightened view comes from the interior of the art itself which exudes light. The hurly-burly application of pattern, splatters, pen, Pentel, crayon, glitter exhibit the intensity in which these pieces were created. Yet there is no cover up of the idea, penis and vagina, war and children, sex and violence are evident through the maze of color. However at times it is difficult to decipher the subject. The word play is important element of Foster’s dark humor. The titles offer double-entendres, innuendo or sarcasm or humanity to each piece. So the titles, which are from scripture or hymns, are important.

Not all pieces portray solely secular subject matter. One piece depicts the Ark, sailing in a void, made of waves of hair. The vessel’s lack of seaworthiness, makes one aware of the frightening journey that its occupants took.

The strongest pieces of the show are also arguably the altarpieces. The cinematic icon Dorothy, lashed to a crucifix by her own pigtails, is taken off the yellow brick road and is placed where the sky runs red. A place where children’s toys aren’t so sweet nor so innocent.

For many, religion offers clarity or a safe haven in this confusing world. It seems as though Foster has rejected that clarity and focused on the ambiguity.