Drew Young presents a tipsy, tumbling world of youth in moments of both chaos and repose with his moody paintings. They sometimes contain elements of glitch art that feel incredibly natural and necessary to understand the scenes he portrays, like the viewer is meant to be watching the paused revelry through a broken window. These visual stories are carved out of backgrounds that range from concrete steps and cozy apartments to beautifully hazy collages of patterns and paint, lit and colored with a realistic but striking intensity. Despite the pretty parts, there is no sugar-coating here, and Young’s partygoers can end up passed out in a spray of empty beer bottles across the same stairwell that another fearlessly takes on with her roller skates.
The overall effect of his unique style and mixed media techniques, as well as the interesting subject matter, makes for a series of incredibly arresting images.
Words by Noll Griffin
