Based on his first comic book, The Drips, Taylor McKimens' recent solo show at Clementine Gallery brought to life a noxious world of pastel, sagging characters. Remixing imagery from the 24-page book, McKimens affixed drawings to a stylized fence, creating a room-sized installation. The cohesively creepy structure, resembling a ragged city block, transported the artist's cartoon world into the gallery space. Balancing diametrical opposites, McKimens' work serves up the repulsive with an attractive, soft-hued aesthetic. In both drawings and installations, he transforms the most quotidian subjects into surrealist visions of decay. In the three-dimensional Sorry Truck, a broken-down cartoon pickup sprouts cacti, and in Leak, a ceiling dripping faux water fills up stylized pots and pans. Born in 1976 and brought up in the tiny town of Winterhaven, California, McKimens drew inspiration from comic books and daily life in the Southwest. He crystallized his style while studying at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. In 2000, he moved to New York City and has since shown at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Deitch Projects, and Art Rock 2005 at Rockefeller Center. In 2005, McKimens curated Stranger Town at Dinter Fine Art, commenting on the gulf between the New York art world and the illustration and manga scenes. He and partner Misaki Kawai are currently participating in Boroboro Dorodoro, a two-person show whose title roughly translates as "dilapidated melting," at the Watarium Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. - Alexandra Chang, ArtKrush