F.U. MONEY By Wayne White (All Photos and Video By Gail)
Joshua Liner Gallery is currently hosting its second major solo exhibition of work from Los Angeles based artist Wayne White, entitled I’m Having a Dialogue With The Universe, And You’re Just Sitting There. This exhibition is White’s most ambitious project to date with the Gallery, featuring all aspects of the artist’s multidisciplinary practice: including kinetic sculptures, murals, work on paper, a wallpaper installation, and White’s signature Word Paintings on vintage offset lithographs.
Joshua Liner Gallery is currently hosting Amalgamation, an exhibition of new work from Kansas-based artist Kris Kuksi. This is Kuksi’s fifth solo show with Liner and it includes seven works in the artist’s signature medium of mixed media assemblage.
When observing the delicate wall assemblages Kris Kuksi constructs, intricacy seems almost an understatement. Excessively detailed, each work plays out an epic drama meticulously assembled piece by piece. Largely influenced by the ornamental details of the late Baroque and Rococo movements, these embellished pieces possess a darkness. Chaos, downfall, and anguish are poignant struggles amongst Kuksi’s miniature models, their plight serving as commentary on humanity’s social, political and spiritual obstacles. The title of the exhibition — Amalgamation — sheds light on Kuksi’s elaborate process of collection, and also bears reference to the multiple chaotic narratives taking place in each ornate piece.
A Farewell to Arms
Many of the central figures in Kuksi’s assemblages resemble deities, transcending the disorder and turmoil that surround them. Rage and conflict between the smaller, less dominant figures is literally below them. In Farewell to Arms, a mythical warrior rises above a mass of smaller figures clambering beneath, struggling to keep hold of their heavy artillery.
A Farewell to Arms, Detail
Perhaps this profound difference in size between the godlike central figure and smaller mortal figures metaphorically reveals the sheer distance humanity is from total serenity. Kuksi elaborates, “Human beings are limited by their greed and carelessness yet they know it. Humans know how to be better and solve problems that are pressing the advancement of our species but we don’t always do the right thing. We are consumed by our darkness and yet we don’t realize we don’t have to be. I think if we can embrace our dark impulses, we can overcome them.”
Sedation
Sedation Detail
The process of assembling these intricate works is complex and time consuming, and sourcing the right piece to fit can take months. Balance and placement are of equal importance in the construction of the assemblages, thus resulting in the majority of the works having a symmetrical appearance. Kuksi explains, “It is balance of chaos vs. symmetry which can take lots of time just thinking out the arrangement for balance and control, rushing the process will leave too much chaos.” Aside from the painstaking arrangement of each assemblage, the artist pays special attention to every individual piece, hand painting them with careful patience. In many cases, the final result is unknown and it is the process of assemblage that builds the narrative and speaks to the artist.
Psychoactive Animalia
Over the many hours spent constructing a piece, Kuksi develops a fondness for each work as he explains, “I will love a new piece I’m building and I will sink in sadness to have to come to an end just to finish it.” However, the necessity to move on and begin another work is vital to the artist’s ambition as he explains, “My hope is that my art is a tool for recognition, at least in the short term. Tomorrow is always a new struggle and a new fight for survival.”
Ambiguous Exodus, Detail
Imperial Rights Fighter, Bronze on Wood Base
Star Wars fans may also get kick out of this fun, hybrid sculpture.
Kuksi’s Imperial Rights Fighter is also available in a hand-painted, 3D printed multiple in a limited edition of fifty pieces. Contact the gallery for pricing and availability.
Kris Kuksi’s Amalgamation will be on Exhibit through November 14th, 2015 at Joshua Liner Gallery540 West 28th Street, in the Chelsea Gallery District.
Joshua Liner Gallery is currently hosting a fun group show entitled That’s My Trip, curated by gallery artist Andrew Schoultz. The exhibition features sculpture, installation, painting, and works on paper from Schoultz as well as Claire Colette, Cody Hudson, Francesco Igory Deiana, Hilary Pecis, Libby Black, Louis Schmidt, Matt Gonzalez, Michel Tabori, Patrick Martinez, Ryan Travis Christian, Terry Powers and Timothy Bergstrom.
Patrick Martinez, Bougainvillea Stash Spot
According to the exhibit’s Press release, “A series of studio visits in various cities including Berkeley, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco led to Schoultz’s inspiration for That’s My Trip. He explains, “After an artist tells you about themselves and their work, it would end almost every time with the artist saying ‘so that’s my trip.’ I found this an interesting phrase to explain yourself to someone.”
Timothy Bergstrom, Boogie Man (Left), Bad Trip (Right)
For the curator, the selected artists in That’s My Trip display a plethora of mediums and approaches, but remain connected by the common interest of their surroundings, and lack of separation between their lives and their work. Schoultz adds, “Their art is a portrait of themselves in some way or another.”
Libby Black, Lesbian Art In America
I am not typically moved by Realist Still Lifes, but I love the above painting by Libby Black, who has several diverse pieces in the show.
Patrick Martinez, You Are Trippin’
I also like Patrick Martinez’s use of Pink Neon as a framing devise in his pieces seen in this post.
Ryan Travis Christian, Bringing Home The Mother Load
In case you cannot tell, those are little condoms sitting on the banana.
Matt Gonzalez, Named On Knees. Found Paper Collage.
Francesco Igory Deiana, Untitled. Ballpoint pen on card stock and giclee print.
Libby Black, Taking a Trip, Not Taking a Trip
One of the most eye-catching pieces in the show is Libby Black’s tableau representing a care-free day at the beach, Taking a Trip, Not Taking a Trip (2015). The items in Black’s installation are of personal significance to the artist, connecting her past with the present as the allude to the artist’s annual trips to Florida from an early age. The Publix sun tan lotion, yellow Walkman and the Whitney Houston cassette tape are tangible representations of past memories and treasured possessions. Black’s present is represented by a pair of flip-flops, and a stack of books read and cherished by her. Echoing Schoultz’s perception of the exhibited work as “portraiture,” Black explains, “It’s like a landscape of the real and made up, and also a portrait without the figure.”
That’s My Trip, Curated by Andrew Schoultz, will be on Exhibit through May 2nd, 2015, at Joshua Liner Gallery, Located at 540 West 28th Street, in the Chelsea Gallery District.
All Photos By Gail (Click On Any Image to Enlarge for Detail)
The fall gallery season kicked off in a huge way on the evening of September 11th, with dozens of opening receptions competing for attention and the streets of the Chelsea Gallery District packed like Sixth Avenue during the annual Village Halloween Parade as art lovers scrambled to make it to as many shows as possible. It was a blast! Our first stop of the evening was one of our favorite spots, Joshua Liner Gallery, for Invisible Ruler, featuring new works by Wayne White, an exhibit which did not disappoint!
Attempting to Be Here By Thomas Campbell (All Photos By Gail)
Joshua Liner Gallery is currently hosting an exhibit of new works by Thomas Campbell entitled Ampersand, which is the artist’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. Ampersand keeps it interesting with a mix of paintings, sculptures, original bronzes and hand-sewn works, all unified by Campbell’s distinct aesthetic.
