calendario eventi  :: 

X

9/3/2007

Karel Funk

303 Gallery (old location), New York

303 Gallery is proud to present our second solo exhibition of paintings by Karel Funk.

Karel Funk’s paintings are made with layers of thin paint that reflect light, influenced by Dutch and Flemish painters of the 17th century and Renaissance portraiture, as well as by American figurative painters from the past 20 years and their relationship to photography based work. In the end, the tenderness of each painstaking detail that goes into Funk’s handling brings the viewer closer to the subjects, even as they turn further away from us.

Karel Funk's new paintings of male figures have increased in scale and proportion. The images of his figures end just above the waist and, as is typical in Funk’s work, stand against a flat white ground. This perspective allows the figures in his work, which were seen previously only from the shoulders up, a certain degree of freedom by revealing the subject's posture. “Untitled #17” depicts a figure from the back wearing a pale grey Gore-Tex hooded jacket, rimmed with a dark grey band. While these paintings are essentially portraits, the earthy pallet of Funk’s new work begins to allude to the sky and/or landscapes. “Untitled #21” is a painting of a figure in a large, green, down-filled winter coat with fur trim. The wrinkles and ridges are at once minute yet monumental. Although no reference to the model's gender is given, the stance of each sitter seems distinctly masculine.

A solo exhibition of Funk's work will open at the Musee d'Art Contemporain de Montreal in September, 2007 and will tour institutions throughout North America. The artist will be included in “All the More Real” curated by Merrill Falkenberg and Eric Fiscl on view this summer at the Parrish Art Museum, in Southampton, NY. Past exhibitions include “First We Take Museums” at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki and “Superreal” curated by Lauri Firstenberg, an exhibition at the Prague Biennale and The Marella Arte Contemporanea in Milan, Italy.

Image: Untitled #11, 2004, acrylic on panel, 26 x 19 inches

303 Gallery
525 West 22nd Street New York, NY 10011
open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 AM - 6 PM. (Summer hours are Mon-Fri 10AM - 6PM starting July 5th)

stampa

permanent link