Mark Kessell / Shigeru Oyatani
dal 16/3/2011 al 22/4/2011
Segnalato da
16/3/2011
Mark Kessell / Shigeru Oyatani
Kim Foster Gallery, New York
Two solo shows. Kessell provides the occassion to observe the human animal, the only living creature in his production; Otayani' metaphysical works presents small strokes of sometimes bizarre imagery, often against monochromatic expanses of architectural details.
Mark Kessell
Specimen Box considers our species' tendency to overestimate itself within the biological world. Our "superiority complex" influences our attitude and behavior towards other creatures, and to the environment we all share. Most, but not all, of these pigment prints are images of animals. Many are not what they seem. Specimen Box offers every creature an equal opportunity - scale, color, familiarity no longer matter.
The faces in Unmet Friends are those of living animals, including mammals, reptiles, amphibia and fish, in whom an emotional expression appears recognizable. Our understanding of another creature, human or otherwise, is inescapably biased, first by our underlying human nature, and then by our individual perceptions: we see what we want to see. Although an animal's facial expression is easily observed, its meaning is often enigmatic or ambiguous. Unmet Friends invites us to question not only animal faces, but human ones too.
Mark Kessell has exhibited nationally at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, George Eastman House, International Center for Photography, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, and Princeton University. Kessell has also shown and worked extensively in Germany and Switzerland. This is his second solo exhibition at Kim Foster Gallery.
Shigeru Oyatani
The new oil paintings have a visual layering that requires excavation. Your eye is initially led into compositions that reference a metaphorical dream, or a metaphysical vision. In many of these works, Oyatani gracefully marks the surfaces with small strokes of sometimes bizarre imagery, often against monochromatic expanses of architectural details.
Raised in Japan and residing in New York, Oyatani has been inspired to create hybrid works that touch on both Eastern and Western traditions. His use of color, composition, form and subject matter are a fine blending of his natural inclination to integrate cultures and their visual vocabulary.
Reception: Thursday, March 17th, 6-8 pm
Kim Foster Gallery
529 West 20th Street - New York
Admission free