Sunday, November 22, 2009

Kris Kuksi exhibit

Kris Kuksi
Beast Anthology

548 West 28th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC
Nov 21 -- Dec 19, 2009

Last night I attended Kris Kuksi's Beast Anthology opening at the Joshua Liner gallery. I had seen pictures of his work over the past year and was anxious to view them in person.

Kuksi takes bits and pieces of action figures, toy soldiers, tank models, and a seemingly endless selection of other figurative found objects and creates scenes that, seen as a whole, are reminiscent Eastern temple wall sculptures. Chaotic on the micro level but ultimately forming organized symmetrical shapes. The soldiers' poses and tanks create a kind of steampunk inspired monstrous momentum -- evoking elements of imperialism and industry. The religious and/or post apocalyptic effect is often enhanced by an "underworld" side to the work.

I'll admit, it's not work that effects me emotionally but if you're looking for a true "Holy shit, that's awesome!" experience, it's well worth the effort to go see them. It is easy to get lost in each one for quite a while. The longer you stare and the closer stand next to them, the more you can reduce yourself to their scale and become overwhelmed by their momentum.

[MY FUZZY PHOTOS HERE]

3 comments:

mordicai said...

Very excited about this; I need to remember to get in gear & go.

Carl V. Anderson said...

His work is so incredibly eye catching and thought provoking. I picked up the latest version of Hi Fructose just because of his works in there. You could sit and stare at them for hours, discovering things you hadn't seen the first dozen or more times you looked at it. I can only imagine that his work must be wonderful to see in person.

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