Kris Kuksi, Beast Anthology
548 West 28th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC
Nov 21—Dec 19, 2009
I attended Kris Kuksi‘s “Beast Anthology” opening at the Joshua Liner gallery last Saturday night. 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 of Eastern temple wall sculptures. They are chaotic on the micro level but ultimately form 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 affects 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 piece for quite a while. The longer you stare and the closer you stand next to them, the more you can reduce yourself to their scale and become overwhelmed by their momentum.
Irene Gallo is the art director for Tor, Forge, and Starcape books and Tor.com.
Thank you for this post & link; I’m still going through the photos on his site. I think you’re dead-on with the reference to temple wall sculptures. These are worlds-within-worlds! Absolutely amazing; I wish I could see this exhibit for myself.
What amazing pieces of art. It must have taken forever to put each piece together. Do you know if the artist uses a paint wash after all of the assembly? I love the statue-like concrete look of the pieces making it seem as if they could crumble at any moment. And I work nearby, so I will try to get to the exhibit. Thanks for sharing.
Tor often verges territory that is too geeky (the endless wheel of time re-reads). The inclusion of an article about a fine art exhibit is the direction you should be going. Not always science fiction discussion, but items that a science fiction fan would find interesting. Good choice.