 |
|||||||
|
|
ROY
KORTICK: chintzagrams + tchotchboxes
Marcel
Sitcoske gallery is proud to present our first solo exhibition of
sculptures, frescos and paintings by Brooklyn based artist Roy Kortick.
This is Kortick’s first solo show on the West Coast. Kortik’s
work is as diverse in medium as it is in subject matter. He uses
a combined technique of resin, styrofoam, fresco, pigments, trash-can
lids and clay. These raw elements are transformed into paintings
that contain images reminiscent of everything from cave paintings
to Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. Trash-can lids hold frescos like
untitled:monsters, where the colorful characters could be dancing
Incan figures. His elaborately decorated boxes are shown both open
and closed, as the insides of some of them contain crowded groups
of multi-colored plaster hands. The box lids sport fanciful creatures;
one features a woman riding a three-headed dog, another features
a bird-woman. A bear family is hung on the wall, so that the largest
bear which measures four feet, presides over a group of smaller
bears who seem to act as his guardian angels. Fountains that are
self-contained worlds provide habitats for Kortick’s many characters.
The water element further enhances the notion of playfulness and
fantasy that Kortick so deftly achieves in this exhibition. The
work is lovingly made by hand, and the colors (bright reds, golds,
oranges, pinks and vibrant patterns) seem to light up the room. Kortick’s work is theatrical and personal, and conveys a sense of a deliberate resurrection of the past. Because of the historical cross-referencing and visual melee, we can contemplate art history in a way we probably haven’t before. He manages to combine high and low art in a way that tells a story in a language that is all his own. Kortick says, “my view of Art History is like a snowglobe, those tourist glass balls with something inside, you shake them up – transparent – playful – random – intimate – somewhere between sacred object and tchotchke.”
|
 |