Brian Kokoska solo show at Blanket Gallery, Vancouver, Canada

NY based artist Brian Kokoska recently opened his first solo exhibition in Canada at Blanket Contemporary Art in Vancouver. An opening reception for the the show, titled Beige Infinity, took place on January 14 and the exhibition is on display until February 25 2012. Comprised of a grouping of new paintings, small to medium scale, the exhibition deals with figurative imagery with a special consideration toward portraits, masks, and flowers.

The press release for the show states "Kokoska's modestly scaled oil paintings explore the surreal, the fantastical, but are at the same time an uncanny reflection of youth culture; its underlying tension and its chaotic, distracted language. Darkly jubilant figurative images amalgamate with abstracted, layered elements depicting scenes of unnamed ritual and fetish. Steeped in both the history of painting, and of costume, mask, and performance, implicit throughout the work is a sense of whimsy with an emphasis on decorations and adornments; headgear, hairstyles, flowers, and other embellishments". And "A palette all together garish, gloomy and vivid elaborates a simultaneity of figurative and pictorial elements in which figures seem tied down, trapped or forced to pose, but are mystifyingly true to life".

Kokoska's paintings hang in soothing gaps along the gallery walls. Some paintings are paired into twos or threes, while others are singled out all alone, but each painting seems to act individually. Scenes of chaotic bliss are combined with intimate portraits of youth and beauty in an arguably awkward manner. Select paintings such as Silk Prince appear almost as an icon or teenage heartthrob, while Honey references a sensual peek into an orgasmic bedroom scene with haunting undertones.

A lone figure with a landscape background titled Boardwalk Breeze introduces real life narrative space to Kokoska's character-driven vocabulary. Black and gray paintings such as Rub Club and Head Dress offset the disturbingly colorful palette seen in many paintings. Monochromatic Booster evokes a serene purpleness to the excessively large, white gallery space. A mixture of naturalistic figures play off ghoulish, deformed and accessorized figures maintaining a steady balance of innocence versus gloom.

The exhibition is a must-see if in Vancouver, Canada. We can't wait until Brian Kokoska opens his first solo in New York.

Installation shots of Brian Kokoska's Beige Infinity courtesy Blanket Contemporary Art Inc., Vancouver, Canada:

http://www.blanketgallery.com