Sunday 20 September 2015

Some New Art

Spousal Unit D and I went to a local gallery and were really intrigued by the work of a painter named Alex Kuno, who did a series called "The Miscreants of Tiny Town". We knew immediately that we had to buy a couple of these amazing works!

Chicago's Curly Fine Art gallery website cites the artist as saying,
"... while producing work for three consecutive and eerily well-received solo shows in galleries throughout Minneapolis and Saint Paul in the early part of 2012, I realized that a lot of my viewers were drawn to my work not just because they wanted to laugh off apocalyptic paranoia, but it started to seem like they were finally coming to terms with the sad inevitability of it. The skies were getting rustier, my landscapes were getting scabbier, and the outcomes of my characters were overtly dire. Still, one of the prevalent themes running through these early 2012 shows was that an apocalypse couldn’t exist without survivors. I thought there was hope in that sentiment somewhere. "

MnO (Minnesota Original) notes, "Appreciators of Alex Kuno’s series The Miscreants of Tiny Town often have a very different–and more optimistic–perception of the images than the painter himself." Here is their image of the artist.


 Unfortunately I missed the gallery "opening" (which was really a closing, since the artist came at the end of the show), but the artist described his works and explained some of his paintings.


I don't know if I have a more optimistic opinion than the artist, but I did chose a picture of two children clinging together in what looks like a dance marathon bcause it seemed like they were surviving because of each other and I identified with the painting. It does seem hopeful.


Spousal Unit D, chose a different image in which a boy is being tempted by a boy scout who wants him to turn the handle and possibly release all kinds of evil roiling blackness on the world. The girl holds him back and of course we don't know who will win the contest, but the roiling evil takes up 2/3s of the image and the boy scout is commanding and hard to ignore. In the right hand corner a little admonition notes, "Let History be your Compass."



Finally we got a painting called "The State of Things and Cats." I guess cats are likely not good beings in this world as they lurk in the grass while a girl with a bird attached to her chest or heart walks by unsuspecting. I still like the image though!

We focused on the children of Tiny Town, but I don't think they are the Miscreants. (Perhaps the boy scout and the cats and the roiling evil are the genuine miscreants). We are happy to have these Tiny Town tots dwelling amongst us now. The way the world has been going we have been living amongst the miscreant sfor a while now.



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