Anastasia Gabriel

Kris Kuksi

Kris Kuksi is a sculptor whose work incorporates figurines, plastic toys, metal and wood. It is baroque meets contemporary materialism meets gothic storytelling. In Passion and Resistance, the two central figures are wrapped in a passionate embrace surrounded by soldiers, weapons and machines. The mishmash of tchotchkes, toys and bits of metal and wood have been cut, manipulated, reshaped and put back together in a new way which is why I selected Kris Kuksi’s work as an example of hybridity. He collects mass produced materials and alters them in some way. Layers of paint and patination unite the overall work. By switching heads, and/or re-fitting parts Kuksi feels he has removed the original identity and transformed it. The artist communicates a narrative of man’s universal and reoccurring struggle with obsession and war. He takes the grotesque and makes it beautiful. The complexity of his work is layered and timeless; Kuksi raises questions about our modern society and evolution.

Sources:
Kris Kuski is represented by Joshua Liner Gallery at:  http://joshualinergallery.com/artists/kris_kuksi/

Kris Kuski's website is: http://kuksi.com/