MIKE KUCHAR, KOAK & MATT BORRUSO
CASE OF THE BAD UGLIES (OR FREEDOM AND ABSTRACTION? KEEP YOUR SHADOW IN A HEAVY COAT?)
July 23 - August 20, 2016
Reception: Saturday, July 23, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.
1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, CA
I don’t much traffic with the dead, Dwight, but in your case, I’ll make an exception.
I do wish my voice reflected a time when we both believed in prayer, but those days are over.
In the mornings I can still fake sunshine,
but evenings I’m a dismal, wet downpour
It’s after 11pm ya know?
Yes, we have found something in the boredom that held us together
'Til imperfections got the better of us, and it was time for new friendships
However, I do have brand new carpets on the floor
so you won’t hurt your knees if you come crawling back.
I’m not being mean, I’m being real.
I woke up this morning with a bad case of the uglies.
And walked around inside myself
This is not the way I am, really.
I’m much taller in person, you know that.
It's just that the squatter inside me has to come up for air
I apologize Dwight, if his words inflict emotional wounds. I’ll admit, he’s an absolute bastard.
Before ending this tiresome conversation, keep your shadow inside a heavy coat. Leave dreams behind
Let sleep, like sand, pour into your head.
Wear dark glasses, and stay away from mirrors
Me? I’ve launched my body into unknown spaces. Towards discoveries that are perhaps beyond escaping
If we continue to duck, keep our heads down, we could survive.
Freedom, freedom and abstraction.
-- Abstracted (2016), Mike Kuchar
Matt Borruso lives and works in San Francisco. Solo shows include Wax House of Wax and The Hermit's Revenge Fantasy at Steven Wolf Fine Arts, Return to Holy Mountain at [2nd floor projects], and Scanners, a collaboration with Nick Hoff at the Mina Dresden Gallery. His work has been included in exhibitions at the Manhattan Cultural Council, Derek Eller, and Anna Kustera in New York; the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery; the Headlands Center for the Arts; and recently at Exile Projects in Berlin, among others.
Koak (b. 1981, Lansing, MI) received a BFA from California College of the Arts, San Francisco (2011) and is a current MFA candidate at California College for the Arts (2016). Recent exhibitions include Material Art Fair (Mexico City), TBD Gallery (San Francisco), and Current Space (Baltimore, MD). Koak has an upcoming solo exhibition at Alter Space in 2016, as well as three-person shows at Ampersand Gallery and Fine Books (Portland, OR) and Four Six One Nine (Los Angeles, CA) in 2016. Her artwork has been included in numerous publications. Koak lives and works in San Francisco, CA.
Mike Kuchar was born in the Bronx in New York in 1942, a few minutes before his twin, George. At age 12, the twins started to make films using an 8mm camera their mother gave them. They became central to the 1960s New York underground film scene, screening work alongside Andy Warhol, Kenneth Anger, and Jacki Smith. Called "legends in the world of experimental film" by Roger Ebert, the Kuchars have influenced filmmaking giants including John Waters, Todd Solondz, Pedro Almodovar, and Atom Egoyan. Mike's drawings depict an amplified world of exaggerated characters. Influenced by 19th century French paintings, natural history museums, New York and San Francisco gay underground and American comic culture, his drawings show scenes of man throughout history. Mike Kuchar has exhibited his drawings at [2nd floor projects] (San Francisco), Baer Ridgway Gallery (San Francisco), The Apartment (Vancouver), Ghebaly Gallery (Los Angeles), and Matthew Marks Gallery (New York). Mike took over George’s teaching position at the San Francisco Art Institute, and continues to make several new films every year with his students and collaborators.
the bad case of the uglies (or Freedom and Abstraction? Keep Your Shadow in a Heavy Coat?) was featured on Daily Lazy.