In the Annex

Shay Kun

Opportunities multiply as they are seized

March 14- April 4, 2009

In the David Castillo Annex, Shay Kun’s Opportunities multiply as they are seized presents a spiritual almanac that unites Himalayan clefts and the shallows of the Hudson River School; a leisurely hot air balloon and the coveralls of industrial unionists; the Bobbsey twins and G.I. Joe. His oil on canvas works recall plein air painting, psychedelic exploration, and science fiction fanzines. Titles such as Put aside the alienation and Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens allow space for the narrative voice of his landscapes to easily incorporate Grandma’s parabolic musings, calculated propaganda, and the script of an undiscovered Alejandro Jodorowsky film.

However, a prolonged look at Opportunities multiply as they are seized seems to suggest that despite the collage-like harmony of Kun’s imagery, Thomas Cole would shake his head at nature’s grandeur populated by human invaders—tourists, adventurists, and workers from all social strata. Although these interlopers and the traces of their occupation do not overwhelm the sublimity of nature, they do question the meaning of progress, the possibility of symbiosis, and whether the spiritual cognizance Cole and his colleagues ascribed to the outdoors stem from unadulterated nature alone.

Shay Kun earned an MA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College, London. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.