Benjamin King-You Are Leaving- March 30 - April 28, 2012
Galerie Laroche/Joncas is pleased to present an exhibition of recent paintings by Brooklyn based artist Benjamin King. This will be the artist's second solo exhibition at Galerie Laroche/Joncas.
Benjamin King's distinctive style straddles figuration and abstraction depicting landscapes which are dependant on direct experiences with nature then recalling those experiences from a point of remove in the studio. The artist is interested in the cognitive dissonance that results from this translation. "Making this work is like trying to recall a memory where the majority of the visual detail and narrative have been lost or obscured, but for some reason the memory is still there. I am trying to capture that compression of images and sensations retained by the mind. The meaning of the work relies not on one single condition or reading, but on our ability to effortlessly process a confluence of meanings generated by the same piece.
These pictures seem to fail as landscapes, while succeeding as abstractions, yet inextricably remain landscapes. Or maybe they walk a line that removes them from both categories. The physicality of the surface and the cartoon-like simplification of the imagery undermines seeing the work as only a landscape painting. Brushstrokes and textures mimic the feeling of nature more than they literally describe it. It is like there are two separate systems of logic at work in these paintings. One defines it in terms of familiar symbols for nature and the landscape and another abstract logic seems connected to an intuitive sensibility." 1.
Benjamin King holds a BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and an MFA from the University of Chicago. King has exhibited in many group shows in the United States including NEXT Chicago 2010-11, "It's my World" at Baer Ridgway Exhibitions in San Francisco, CA, "Seasonal Pictures" at ACME in Los Angeles, CA, "Grass is Green" and in Europe "Born to Die" at Second Home Projects in Berlin, Germany among others.
Benjamin King is presently exhibiting in the Brucennial 2012, presented by the Bruce High Quality Foundation and Vito Schnabel at 159 Bleecker st. NYC until April 20, 2012.
1. Artist's statement |
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Exhibitions
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012 | Jessica Campbell Learning to Live With Your Aloneness December 15 - January 26, 2013 | | | Yadir Quintana 'Femmes' November 3-December 8, 2012 | | | HKJB UPSIDEDOWNTURN September 12 - October 20, 2012 | | | Never Look Back, July 25 - September 1, 2012 | | | Jon Knowles Blood Oranges June 13 - July 23, 2012 | | | Jana Sterbak -Back Home- May 5-June 9 2012 | | | > | Benjamin King-You Are Leaving- March 30 - April 28, 2012
| | | Sean Montgomery - Avant Garage - February 18 - March 24, 2012 | | | Patrick Dunford. January 14 - February 11, 2012 | | | Jean-Philippe Harvey - These Things Take Time. November 17 - December 24, 2011 | | |
