Mike Weiss Gallery is pleased to announce our participation in Art Wynwood during this upcoming Presidents Day Weekend. If you happen to be in Miami, please be sure to visit us in booth # B20 where we will have new works by KAORUKO, Kim Dorland, Will Kurtz, Liao Yibai and Yigal Ozeri.

KAORUKO – Japanese artist KAORUKO draws upon both the rich cultural history of her homeland as well as her experiences as a former Japanese pop stars to create her large-scale, graphically illustrated paintings depicting women in their private domestic spaces. Her highly codified motifs sourced from traditional woodblock prints and textiles are juxtaposed with figures defiant against the contemporary Japanese construct of kawaii, which values the feminine in terms of ‘cuteness’ and ‘adorability.’ Using acrylic paint, traditional sumi calligraphy techniques and silkscreened kimono patterns on canvas, she explores the complexity of the modern Japanese woman in terms of her relationship with herself and tradition. KAORUKO’s first major solo show Aromako is on view in the gallery January 7, 2011.

Kim Dorland – Canadian artist Kim Dorland is noted for his “extreme” impasto oil paintings of phantasmagoric scenes. Landscapes are drenched in light and offer a connection with space and a natural beauty as well as an affinity and longing for departed eras. Through this investigation of traditional landscape painting, he pushes the limits of the medium to visually narrate his experience of being raised in rural environment.

Will Kurtz – Brooklyn based sculptor and urban voyeur Will Kurtz meticulously constructs life-size figures modeled after personal acquaintances and eye-catching characters encountered on the street in and around his Bushwick neighborhood. The sculptures are constructed from easily accessible, everyday household materials like glue, newspaper, masking tape, screws and wood, which when brought together give the work an immediate sense of comfort and familiarity. With utter sincerity, Kurtz gives us a candid and unapologetic mosaic of New Yorkers in their blunt, colorful, borderline-manic behaviors.

Yigal Ozeri – Israeli artist Yigal Ozeri is distinguished for near photo-realistic oil paintings capturing the spirit of his subjects enveloped in the beauty of a vast landscape, from lush rainforests to arid deserts. Thousands of tiny brushstrokes animate the paintings’ surfaces and give way to an uncanny realism, overt beauty, and seductive power; the viewer is compelled to gaze into the deeply symbolic realm between reality and fantasy. In Ozeri’s Aquabella series, time and locale are ambiguous against an infinite seascape. He painstakingly captures the spirit of his subjects through a heartfelt quest to capture his muses’ energy.

Liao Yibai born 1971, Jiang An, Sichuan, China (GR)
Lives and works in Beijing and Chongqing, China
Chinese artist Liao Yibai creates sculptures and drawings of fake luxury goods and antique treasures. Through his intriguing combination of humor, imagination, and cultural criticism, Yibai reevaluates potentials and explores the complexities of material value. The shiny brilliance and technical skill of his hand-welded, stainless steel sculptures offers a complex and intriguing dialogue with prestige and power. Yibai’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States, China, and France.

Mike Weiss Gallery – Booth B20
Location
The Art Miami Pavilion
Midtown Miami | Wynwood
3101 NE 1st Avenue
Miami, FL 33137
www.art-wynwood.com

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