Don't miss this show!!!

It's not often that I call friends and tell them that they MUST SEE a particular show - this is one of those times. Joshua Liner Gallery has a show (til Dec 23rd) of 3D wall hangings and free standing pieces by Kris Kuksi. I have never seen work like this. Kuski began as a painter, and began these assemblages from dozens if not hundreds of model kits and cast figures from 1/2" and up - military, mythological, historical, anatomical, animals, architecture, etc.

Influences seem to be HR Giger, the heaven/hell/day of judgement pieces by Bosch, Brueghel and others, Star Wars, all filtered through what is one heck of an imagination. Photos absolutely don't do this work justice - go see these pieces in person (sensing a theme here?)! The painstaking craftsmanship is clearly evident, for example: a 2" figure of a military figure, but with a stove pipe hat and a head at the top of it, holding a 1/2" nude figure in his hand while on one leg is a skeleton firing a bow and arrow, and there are other small objects on his clothing. This is but one of several hundred figures on this one particular piece! The works are all a gray/dun color. I inquired as to how these are shipped and apparently Kuksi carves out the base of the artwork into a large piece of wood and sets it in there. There is much more to it than that, but he has to be using an incredibly strong epoxy on the figures to keep the work intact during transport.

Go to JoshuaLinerGallery.com and check out the work, and better still go to the gallery at 348 W 28th Street between 10th and 11th Ave.