Jim Kempner Fine Art is pleased to announce Everyday Lives, an exhibition of recent drawings and paintings by Jerry Mischak. This will be the artist’s fourth solo exhibition at the gallery and will be on view from Thursday, February 20th - Sunday, March 22nd. An opening reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, February 20th from 6-8pm.
Mischak’s fantastical, action-based images magnify the intricacies of daily life. Instead of depicting a realistic scene, Mischak amplifies moments of domestic turmoil and loss of control. Each scene embodies raw physicality and action, and abandons a sense of perspective and earth’s gravity. Objects spiral out of the composition in all directions, creating an elastic sense of space. Mischak’s cups spill disproportionate amounts of liquid, and his abstract shapes mingle with household appliances. These improbable factors, coupled with dramatic neon color, make ordinary problems feel surreal. By exacerbating small mishaps, Mischak allows the viewer to feel the frustration of the day-to-day and find humor in it.
Mischak succeeds in making normal circumstances feel bizarre and unearthly. The lack of a human subject in fundamentally human scenarios creates tension and asks the viewer to consider where this tension originates. In Back in a Minute, an abandoned pot on a table is monitored only by a dog. Mischak uses animals and disembodied hands as subjects, and occasionally transforms colorful spills into human figures. This type of embellishment adds an aspect of magical realism to otherwise mundane moments. The anchor of Mischak’s compositions continues to be the table. Typically a centralizing force within the home, tables are a focal point in Mischak’s work. As an active subject, they splinter and wreak havoc; as a support they prop up, shelter and contextualize the surrounding objects. By establishing these figurative, realistic elements, Mischak allows the viewer to access his dreamlike, psychological imaginings of relatable circumstances.
Jerry Mischak was born in Newark, New Jersey, received a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and a MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He teaches painting and sculpture at the Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Rhode Island. He was awarded the Rhode Island State Council of the Arts fellowship in 2003 and the Howard Foundation Fellowship in 2001. His work has been reviewed by the New York Times, The New Yorker, Time-Out, CNN, The Washington Post, and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Solo shows include: Table and Chairs at Jim Kempner Fine Art in NYC; Din-Din at Industry Gallery in Washington D.C.; and Castillo de Pepino, Sala de Exposiciones de la Fundacion Comillas, Spain.
