The Michael Kohn Gallery is excited to present the work of four anonymous artists for the first time in Los Angeles. These artists share many ideas in their method of working as well as in their desire to remain cloaked in a veil of secrecy. In this exhibition their works will indeed speak for themselves.

The role and status of the artist has greatly evolved over the last 500 years. During the Middle Ages artists were considered craftsmen and belonged to guilds. But during the Renaissance the cult of the artist emerged, and the working, famous artist achieved a special place in society. Today, and throughout the Twentieth Century, part of the history of the world is recounted by not only the great works of art history but also by the “cult of artist.” This exhibition is a commentary on anonymity, a challenge to the contemporary art world where the ego and position of the artist is dominant. In this show it is the artwork itself that is judged without the trappings of the artist’s status in the artworld.

Nearly all of these works deal with the idea of symmetry, or perhaps more precisely, the unattainable ideal of symmetry in the world. Using a process of “Inkblots” the artists have produced drawings and collaged works on paper that are both beautiful and eloquent. These works of art were, of course, created by “artists,” but without the personality of the artist looming behind the viewing process so that these works of art may be seen as they were intended to be: Pure expressions of craft and thought. In this exhibition you judge the quality of the work alone and not a brand-name product.