FRI 28 SEP: Boris Brenman "FACE/OFF"

BORIS BRENMAN
FACE/OFF

SEPTEMBER  28-30, 2012

 

NEW YORK – Boris Brenman's solo exhibition, FACE/OFF opens at Rabbithole Projects in Brooklyn on September 28, 2012 as part of the Dumbo Arts Festival. Brenman’s enigmatic but powerful paintings merge fictional narratives and the possibility of an alternate universe with a brazen honesty in portraiture. 

 

The works in FACE/OFF reveal a satirical, no-holds-barred approach, whether it is a humorous glorification of Russian President Vladimir Putin as the savior of Moscow or an emotional portrait of a tattooed woman leering at the viewer. Therefore, the works reflect the artist's personal angst and struggle in comprehending the nature of man. This is apparent in Hail Kim!, a large portrait of the North Korean head of state, Kim Jong-un. Here, Kim's visage is transformed into a target alluding to the Western propagandist portrayals of the leader as being threatening to his citizens and democratic progress. In contrast, the green background represents prosperity and a fresh start in Korean culture. Yet, Kim's portrayal remains sinister as the look in his eyes and the lack of a neck signify distrust from outside world and echoes his father's policy of isolation. 

 

Hail Kim! like the rest of it's companions is a veracious and ambiguous synthesis of ideas that intertwines past, present, and future as well as fact and fiction. The works grows like an organism evolving from an awareness of its environment to an exploration of all that is psychological, personal, iconic, historical, and eternal. 

 

Boris Brenman is a visual artist who creates paintings, sculptures, and photographs that depict fictional narratives. In the process of painting, alternate universes emerge from the work similar to the concepts in works of Trenton Doyle Hancock or Junot Diaz where characters have both supernatural and human powers. Brenman’s work has been featured in several group exhibitions around Pittsburgh and New York since 2008. In addition, he has paintings that are in private collections throughout the United States. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Carnegie Mellon University in May 2011 and is currently working as an artist in New York.