Shawn Kuruneru b. 1984, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York
Three years ago I came to New York from Canada to learn about the international art world. I learned first-hand about New York’s art scene by interning and assisting at non-profit spaces, galleries, and artists’ studios in Queens, Manhattan, Brooklyn, East Hampton, and Woodstock. I have emptied hundreds of raw eggs for a performance piece, recorded vocals and music for a sound sculpture, modeled, cut mirrors, covered buildings in vinyl, silver-plated wood, and meticulously applied glitter to huge canvases. All of my assistance has been a stepping stone to my own day job as an artist. Consistency and repetitiveness is what I take from these experiences in order to create meditative and spiritual drawings. I use generic pens to make ink-dot drawings that cover entire surfaces and leave only small areas blank. I make the works without any preconceived pattern or composition in mind in order to create a sense of wonder that allows viewers to connect the dots and find their own images. Using dots is a way for me to revert back to a basic form of mark making and to talk about drawing as the way to understand the beginning of an idea. My pieces reflect an active choice to bring the labor-intensive, repetitive experiences of my day jobs to the freedom I have in my own studio.
PL . 10
Minor threat, 2010