DANA LOUISE KIRKPATRICK Ain’t Enuff Said.
DANA LOUISE KIRKPATRICK Ain’t Enuff Said.
The crucified Christ is a subject Kirkpatrick often revisits. The artist’s forlorn father manages to exude a kind of pride despite his plight. In Tall Boy Food Stamps he is depicted on a baby blue cross sans loincloth. Michael Stewart vs. the Mockingbird Kick Start The Motor (2014), a painting done in house paint, charcoal and graphite on a double 8th Century door, portrays Christ weeping dark tears from one eye only. His un-nailed, upturned feet give an impression that, although he is suffering, he might also be flying. “I identify with Christ being used to excuse widespread atrocity,”
DRAWN OUT DIGNITY
Poetry and Justice in the Work of Dana Louise Kirkpatrick. by Doug McClemont
Kirkpatrick says. “He is a symbol for consumption, divide and discrimination. An excuse for fear.” A 2012 work in graphite, pastel, charcoal, oil stick and spray paint entitled Bones at El Pescador is a tour de force of color and conflict. A succession of masks at the top of the canvas appears to capture the aging process. Vehicles run over each other and Jesus-in-a-crown turns gray before our eyes. Fingers become syringes as they grab for the dollar bills beneath a donkey’s ass. Once seen, it can be difficult to dismiss any of Kirkpatrick’s painted infernos. But the poetical, political aspects of her gestures and the overall benevolence of the artist triumph in these, the stories that never end. The painter finds that the layered writings of the poet Dante still exude a powerful force. His Cantos are explicitly referenced and painted in roman numerals on several works, as if Kirkpatrick is leaving clues for our common voyage.
Dana Louise Kirkpatrick empathizes with mankind. She goes down the rabbit hole and comes up with clues as to what
Texts and signage are essential parts of most Kirkpatrick creations. Liquor store marquees, brand names, sports team
it means to be human. In depicting our collective experiences—from disappointment to elation—the artist amasses
logos, snippets of verse, and meaningful aphorisms float around the figures and objects, like fireflies having ideas.
universal truths. Fearlessly, she gives them form. To experience a painting by the artist is to witness the essence of things.
We “read” the paintings in intuitive ways, and their narrative, diaristic flavor becomes even more theatrical with the painted backdrop of dialogue. Indeed, each work can be viewed as a conversation with the viewer; one that artist
Kirkpatrick’s fine tuned sense of compassion is matched only by her artistic daring. The paintings and drawings might challenge the audience, but they stimulate and make us less cynical in the end. Smarter, even. Kirkpatrick muses, “If people don’t look at the world, nothing changes.” By sharing the difficult aspects of life, perhaps they’ll be easier to conquer. In that regard, Kirkpatrick is presenting a pipe dream of sorts. The title of the exhibition, “Zugzwang,” refers to an inescapable move in chess, one with damaging personal effect. Racism, religious myth, and sexist stereotypes,
initiates and quickly intensifies. Her voice demands that we listen, then exudes a kind of reassurance that problems, by their very nature, were meant to be solved. Kirkpatrick’s mind and the paintings themselves are kinetic and cryptic. Tense tableaux are based on impulse, but nothing is left to chance. Putting each painting out there is a minor act of courage. To Kirkpatrick, it’s a necessity. The spirited scenes seem to breathe. Or more precisely: they sigh. Of course, a sigh can signify despair but also relief.
are just grist for her daily mill. Somehow she renders these loaded subjects as handsome and poetic. It certainly isn’t butterflies and rainbows in Kirkpatrick’s painted universe, but her own version of beauty exists, for
Kirkpatrick’s painterly works are handsome, gritty, passionate and resolutely hopeful. The artist is an alchemist who
those who seek it. The flotsam and jetsam of human existence are portrayed in the characters, letters and codes that
presents symbols and figures that resound with a kind of effortless defiance.
populate the paintings. She has developed a profound style and inimitable voice using a visual alphabet of her own devising. Milk. Grenades. Guitars. Bones. Bibles. Bitcoin. Beer. The artist refers to the recurring symbols in the
Primitive, Picassco-esque visages bleed and bray. A bull, with its fleshy tongue in the air, seems blissfully unaware as
paintings as “my survival code.”
arrows come toward him. A doll can only be howling, his mouth a black void, arms outstretched. Sonny Liston takes a punch in the ring from Muhammad Ali and hovers a foot above the bottom edge of the canvas. An angel hangs upside
To create a new work, the prolific Kirkpatrick activates the space of the canvas, first with charcoal to create the
down, its tarnished halo still attached. Life, it would appear, is a battle to maintain one’s self-esteem. And Kirkpatrick’s
confident black outlines which become the painting’s structure. They are intuitive, not premeditated. A figure or object
characters succeed despite the odds. From Boxers to Batman, Mammies to Mona Lisa, Hell’s Angels to harlots,
is frequently the starting point, and snippets of overheard conversation or nearby objects are included in the crowded
Kirkpatrick’s paintings are inhabited by dogged, dog-eared characters drawn with dignity. They’ve found their torment.
narrative. The artist is a kind of conductor of her own visual orchestra. In turn, Kirkpatrick rewards us for our courage
They’re aristocrats.
in accompanying her to some difficult places. Her paintings are compelling enough that the more time one spends with them, the more prized the journey becomes. It’s a drawn out process and no easy feat. Take for example the
The Los Angeles-based artist is in the habit of taking daily coffee in a café near her Silverlake home. Each tablecloth
paintings that examine the historic African-American experience in the United States. We see in her 6-ft. tall Mammies,
becomes a tapestry, a record of the bittersweet thoughts of every mortal’s morning. Using pencil, charcoal, oil stick,
African-American cooks and famous boxers not anguish but pride. Nobility is never far away, despite one’s plight. The
and even spilled coffee as her mediums, some forms appear etched in acid and other sections are caressed with
paintings bring to mind the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, who wrote, “Freedom is what you do with what’s been
brushstrokes. Kirkpatrick listens to the world and eavesdrops on herself. In a sweeping act of understanding, Kirkpatrick
done to you.” Although Fitzpatrick is Caucasian and female, the paintings are, like a vast majority of her work, clearly
makes existence conquerable. It is as if our purpose is to address and comprehend even the troubling aspects of
self-portraits. They are at once defiant and self-deprecating, soulful and scrupulous. Kirkpatrick never uses an eraser
the lives of others. Dana Louise Kirkpatrick most likely made memorable art in that coffee shop this very morning.
and leaves no room for lies.
Preferring drawing to idle chatter, one can imagine her sitting there silently as she works, speaking volumes.
ZUGZWANG 8 November – 17 January 2015
Michael Stewart vs. The Mockingbird Kick Start The Motor, 2014 oil, house paint, charcoal, graphite on 18th century double wooden doors 96 x 76 in.
The Fall the Break the Borrow, 2014 oil, pastel, graphite, charcoal on unstretched raw Belgian linen 90 x 53 in.
ATM Lotto Ain’t E’nuff, 2014 oil, pastel, and charcoal on unstretched Belgian linen 93 1/2 x 51 in.
Tar Baby Brand Soap 5 Cents, 2014 oil, paint, graphite, charcoal, and pastel on unstretched canvas 48 x 37 in.
Double Nickels on the Dime Naco Bishops Close, 2014 pastel, oil stick, charcoal, graphite, pencil, sharpie and house paint on acid free archival paper 60 x 44 in.
The Man Who Sold The World, 2014 charcoal, graphite, pastel, and oil paint on unstretched linen 45 x 34 in.
Tall Boy Food Stamps, 2014 pastel, charcoal, graphite, conte on paper 60 x 127 in.
Field Picker, 2014 oil, pastel, charcoal, conte on unstretched linen 55 1/2 x 36 in.
High Card Chopper, 2014 pastel, house paint, oil, charcoal on unstretched canvas 105 x 73 in.
Last Supper Skittles Pop Pop Pop, 2014 oil, house paint, graphite, oil stick, charcoal, pastel on unstretched canvas 72 x 102 in.
Girls Girls Girls ATM/LOTTO Run Straight Thru The Motherfucking Mill, 2014 pastel, oil, charcoal on unstretched Belgian linen 53 x 34 1/2 in.
334 Leonard Peltier Ain’t E’nuff Said, 2014 oil, pastel, charcoal, conte, and graphite on unstretched canvas 77 1/2 x 52 in.
Cesar’s Palace Goodnight Miss Bye Sir, 2014 pastel, charcoal, graphite and house paint on unstretched canvas 57 x 36 in.
Combat Pay, 2014 oil paint and oil stick on found piano bench 18 x 28 1/4 x 13 in.
Bejings Umbrellas, 2014 charcoal, pastel, highlighter, sharpe, coffee, ballpoint pen, and pencil on Cafe Stella paper table cloth 28 x 20 in.
Hang Man Trigz, 2014 coffee, pencil, ballpoint pen, highlighter, Sumi ink, conte, and sharpie on Cafe Stella paper table cloth 28 x 20 in.
The Beast Cant Die, 2014 ballpoint pen, pencil, smashed raspberry, sharpie, highlighter, and pencil on Cafe Stella paper table cloth 28 x 20 in.
Dana Louise Kirkpatrick was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1976. She was raised in Washington, D.C. and studied Fine Arts at Georgetown University, graduating with honors in 2001. While attending the university, she received the DaVinci Medal for Excellence in Studio Art and the Misty Dailey Award for Outstanding Work in Studio Art.
Kirkpatrick’s bold, large-scale artworks sample literature, Modern Art, street art, and German neoexpressionism. These mixed media works, often populated by a motley crew and cast of characters, tell stories, stories of the disaffected, the marginalized, and the voiceless, stories of Kirkpatrick’s own. She grapples with the dichotomies and contradictions embedded in contemporary Western culture, religion, and humanity, using forceful iconography and a highly expressive technique. Her work and confessional visual language, inspired and influenced by confessional artists Louise Bourgeois and Tracey Emin, grows from her fascination with, and empathy for, the constant existential duel between the isolated individual and the shared awareness of the group.Avoiding sentimentality, the work of Dana Louise Kirkpatrick seeks to establish an intimate connection with viewers while engaging them with the unrestricted exploration of universal emotions.
Kirkpatrick lives and works between New York City and Los Angeles. She has studied at The Art Students League of New York and is also an art curatorial consultant for the Silverlake Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles. Her first Los Angeles solo exhibition—Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed was presented in Los Angeles in 2013. The exhibition catalog included commentary by Kirkpatrick’s mentor visual artist Raymond Pettibon, who expertly articulates the impact of her work:
“Dana Louise’s art is wide-varied and inimitable—not an easy trick, or rather gift. Each and every work, whatever the medium, will take you somewhere unexpected. And you won’t be disappointed on the rerun; rather, enthused. She also has a love for art and other forms of expression and their philanthropy. Bless her for that. The real thing. Dana Louise Kirkpatrick’s works has the charm of its own distinction: individual in the best way, but also with an engaging openness and willingness to share, to communicate. This is Art.”
Much in demand by collectors worldwide, Kirkpatrick’s critically acclaimed works are an almost instant sell-out when presented at local and international art fairs. She has taken part in numerous group shows and donated work to many charity auctions for organizations such as the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, Silverlake Conservatory of Music, The MusiCares and GRAMMY Foundation, Surfers Healing, LIFT, Project Angel Food, and The Art of Elysium.
ART MIAMI 2–7 December 2014
Burrito King, 2014 oil, pastel, charcoal, oil stick, house paint on canvas 97 x 72 in.
Bisnero/Chivato 1 2 3, 2014 oil, pastel, charcoal on unstretched raw Belgian linen 66 x 53 in.
Same As It Ever Was, FTL, 2014 oil, pastel, graphite, oil stick, and charcoal on unstretched canvas 54 x 45 in.
SATURDAY ONLY / GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS , 2014 charcoal, oil paint, Montana gold spray, graphite, oil stick, and house paint on four salvaged parking signs 18 x 18 in. per sign
ADDITIONAL WORKS
Wicked Box Yield Brother, 2014 charcoal, pastel, graphite on paper 104 x 61 in.
XXX Skid Row Whore Milk, 2014 charcoal, pastel, oil on unstretched canvas 72 x 76 in.
Catch 22 C Train, 2014 pastel, charcoal, house paint, graphite on unstretched canvas 125 x 72 in.
It’s All True, 2014 charcoal, pastel, graphite on unstretched raw Belgian linen 73 x 58 1/4 in.
Sacrifice Fly 47', 2014 oil, house paint, pastel, charcoal on unstretched canvas 73 x 58 in.
My Heroes Have Always Killed Cowboys, 2014 oil, pastel, charcoal, conte, graphite on unstretched canvas 72 x 50 in.
Gods Gonna Trouble the Water, 2014 charcoal, pastel, graphite, house paint on unstretched canvas 124 x 73 in.
43 East Oak Street | Chicago, IL 60611 West Hollywood | 814 North La Cienega | Los Angeles, CA 90069 Ana M. Hollinger | Director and Managing Partner director@kmfinearts.com
Published on the occasion of the exhibition SELECTED PRIVATE COLLECTIONS
DANA LOUISE KIRKPATRICK | ZUGZWANG 8 November – 17 January 2015
Cyril Aouizerate
Anthony Keidis
Wil – Dog Abers
Dan McCann
Tim Armstrong
Ian Montone
Gina Bellman
Eric Moscahlaidis
Jon Bresler
Stephen Nemeth
Shepard and Amanda Fairey
Pete Weiss
Gabrielle Fialkoff
Jorge M. Perez
Flea
Linda and Steve Plotnicki
Neil Gehani
Nir Polonsky
Robert Hartupee
Lyndley and Samuel Schwab
Timothy Hutton
James D. Stern
David Jacobs
Dana White
Gareth and Christine Kantner
Design: Chris Barricks Brand Communication Editor: Ana M. Hollinger Photography: Dan Rider, J6 Creative Essay: Doug McClemont Printing: J6 Creative ISBN: 978-0-9911262-3-1 ©2014 KM Fine Arts All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and information retrieval system, without permission in writing from KM Fine Arts.
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