ASPEN, CO.- Marianne Boesky Gallery is presenting Dear Future, an exhibition of new paintings by Antone Könst. The artist’s new group of works capture the emotive impact and uncontainable energy of an indefinite future, shifting his portrayed characters between moments of hope, dread, tension, and humor. Dear Future is on view July 29 – September 12, 2021 on the second floor of the gallery’s space in Aspen.
Könst’s paintings are rooted in figuration, presenting people, animals, and even inanimate objects that are imbued with personified feeling and life. As a starting point for his works, Könst frequently calls back to archetypal and art historical imagery, sourced from studied explorations of classical painting, sculpture, pop culture, and lived experience. The exhibition is interspersed with these references, such as the symbolic and luminous depictions of rising and setting suns that embody the drama of William Blake, or the playful image of a juggler—a nod to Jean-Antoine Watteau’s buffoon paintings. Könst refigures this collage of references to express contemporary conditions, juxtaposing specific facial expressions and body language with ambiguous settings to create a tension between the familiar and the unknown.
Throughout the exhibition, Könst’s focus on color and texture intensifies the impact and vibrance of his images. Deep blue and violet tones seen in the reclining figure of SunDown are contrasted with golden beams of light emitting from a distant setting sun. In Buffoon (conspiracy theorist) the juggler’s balls hover in the air, almost becoming orbs of light in their bright shades of red, blue, and green. Similarly, the act of drawing takes precedence in the works, in which the artist will often carve out the contours of his figures through thick layers of paint or reveal quick charcoal marks beneath a thin glaze. At times the scenes of the paintings are seemingly prophetic, at others they focus on an instant of everyday life or an unexpected juxtaposition. Throughout, Dear Future examines the tensions and vulnerabilities that are inherent when exploring the possibilities of change in the current moment.
Antone Könst (b.1987) has exhibited widely across the U.S. and abroad, including solo exhibitions at Each Modern, Taipei; Tilton Gallery, NY; Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles; the Fondation des Etats Unis, in Paris; and public art commissions from The Lighthouse Works, NY, and Socrates Sculpture Park, NY. A recipient of the Rema Hort Mann Grant as well as the Harriet Hale Woolley Fellowship, he received his BFA from CalArts and his MFA from Yale University School of Art. Könst lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
