LAGUNA BEACH, CA.- In the fifth exhibition in Laguna Art Museum’s ex•pose series, Los Angeles-based artist Richard Kraft presents a new body of work. Combining a succession of films he has made since summer 2012, he will create an installation fully surrounding the viewer. Although there are several locations—Los Angeles, New York, and India—the collective experience is less about particular geographic locations than about a state of being and the multifaceted wonder of seeing. Anchored by a set of images from the Hindu holy city of Varanasi, the films contrast and complement each other, constantly shifting while creating a visual thread of interconnected life forms. Because of the varying length of the films and the multiple locations of the projections, no single viewer will be able to take in the entirety. The complete experience is an accumulation of viewings over time. A new departure for Kraft, the installation continues his exploration of the possibilities of film, photography, collage, and performance.

In a smaller gallery, Kraft mainly uses imagery from Kapitan Kloss, a Polish Cold War comic book from the 1970s. These works are collaged and photographed to give the scale of broadside propaganda. The construction of text and images create a disruptive narrative, while their layers allow for multiple readings, inviting viewers to enjoy the absurd.

Richard Kraft grew up in London and currently lives and works in Los Angeles. His work has been featured at Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles; LA Louver in Venice Beach; Rosamund Felsen Gallery in Santa Monica; Greg Kucera Gallery in Seattle; the Bemis Center for Contemporary Art in Omaha, Nebraska; and the Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon. Kraft frequently uses public spaces for his installations and performances and has a public project in the works with the City of West Hollywood tentatively scheduled for fall 2014. Also in 2014, Siglio Press will publish an artist’s book by Kraft, a collage work based on the Cold War-era Polish comic Kapitan Kloss.