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18/5/2007

Mike Stilkey

BLK/MRKT Gallery, Culver City

Horse Stories

BLK/MRKT Gallery proudly presents Horse Stories, a collection of new paintings and book sculptures by Los Angeles artist Mike Stilkey, in his first solo exhibition at the gallery. He will be in attendance at the opening reception, Saturday, May 19th (7-10pm), before he is rushed off to Rice Gallery in Houston the next day to create a major site-specific work for their Summer Window series, on view through the end of the season.

Mike Stilkey has always been attracted to the idea of creating something out of something else and so it makes perfect sense that he paints and draws not only on vintage paper, book pages and record sleeves, but also on the books themselves. Using a mix of ink, color pencil, paint and lacquer, Stilkey depicts a sometimes melancholic, sometimes whimsical cast of characters inhabiting ambiguous spaces and narratives of fantasy and fairy tales. Not content to create his powerful, evocative images in too traditional an idiom, Stilkey uses not only the semi-matte, mottled surfaces of found panels and vintage book jackets, but often stacks the volumes and uses the undulating vertical wall of their spines as his background. The resulting sculptural paintings add literature, text and history to the mix as well as humor, unexpected juxtaposition and enigmatic back-story.

Often shown as single portraits or in intimate groups, often accompanied by animal companions such as a cat or horse or in some cases by luminous red violins, the focal point of these expressive, engaging figures is the dark, almond-shaped pools of their Byzantine eyes, shining out from alabaster skin framed by raven hair. Their thin limbs like Gorey’s ghosts, limp, delicate hands and hypnotic stares are stylized but are not caricatures, instead announcing their purpose as symbol and metaphor rather than portraiture. A lingering sense of loss and longing hints at emotional depth and draws the viewer into their introspective thrall with a mixture of capricious poetry, wit and mystery.

Mike Stilkey’s works have been shown in both BMG Artists’ Annuals and is featured in the gallery’s publications, BLK/MRKT One and BLK/MRKT Two. He has also shown at Curio 69 and Artpiece Gallery in Los Angeles and been commissioned by numerous publications including L.A. Alternative and Exit Strategy. He will be exhibiting at Rice Gallery in Houston this summer.

Opening reception: Saturday, May 19, 7-10pm

BLK/MRKT Gallery
6009 Washington Blvd., Culver City
Gallery hours, Tuesday through Saturday 11-6pm
Free admission

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