Michael Kukla
Biography
Michael Kukla is a sculptor and visual artist working with negative organic forms in polystyrene, marble, slate, plywood, paper and panel. His work is inspired by natural deformation and alteration of physical material. He received a BFA in painting from Castleton State College, VT and a MFA in sculpture from the Hochschule der Kunste in Berlin, Germany.
Michael has exhibited his art throughout Europe and the United States and exhibits regularly in New York City. He is represented by DM Contemporary in New York City where he had a solo show New Work, in March 2011. His work is in numerous collections throughout the world.
He lives and works in New York City and also works as a graphic designer.
Statement
I draw my inspiration from nature—in particular, the ways in which time relentlessly transforms matter. Taking my cues from various phenomena such as water wearing away stone, insects devouring wood, or wind’s effect on sand, I drill, grind, and carve my chosen materials to arrive at undulating forms that shape space with a seductive pulse. Whether using marble, slate, wood, or most recently, ubiquitous commercial insulation board, my goal is to unmask a solid surface in order to ‘step inside’ an arena of shifting states. I’m in pursuit of a particular dynamism, a visceral sense of inexorable change.
My work invites the viewer to consider organic processes in the context of architectonic structures. In contrast to the hard-edged geometry typical of our built environment, I interject cavities and openings that suggest nature’s more capricious habits. The result is a mysterious cave-like realm, a reminder of our first shelters hundreds of thousands of years ago. In addition, my altered spaces literally ‘poke holes’ in the notions of stasis or permanence. And given the rapid changes arriving with global warming, acknowledging nature’s ways must be forefront in our current thinking.
Exhibits
Dedee Shattuck Gallery | June 1 - June 26, 2016 | Instinctive Formation
