evo Gallery | Sam Kirk Opening
Posted by kmacbain on
May 5, 2009
Tre Dauenhauer, evo Photographer
“Dude, Bob Dylan’s collar? It’s popcorn.”
I nodded at Rachel and glanced over at Sam Kirk’s portrait of Bob Dylan as if I understood what she was talking about. In reality, I was snickering. Rachel was clearly drunk. When she left the room and I took a closer look, though, I felt sheepishly intoxicated (and sheep who’ve had a sip of beer are even less intelligent than sober sheep). The left side of Dylan’s off-white collar had the depth and texture that can only be achieved with a closeup photograph of popcorn.
If you’ve ever seen Kirk’s work hanging at places like the Park Pub on Phinney Ridge or Twist in Belltown, you would have been struck by portraits of such recognizable faces as Barack Obama, David Lynch, Ray Charles and Count Basie. New to this opening was Kirk’s portrait of Kurt Cobain, which accentuated his bright blue eyes staring out at you inquisitively among fragmented lines and spattered red paint. Like his other work, it seemed to be a fluid piece from afar, a singular medium, one personality. Up close, though, the complete extent of Kirk’s work shows itself in a collage-like blend of media and textures and a jumble of associative images. Kirk achieves a delicate balance between chaos and control, present in the real subjects themselves, perhaps most effectively through Cobain. In general, he comments on the idea that what solidifies a person’s appearance and seems to give them one whole, composed personality is actually a complex and often jagged mash up of ideas, perceptions and experiences.
Wow. I went on for a while there. What I meant was, uh… Dude. This guy’s shit is mint. Come check it out.
What else? New faces, new friends, Pyramid Heffeweisen, PBR, East Coast kids, West Coast kids, stories of bike crashes and road rashes, and, of course, everyone’s mustaches slowly sprouting in preparation for the month that most pays homage to a hairy upper lip. A night not to be missed. If you did miss out you should feel sheepishly intoxicated too.
Oh, and Tre took photos. Here they are:
2 Responses to “evo Gallery | Sam Kirk Opening”
Hey Sam, Im really proud and happy your work effectively caused as buzz in your local seattle art scene! You definitely have an individual style which is fresh amidst the mix-mash of graphic art constantly flooding the galleries. Love ya coz! See you in the pokey!
By Matthew Reuter on May 6, 2009
Wow Sam, Congrats! I’m lovin’ it!
By Rachael Reuter on May 6, 2009