November 1 through 22, 2008
Artists' reception: Saturday,
September 1st, 6 pm - 10 pm
H.
Kazan Fine Arts presents “Collective Addiction,” a
solo exhibition of recent works by Kaloust Guedel.
This timely exhibition explores some of the
indisputable consequences of global over-dependency
on fossil fuels that have adversely affected our
lives here in the United States as well as abroad.
The show consists of twelve black and white
paintings –with a touch of color–and five sculptures
of human heads invoking the destruction of warfare.
Guedel incorporates digital technology with the
traditional medium of painting to dramatize the
visual impact of his images. For his sculptures, the
artist employs “coal” –the most abundant source of
fuel in the United States– to symbolize the
socio-economic conditions that can lead the United
States into a disastrous war.
Guedel’s work invites the viewer to contemplate some
of the apparent complexities and hidden consequences
of our collective dependency on fossil fuel energy.
Guedel’s paintings with their dramatic black and
white contrasts and provocative juxtaposition of
images of war and currency communicate powerfully
the important message of this exhibition.
Kaloust Guedel was born in Nicosia, Cyprus. For the
last three decades, he has been active in the Los
Angeles art scene. He has shown nationally in New
York, Illinois, Texas, Ohio, Montana and Nevada, as
well as internationally, including South Korea,
China and Republic of Armenia. His work has been
published in New American Paintings, Masters of
Today, Trends and numerous other publications.
