Michael Pukac, Alabama born and Los Angeles based artist has quickly established himself as one of the more prolific live painters as well as made a name for himself by exhibiting constantly and relentlessly throughout the LA art community. His unique blend of seductive, classical imagery is cross pollinated with a witty, contemporary edge of subtle satire – all doused in reflective paint.
Michael Pukac
ARTIST STATEMENT:
Painting is a very mercurial thing. It’s a relatively simple act that has maintained relevancy throughout time and across most, if not all, cultures. For me, painting is like a collision of concepts as much as it is a combination of skill and material. It is where the creatively abstract and intellectually complex concepts of translation, illusion, allusion, and transformation find a nexus. I crossbreed different genres, eras, and conventions of painting into phantasmagorical anti-epics. I see my work as a kind of cultural aesthetic gumbo poured into its own reality, which is dedicated to honor the creative process. As multifaceted as painting is, it can be reduced to two parts: the “what” and the “how”.
Firstly, “what” I paint, are goddess-like, saint-like women in situations or moments that seem to come from some bizarre myth or a story that you wish you’ve heard. I pull from a barrage of romantic and “painterly” eras of art that reflect our own: Baroque, Rococo, Ashcan, and Art Nouveau. I am influenced heavily by other creative mediums including film (all sorts of animation, 50's, 60'sclassics, and documentaries on culture), theater (Shakespearian, Musical, Avant Guard), music (blues, classical, hip hop, jazz, folk, and rock n’ roll) and literature (Twain, Hemingway, and Robbins. ) They all seem to add to the collision in one way or another. I love to make playful paintings - heartfelt yet irrational. They are like romantic absurdities or well-spoken riddles with no answer - anti-narratives. For instance, the popular riddle by Lewis Carroll, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”. It’s a beautiful sentence and it’s a riddle you really want to see solved, but the answer is obviously never forthcoming. In a way, that’s the sort of image or scenario that I would like to create. It’s a balance between mystery and accessibility. My paintings may be seen as fun, funny, or pretty on the exterior, but this is just a tool to lure my audience into a world of mixed and matched myths and culture, literary gags, homages to great works of art, sexual metaphors, acts of overt futility, social commentary and to a place where there are no straight answers.
Secondly, is the “how”. Much like what I paint, I also pick and choose techniques of painting that reflect a blending of eras. I favor an old world, brown-sauce painting style electrified by metallic hues and dynamic shifts in space, tone, and temperature, while employing acrylic’s remarkable speed for layering. No longer bound to “thin to fat” oil painting of the past, I believe that this new paint mirrors the speed of our culture. We are visually bombarded with slick images that come out of the ether of binary code. So much so, that it has led to a time when painterly paintings can be appreciated with new eyes. Eyes that yearn for the Wassabi perfection, eyes that long to see the raised lip of the bold brush stroke, or the radiant glaze with the presence of the artists’ hand still noticeable. I often muse over how the space in a painting might be approached or how a particular element in a painting may be expressed. I believe that the voice of the paint is just as important as the image it defines.
In conclusion the “what” and the “how” lead us to the “why”. As an artist, I use painting like a lens to view the world. I find analogous principles and far reaching connections from our world to the world of paint. I believe a painter should try to paint as nature creates. So much so, that I’ve divided my work into the four elements, earth, air, fire, and water. These categories are not established on subject but, on the over all feel of the painting. This includes the way the paint operates, the character of the brush strokes, the push and pull of space and how the subjects in the paintings are interacting in their environments. The more I explore, the more connections I find. In the end, what keeps me painting is the idea that so much of a legacy and so many opportunities can exist in the tiny space between a brush tip loaded with paint and the surface with which it is meant to connect.
Join us June 13 ... 6-9 ...
After Party: 9-2am @ 131 = across the courtyard to a magical space ... Topanga Underground
We are excited to add Miles Tackett & The 3 Times! 9-10pm * You Do Not want to miss this...
Miles Tackett is best known around the world as bassist/leader of Breakestra, a funk, soul-jazz band whose records & live shows are a throwback to the pre-sampling era of Bronx DJ performances. "Music Man Miles", as he is known among the underground DJ crowd, also helms the longest-running funky soul party in Los Angeles spinning an all-vinyl set.
Tackett’s musical reputation extends well beyond the underground clubs of Los Angeles. He has performed and collaborated with a wide range of artists, including Blind Melon, B.B. King, Damien Marley, Little Feat, Macy Gray and legendary soul singer Syl Johnson. After years of focusing on a purist funk style and sound with Breakestra, Tackett has taken some time to write new songs using his first love, the electric guitar. Miles has released his most personal album yet, the soulful, guitar-centric The Fool Who Wonders. With an array of influences that draw from vintage soul, rhythm and blues, psychedelic, and blues/jazz influenced folk and rock, this album’s new vintage sound brings Tackett’s varied musical travels back to his roots. *wikipedia
KidGusto, DJ Fahmina & Thanos w/ special guests ...
Nicolette Spear Body Painting 9-11 - If you have not experienced Nicolette's work - This will be worth the adventure ...
Live Painting:
Benedigital
Jesse Jacobellis
Henna Artist
Vending ...
& more
Solo Show @ ROAM creative 6-9 FREE All Ages
After Party = 21+ Free
@ 131 - Wander across the courtyard from ROAM to a magical space ... Topanga Underground
*** More Details to Follow ~
ROAM creative
115 S. Topanga Canyon Studio: E
Topanga Canyon 90290
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