Michael Hambouz:
Rock, Paper, Scissors
Kayrock
1205 Manhattan Avenue #141, Brooklyn
Opening Reception: Friday, November 18th, 6-9 PM
w/ Special Guest DJ, Edley ODowd of Psychic TV
Free and Open to the Public
On View: November 18-December 14, 2016
Hours: Monday-Friday, 11 AM-6 PM or by appointment
about the exhibition
Michael Hambouz: Rock, Paper, Scissors, an exhibition of cut-paper artworks, 3D and 2D paintings, screenprints, and video from November 18-December 14, 2016 (opening 11/18). Hambouz’s colorful works were born of an unexpected affair with paper; his exploration into cut-paper collage was an accelerant for an artistic sea change from figurative to the abstract. Rock, Paper, Scissors is an exciting showcase of the evolution of Hambouz’s work in process, form, and color from 2014 to present.
Nine cut paper artworks in Rock, Paper, Scissors highlight the production process at French Paper Company, one of the last independently-owned paper mills in America. The works showcase the beauty of manufacturing through the mill’s colorful end product, and are of emotional resonance to Hambouz. He grew up within a mile of the factory in Niles, Michigan, and started the works following the death of a parent as a means of reconnecting with his hometown and coping with loss.
The cut paper series introduced new creative freedom and elements of abstraction into Hambouz’s work, with bold lines and shapes layered over top of one another to create the final finished scenes. This idea translated into what came next: 3D lenticular paintings inspired by hidden personality information contained within the shelves of various record collections (hence the “Rock”). This work fractures lines together and shifts and moves with the viewer’s gaze. It also offers a new interpretation of portraiture for Hambouz that is coded by color and feeling.
In subsequent works, Hambouz challenged himself to capture the dynamic vibrating energy of the 3D work on a flat canvas. He painstakingly created three nearly identical 2D works in paint, cut paper, and screenprint that will be displayed together with the 3D painting at Kayrock Gallery. The gallery will release a limited edition screenprint made in conjunction with the show at Editions / Artists’ Book Fair from November 3-6, 2016 at The Tunnel at 269 11th Avenue in Manhattan.
