New Paintings by Tim Biskup
December 6th - January 10th
Opening Reception:
Saturday, December 6th, 4-8pm
At Face Guts
4136 Verdugo Road
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Price list will go live a few days before the opening via the Face Guts Newsletter.
Tim Biskup’s new show is about you. He claims the whole show is. The title, “Mirrors” is seemingly meant to imply that these paintings are self portraits, but the subtext is that you’re seeing a reflection of yourself. If that’s true, perhaps we can gather that Biskup thinks this era of chaos and uncertainty is turning us all into jumbles of parts. The pieces seem to be balanced, though and maybe that’s the point? We’re staying upright and soldering on while trying to make sense out of the way we’re stacked.
Stylistically this show is playing the same field as Tim’s solo show of greyscale paintings, “Smoke” (SADE gallery, Nov 2023) where the artist blew up his iconic graphite drawings into large scale canvases. This time the influence of those drawings is clear but the explosion of color sets them off into classic Biskup mode. Brushstrokes are back in the mix along with the soft fades of what looks like airbrush work but is actually done with foam-rollers and extensive masking.
Biskup’s recent Hi-Fructose Magazine cover story and a few other bits of media attention should bring new eyes to this exhibition along with the recent launch of his lifestyle shop, Home Guts next door to the gallery, which will launch new stock on the night of the opening kicking off their holiday shopping season.
Artist’s Statement:
“Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter.”
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray.
OK, I’ve always believed that or at least once I heard it I realized it was true. I’d go so far as to say that everything I make is a little piece of myself. These paintings are intentionally like that. Intended to be me, but also you. Standing in front of them is supposed to be like looking in a mirror. That’s where the title comes from. If you don’t feel that way it’s fine.
Our world is full of chaos and destruction right now more than in most of our lifetimes. Commenting on its particulars can feel like screaming into a cave. Sometimes it seems like self reflection is all we really have. Now is a good time to look at yourself and question who you are. I do it constantly. That’s why my gallery is called Face Guts. I’m facing the truth about who I am constantly or at least as much as possible.
Thanks for looking.
-Tim