BE THEREAcceptance of DenialPresented by Bose Pacia Gallery November 8, 2007- December 22, 2007Reception: November 8, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pmBari KumarBose Pacia Gallery presents “Acceptance of Denial”, an exhibition of new work by Bari Kumar. The gallery is located at 508 West 26th Street on the 11th Floor, in the Chelsea district of New York City. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 12 to 6 pm and by appointment. The artist will be in attendance at the opening reception on Thursday, November 8th from 6 to 8 pm. The public is invited. Bari Kumar’s work operates at the intersection of knowledge and obscurity. Kumar’s paintings, fiber-constructions, and video works portray a mélange of seemingly disparate icons palimpsestically layered with fragmented, censored, and abstracted human forms. As an artist whose creative vocabulary is derivative of placing oneself within multiple communities, he is drawn to exploring the multiplicity of visual culture. Living and working in Los Angeles, Kumar clearly engages with the dialogue inherent in the visual landscape of “street” art. His work references the subtle fluctuation of agency between sanctioned and illicit public displays. Kumar has commented that his work is an extension of the intricate dialogue of street art. There is a certain staccato effect to the covering and recovering of images in visual culture. When an advertisement goes up it is soon thereafter partially or totally obscured with the text and symbols of graffiti artists. This, in turn, is often supplanted by the monotone blockade of painted censorship by local administrators. The cyclical dialogue is set to perpetual repeat. When trying to “read” these images it quickly becomes clear that the extensive covering and recovering is more complex than can ever be fully deciphered. Charlene Roth has said that, “Kumar offers scenarios, characters and clues in the form of stylistic devices, stacking order and symbols but almost immediately sets in play the quirky, Derrida-like, multiplicity of meaning that is bound to complicate communication attempts.” This complicated communication through images mimics the complications of presenting and understanding the psychology of oneself and others. The paintings in “Acceptance of Denial” examine the various stages of discovery and understanding. Kumar’s work is inextricably linked to the contemporary dialogue of agency and censorship. His keen mediation of this interchange translates into profound moments of the artistic representation of a global psyche. The work initiates discourse about the fears and joys of seeing and being seen, hearing and being heard, allowing and being allowed. And while the work does not provide an explicit answer to these questions, it invites and inspires the intimacy of knowing oneself. Born in Vakadu in Andhra Pradesh, India in 1966, Bari Kumar studied at the Rishi Valley School in India founded by the philosopher J. Krishnamurthi and thereafter, obtained a BFA in Graphic Design from the Otis/ Parsons School of Design in Los Angeles. He has participated in group exhibitions throughout the United States and India and has held numerous solo exhibitions in California. Bari Kumar currently lives and works in Los Angeles.
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