Dylan Solomon Kraus: That Which Reveals Itself to Those It May Concern

Dylan Solomon Kraus

That Which Reveals Itself to Those It May Concern

 

26 September–17 November 2020

 

 

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MAMOTH is proud to present That Which Reveals Itself to Whom it May Concern, New York-based American artist Dylan Solomon Kraus’ first solo exhibition in London and with the gallery.
 
In this new series of paintings Kraus responds to the notion that “reality is not what it seems” (C. Rovelli, 2014). Kraus examines the infrastructure of the universe, where major concepts we once thought of as having a linear nature such as ‘time’, ‘space’, ‘life’, ‘death’, are actually chaotic and expanding in all directions.
 
Kraus’ multidisciplinary practice has more recently focused on painting as a media that allows him to render the cinematographic possibility of his subject matter. Kraus deploys a series of symbols and geometric forms, often set within landscapes where the viewer is engaged with a re-interpretation of pastoral night scenes ​that feature​ celestial objects, including a reoccurring series of planets traversing the frame of the canvas. Using a predominately dark matt palette, with highlights which serve to pique areas of certain mark making, Kraus creates static yet evocative panoramas. Kraus points out that what is within our bodies (our consciousness and the voyages within) and what is beyond (the universe, nature...) are forever connected.
 
At a point where contemporary theories upturn what we historically assumed about human and non-human experiences, there is a widespread wish to understand the entanglements amongst people, nature, and the cosmos once again. With this show, Kraus’ paintings prompt us to acknowledge the primordial forms of conceiving reality, often forgotten about. To do so, ​we are asked to reconnect with our inner selves and the journeys, visually evoked by the boats navigating the canvas. Kraus draws from 20th century painting, particularly the Surrealists and Der Blaue Reiter groups, especially the work of Gertrude Abercrombie, Leonora Carrington, and Franz Marc. To come full circle, Kraus shares their intuition that reality is not what we experience only through our everyday consciousness.
 
That Which Reveals Itself to Whom it May Concern sees​ painting as a revelation that induces each and everyone of us into a journey to find the ‘truth’ of things, to pursue a new affiliation with everything.
 

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Dylan Kraus (born 1987 in Ohio) is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in New York City.Kraus graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Cooper Union in 2015. That Which Reveals Itself to Whom it May Concern is his first solo exhibition in London. Recent exhibitions include: Everything is Personal (group, Tramps, New York City); Horology (group, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York City); The Shining (solo, Entrance, New York City); Night Light (solo, Entrance, New York City); Sleeping in the Skin of a Nightmare (curated by Dylan Kraus and Aurel Schmidt, Romeo Gallery, New York City); The Skies and the Atmosphere Most Luscious (curated by Dylan Kraus, James Fuentes, New York City); The Written Trace (group, curated by Ariella Wolens, Paul Kasmin Gallery , New York City); Over The HoneyMoon (with Rose Salane, Magic Gallery, New York City); Old School of Art: Tales from the Crypt (solo, Cooper Union, New York City); In Bloom (curated by Dylan Kraus, New York City); 12 Clox (solo, Vision Inc., New York City); Enter the Void (group, The Porch Museum, New York City).