kent rogowski :: press release

New York, NY – Jen Bekman Gallery is pleased to present Love = Love, and exhibition by Kent Rogowski comprised of six large-scale photographic prints based on altered puzzles, as well as a selection of the original objects. Love = Love will be on view Wednesday, May 7 through Saturday, June 14, 2008.

An opening reception for the artist will be held on the evening of Wednesday, May 7th, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the gallery.

Rogowski’s collages are created with pieces of puzzles which are cut from the same die but depict different, unrelated images. Using these photographic fragments as his palette, Rogowski creates entirely new compositions by his careful mapping of their collisions. The intermixing of these glossy idealizations of flowers, bucolic scenery, and man-made wonders results in disorienting and wholly unique fractured fantastical landscapes. In photographing his completed objects, Rogowski transforms them yet again. Shifting the scale of the photographic image modulates the grid-like uniformity produced by the borders of the puzzle pieces, diminishing or increasing the order they exert over the chaos of the constructed image.

“I fell in love with Love = Love’s thought-provoking, wry commentary on contemporary culture immediately, so I’m truly thrilled to be exhibiting the work” comments gallery owner Jen Bekman. “Kent’s practice and product relate to, and illuminate, topics of enduring interest to me. First and foremost, the layers of his process are a meditation on the photographic image as an object, rather than as a document. The discordance that results from the recasting of these clean, bright, relentlessly happy representations of flora, blue skies, and exotic lands quite literally fractures the over-saturated, hyper-real imagery that’s so characteristic of our modern mass culture; it takes the American obsession with order, newness and perfection, and recasts it as mayhem and unreality.”

About the Artist

Kent Rogowski's works are provocative and whimsical manipulations of objects and images that surround us in our daily lives. From teddy bears, to jigsaw puzzles, to self-help books, he uses and alters mass-produced consumer products as a vehicle for self-expression. By transforming the generic into the specific and personal, Rogowski questions what these products communicate about us, as well as the role they play in our culture.

In 2000, Rogowski received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design where he is now a Visiting Critic. His first monograph, Bears, was published by PowerHouse Books in 2007. In June of 2007, he had his debut solo exhibition of the same name at Foley Gallery in New York City.

Love = Love at Jen Bekman Gallery, 6 Spring Street.
Hours: Wednesday — Saturday, Noon – 6pm or by private appointment.

For additional information and images email info@jenbekman.com or call 212.219.0166.

Download the Press Packet as a PDF.


	6 spring street new york city 10012 tel: 212.219.0166 info@jenbekman.com

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			press release :: Love = Love New York, NY – Jen Bekman Gallery is pleased to present *Love = Love, and exhibition by Kent Rogowski* comprised of six large-scale photographic prints based on altered puzzles, as well as a selection of the original objects. Love = Love will be on view Wednesday, May 7 through Saturday, June 14, 2008. An opening reception for the artist will be held on the evening of Wednesday, May 7th, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the gallery. Rogowski’s collages are created with pieces of puzzles which are cut from the same die but depict different, unrelated images. Using these photographic fragments as his palette, Rogowski creates entirely new compositions by his careful mapping of their collisions. The intermixing of these glossy idealizations of flowers, bucolic scenery, and man-made wonders results in disorienting and wholly unique fractured fantastical landscapes. In photographing his completed objects, Rogowski transforms them yet again. Shifting the scale of the photographic image modulates the grid-like uniformity produced by the borders of the puzzle pieces, diminishing or increasing the order they exert over the chaos of the constructed image. “I fell in love with Love = Love’s thought-provoking, wry commentary on contemporary culture immediately, so I’m truly thrilled to be exhibiting the work” comments gallery owner Jen Bekman. “Kent’s practice and product relate to, and illuminate, topics of enduring interest to me. First and foremost, the layers of his process are a meditation on the photographic image as an object, rather than as a document. The discordance that results from the recasting of these clean, bright, relentlessly happy representations of flora, blue skies, and exotic lands quite literally fractures the over-saturated, hyper-real imagery that’s so characteristic of our modern mass culture; it takes the American obsession with order, newness and perfection, and recasts it as mayhem and unreality.” About the Artist Kent Rogowski's works are provocative and whimsical manipulations of objects and images that surround us in our daily lives. From teddy bears, to jigsaw puzzles, to self-help books, he uses and alters mass-produced consumer products as a vehicle for self-expression. By transforming the generic into the specific and personal, Rogowski questions what these products communicate about us, as well as the role they play in our culture. In 2000, Rogowski received his MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design where he is now a Visiting Critic. His first monograph, Bears, was published by PowerHouse Books in 2007. In June of 2007, he had his debut solo exhibition of the same name at Foley Gallery in New York City. *Love = Love* at Jen Bekman Gallery, 6 Spring Street. Hours: Wednesday — Saturday, Noon – 6pm or by private appointment. For additional information and images email info@jenbekman.com or call 212.219.0166. Download the Press Packet as a PDF.