Todd Kosharek | Utopian Vision: The History Project

TODD KOSHAREK

UTOPIAN VISION: THE HISTORY PROJECT October 3-15, 2016

Artist Reception: October 6, 5-8pm ALTAMIRA FINE ART JACKSON

~

Altamira Fine Art Jackson is pleased to present a new exhibition for Todd Kosharek, opening October 3, 2016.

The show reception will include an artist talk and original dance performance

by Kate Kosharek, with choreography by Cady Cox and musical score by Kyle Fleming. Thursday, October 6, 5-8pm.

Presales available. Call 307-739-4700 or email connect@altamiraart.com

“Utopian Vision: The History Project” is an exploration of concepts repeated throughout history and the universal symbols of peace that transcend culture and generation. The symbolic quality of historical documents and the compelling stories behind them inspire the paintings in this unique exhibition.

The show’s theme of Utopia is interpreted through the exploration of significant historical documents that hold universal messages, including the Nobel Peace Prize, the Declaration of Independence, and one of the first known images of Genesis 6 - 9, the story of Noah’s Ark; as well as more personal documents such as a love letter written by the artist’s wife and original first drafts of the artists’ favorite musical compositions by Bach and Beethoven.

Todd’s contemporary styling and modern interpretations of his subjects allow easy access to the viewer on a strictly visual level, as well as offer a deeper exploration. His strong sense of design and delicate brush work create dynamic compositions that invite the viewer to engage beyond the surface.

“What I love in painting, both as an artist and as a viewer, is the feeling I get from seeing something that was meticulously created by pigment and brush. I want to see time – time taken by the painter to think, feel and create – but also the element of time, as if the painting is not frozen as an image but will grow and change with me as a person as I grow and change.” ~ Todd Kosharek

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

TODD KOSHAREK

ALTAMIRA FINE ART JACKSON

Todd Kosharek grew up in rural southern Wisconsin with a supportive family that built him a studio at the age of thirteen. He has been devoted to painting ever since. At the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, he received a BA in Art History, focusing his attention on late eighteenth to middle twentieth century painting.

Through these studies, he learned not only various approaches to technique, color theory, tonality and composition, but also about the importance of art with in the fabric of society and how this has changed through out the ages. This understanding has been an important factor in his choosing of subject matter and his continued exploration of realistic symbolism.

Todd continues his study of art history while painting full time in his home studio in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has lived since 2000. In 2007 he began his series of paintings exploring the symbolic qualities of the origami paper crane for which he is best known.

The Origami Crane Series is an on-going collection of interior paintings exploring the ancient Japanese prayer tradition of folding 1,000 cranes. He has also explored the concept of the origami crane as a universally accepted symbol of peace in his on-going “Project” series, which includes: The Peace Project, The Perception Project and The History Project.

Todd Kosharek has work in major private and public collections through out the United States and in Paris, France.

5

SHOW CATALOG

ALTAMIRA FINE ART JACKSON

TODD KOSHAREK

Angele Dei, Acrylic on Canvas, 28″ x 20″

7

TODD KOSHAREK Love Letter - Peace Within, Acrylic on Canvas, 12″ x 20″

“ I went seeking poetic verses on peace through, and acceptance of, love. I looked at Shakespeare, Wordsworth and Cummings. I could not find that exact phrase I was seeking. Then I reread love letters from my wife. This is the first one I ever received, thirteen years ago. She wrote of a great peace within, admitting vulnerability to another person.

I thought this was a perfect summary of love: having a sense of peace with the unknown.”

8

TODD KOSHAREK

Moonlight - Beethoven’s Piano Concerto #14, Acrylic on Canvas, 14″ x 26″

“ The grandiose feeling I get from art, be it painting, dance or music, fits the ideals utopian visionaries had in mind for their societies. This is Beethoven’s original first draft in his penmanship of his Piano Concerto #14, better known as the Moonlight Sonata. It is a piece of music that is grand, tender and ideal.”

9

TODD KOSHAREK Neutrality Acrylic on Canvas, 24″ x 16″

“ Grey feathers have been a symbol of neutrality since ancient times. They also have been symbols of things passing from either dark to light or vice versa. The act of feathers falling from the heavens above transcends many cultures and religious beliefs, whether from angels or from the Upper World in Native American traditions.”

10

TODD KOSHAREK

Peace Through Ideas - Declaration of Independence, Acrylic on Canvas, 22″ x 44″

11

TODD KOSHAREK Peace Through Practice: The Noble Peace Prize, Acrylic on Canvas, 20″ x 44″

“ The Noble Peace Prize is a light that shines on people doing what others perceive to be great work for humanity. The middle crane is Alfred Noble’s will that created the prize. The other speeches from left to right, in their original handwriting: Martin Luther King Jr., Mikhail Gorbachev, Jimmy Carter and the Dali Lama.”

12

TODD KOSHAREK

Peace through Exploration - Bach’s Cello Suite #1, Acrylic on Canvas, 10″ x 18″

13

TODD KOSHAREK Peace Through Silence, Acrylic on Canvas, 18″ x 36″

“ So much of society is recorded on documents, endless papers filled with our history. I kept imagining what silence would look like – that engulfing feeling of nothing being said, recorded, expressed. I kept seeing pale cranes in a sea of pale colors. Silence.”

14

TODD KOSHAREK

Utopian Vision - The Peach Blossom Spring Acrylic on Canvas, 24″ x 36″

“ This painting is of an old Japanese scroll interpreting Tao Qian’s poem “The Peach Blossom Spring,” which is believed to be the first mention of Utopia in history. The story tells of a fisherman who finds a pathway through a forest of peach trees, comes across a society living in perfect harmony, stays for a week, but then leaves to tell the world. He dies searching for the pathway back to the society. The paper origami peace cranes that fill the space in front of the scroll represent the ideas within the story, the ideas of a Utopian society. What is peace without dreaming of it first?”

15

TODD KOSHAREK The Olive Branch - Noah’s Ark, Acrylic on Canvas, 28″ x 20″

16

Todd Kosharek: “Utopian Vision: The History Project” October 3-15, 2016 • Artist Reception: October 6, 5-8pm

“ Without the utopians of other times, men would still live in caves, miserable and naked. It was utopians who traced the lines of the first city . . . out of generous dreams come beneficial realities.” ~ Anatole France

2 LOCATIONS: JACKSON, WY + SCOTTSDALE, AZ

172 Center Street | Jackson, Wyoming | 307.739.4700 7038 E. Main Street | Scottsdale, Arizona | 480.949.1256 For more information on gallery artists visit www.altamiraart.com