SEDITIONS

Frank Kozik and Winston Smith

February 2 - February 23, 2013

Seditions
Opening Reception: Saturday February 2, 6-9pm

Editions have now been released for online sales!

The seditious editions in the show are works of “rebellious disorder” that act as an intellectual call to arms to the public at large to stand against complacency. Each artist repurposes the pop cultural zeitgeist of the 50’s postwar era with punk rock bones to create sometimes complex sometimes bone chillingly simple messages challenging us to look harder at the politics and governments we take for granted are working in our best interests. On exhibit will be original works and limited editions.

Kozik created a special edition of clear orange resin Gipper/Reagan busts for the Varnish show.

Kozik and Smith share the experience of having lived in postwar Europe in the early to mid 70’s, a period of intense upheaval. Kozik’s childhood in Franco Era Spain was full of visually influential authoritarian acts and imagery, evidenced by his use of the propaganda poster format. By contrast Winston Smith’s time in Italy as a teenager was full of class struggle and socio-political turmoil turned to violence that one writer claims “amounted to anarchy.” This state of chaos mixed with a 50’s childhood in a “flyover” state comes into stark relief in his politically tinged collage-montages.

Using imagery of the 50’s and beyond as his starting point, Smith “kidnaps” them from their original contexts, re-purposing them into politically charged tableaus that confront the viewer with the paradoxes and incongruities occurring in front of our eyes. With a sublime humor, Smith talks to us of deep and troubling issues with friendly imagery. Kozik uses the template of the propaganda poster prevalent during and post WWII in the US and Europe to create art print and music poster editions full of visually gripping and supremely graphic scenarios rife with cultural messages of challenge. He has recently turned his graphically keen eye to the world of sculpture, creating limited edition works of some of his most well known images.

Among Smith's artwork in SEDITIONS, he's created a totally new series of remark­able col­lage com­po­si­tions from extremely rare vin­tage steel plate engrav­ings from the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. These art­works are between 120 to 150 years old. Though Win­ston him­self isn’t quite that old (yet), he has man­aged to res­ur­rect new com­po­si­tions from images that have waited nearly a cen­tury and a half to go under his knife.

About Frank Kozik:
Frank Kozik is an entirely self-taught artist whose artistic career rose largely out of his enthusiasm for Austin’s growing undeground punk rock scene in the early 80’s. He transitioned to silkscreening large colorful concert posters, creating artwork for a diverse array of musicians such as Pearl Jam, The White Stripes, The Beastie Boys, Green Day, Neil Young and Nirvana. He moved to San Francisco in the 1990’s where he started his own music label. In 2001 he transitioned full time to creating fine art, design and art toys. He currently lives and works in San Francisco with his wife, Sharon, and their four cats.

About Winston Smith:
Smith first became known (and later beloved) for his collaborations with punk legends Dead Kennedys and his numerous album covers, inserts and flyers for the band in their formative years. His technique of cutting out by hand and gluing each individual element has inspired a generation of artists. He is classically trained in Renaissance art, having left the U.S. in 1969 to study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where he lived for several years before moving to Rome. Over the last 35 years, Winston has had numerous one-man shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City, London, Berlin, Antwerp, Rome and Tokyo, as well as group shows through out the United States and Europe. He lives and works in San Francisco.

View the artwork below.


Press Release

Artwork:

Silver Gipper_Reagan Bust Emporium
Frank Kozik - Big Dick's Coffee
4 Color Silkscreen on Paper
2013
Edition of 60
40 x 23 inches
 
God and Country Frank Kozik
God and Country
9 Color Silkscreen
2012
AP Edition of 5
14 x 40 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Act Like Nothing's Wrong
Original Collage
1981
20 x 16 inches
 
Winston Smith
Apocalypse Wow!
Unique Collage
1995
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Singing In the Reign of Terror
Original Collage
2012
22.5 x 18 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
In the Grip of Official Treason
Original Collage
2006
12 x 12 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Down the Drain
Original Collage
2006
12.5 x 12 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
If I Had A Hammer
Original Collage
1994
18 x 14 inches
 
Winston Smith
Satan is My Co-Pilot
Unique Collage
1998
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Rattlesnake Roundup
Original Collage
2012
19 x 13 inches
 
Dollars to Doughnuts Winston Smith
Dollars to Doughnuts
Original Collage
2002
14 x 18 inches
 
Gesundheit Winston Smith
Gesundheit!
Original Collage
2002
22 x 17.5 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Saint Harebrain and The Bunny Butcher
Original Collage
2002
20 x 16 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Enough is Enough
Original Collage
1997
11 x 14 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
The Mechanics of Grief
Original Collage
2012
26 x 20 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
The Inner Light
Original Collage
2012
26 x 20 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
The Time Traveler
Original Collage
2012
22.5 x 18 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Projection
Original Collage
2010
11 x 14 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Brainchild
Original Collage
2012
20 x 16 inches
 
Saint Hairbrain _ The Bunny Butcher Winston Smith
Aflame!
Original Collage
2012
11 x 14 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
X-Mas Presents
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
A Cry From the Depths
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Bedtime
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Butterfly Bomber
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
By A Hare's Breath
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Face to Face
Original Collage
2012
8.5 x 11 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Hiding in Plain Sight
Original Collage
2012
8.5 x 11 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Love Token
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8 1/2 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Swamped
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Swarm
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Trance Ported
Original Collage
2012
11 x 8.5 inches
 
A Cry Winston Smith
Nightmare
Original Collage
2012
8.5 x 11 inches
 
Turn of the Century Winston Smith
Turn of the Century
Assemblage-Montage
2008
12 x 36 inches