Dennis Mukai's Compelling New Paintings Mark Anticipated Show at Bergamot

    LOS ANGELES, CA, February 13, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dennis Mukai new works, which will be on display at the Bergamot Station-based gallery from Feb 18 - March 25, with a reception on Feb 18 from 5-8 pm, feature iconic portraits and hypnotic landscapes that evoke a double-take with their surprising double entendres.

"The juxtaposition and ambiguity of my word play is intended to bring relief to the dark, evocative visuals," Mukai says. "The humor is personal, intentional...and at times, abrasive."

PHOTOS: http://www.robertbermangallery.com/artists/dennis-mukai?view=slider#4

Often mistaken for photographs, Mukai's paintings are painstakingly created using only sandpaper to remove layers of paint to gradually reveal the white of the original surface--his own technique developed and perfected through trial & error.

"The method of creating my paintings is subtractive," Mukai says. "A paint brush is never used."

VIDEO BEHIND THE SCENES, ARTIST AT WORK: https://youtu.be/jMTFk2YwSLg

Instead of applying paint to a gessoed surface, Mukai very slowly and precisely removes the surface layer of dark paint to reveal varying degrees of the white gesso underneath.

"Minutely abrading and distressing the two-dimensional surface to 'sculpt' the images becomes an obsessive meditation," Mukai says.

Mukai, born in Hiroshima, Japan and raised in Southern California, is widely recognized for portraits of beautiful women. His subjects have included Pamela Anderson, Tia Carrere, Kimberley Hefner, and Mimi Rogers. His works were featured in Playboy and his one-man shows consistently sold out.

A graduate of Art Center College in illustration and design, Mukai's works have garnered awards from ADLA, Society of Illustrators, Black Book, Print, and Communication Arts.

Transitioning into fine art, Mukai unveiled his new works at Robert Berman Gallery in 2008. Art critic, Peter Frank noted, "Mukai's pictures manifest a reality that exists within our minds, a reflection, not on what we see or know, but how we see and know it."

Technically uncompromising, communicating with a refined subtlety, Mukai's works cohesively incorporate his talents as artist, designer and photographer.

For more information, contact Robert Berman Gallery: [email protected] | 310.315.1937

Links:
- Video of artist in process: https://youtu.be/jMTFk2YwSLg
- Robert Berman Gallery: www.robertbermangallery.com/exhibitions/dennis-mukai-abrasive-affirmations
- Dennis Mukai: www.dennismukai.com

Dennis Mukai
Abrasive Affirmations

Reception: Saturday, February 18, 2017 from 5-8 pm
Exhibition: February 18 - March 25, 2017

Location: ROBERT BERMAN GALLERY
Bergamot Station Arts Center
2525 Michigan Ave. B7 Gallery
Santa Monica, CA 90404

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