LITM is proud to present bold new paintings from self-taught artist Ken Bastard. Each piece is like a snapshot, blown up to stop you in your tracks and force you to look closer. Claiming influences as diverse as Basquiat and the Wyeths, Jack Kirby and Will Eisner, drawing on references from pop art and punk rock, fashion magazines and tabloid papers, Ken Bastard creates works that are a style all his own. He loves making a mess and "slathering paint around." He doesn't take himself too seriously, but he is serious about his art.
Artist's Statement: Welcome to Bastardville. A place where Beauty, Trash, Hope, and Despair live together in a community of Losers, Hipsters, Junkies, Artists, Celebrities and Criminals. My name is Ken Bastard and I made this. I fashioned it out of wood from job sites, painters' drop cloths, mistake paint from every paint store in NJ, and Blood Sweat And Tears. It bears my mark. My obsessionns and my fears are here. These works are me. These works exist because they have to. They begged to be made. They tell stories in a million fragmented, and everyday ways. I have to do this. I am under the impression that I have given up everything for this. Welcome to Bastardville.
Bastardville: New Paintings by Ken BastardKen Bastard
Opening Saturday June 9th 6-9
LITM
140 Newark Ave
Jersey City, NJ
7/01/2007
