Shawn Kuruneru Work | Artist Statement & CV | Return to Artist List
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Artist Statement
Drawing is the will of instinct. I find joy in draftsmanship. It is exciting to see your aesthetics and style begin a life of their own when you take time to hone your craft. This leads to emotive and sensational visual pictures that leave the eyes gasping. This is the kind of beauty that I aspire to in my work.
Portraiture is inspiring to me because people are the most interesting subjects. I like when portraiture is poetic and abstract. For example the way you can learn a lot about someone through there penmanship. It is a very personal thing that is specific to your hand alone. You can study the pressure application through tone and texture, the speed of the curves and slants of the lines, the intuitive sensibilities, the condition and emotional energy of the mark maker. These are some things I think about when I use ink and ballpoint pen to make my drawings. For the most part I just try to follow my instincts. Once I see myself in the work then I know it is the work I am supposed to do.
Drawing is the will of instinct. I find joy in draftsmanship. It is exciting to see your aesthetics and style begin a life of their own when you take time to hone your craft. This leads to emotive and sensational visual pictures that leave the eyes gasping. This is the kind of beauty that I aspire to in my work.
Portraiture is inspiring to me because people are the most interesting subjects. I like when portraiture is poetic and abstract. For example the way you can learn a lot about someone through there penmanship. It is a very personal thing that is specific to your hand alone. You can study the pressure application through tone and texture, the speed of the curves and slants of the lines, the intuitive sensibilities, the condition and emotional energy of the mark maker. These are some things I think about when I use ink and ballpoint pen to make my drawings. For the most part I just try to follow my instincts. Once I see myself in the work then I know it is the work I am supposed to do.
CV
Shawn Kuruneru
b. 1984
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec 2003-2007
Solo Exhibitions:
2010
Night Gallery, Los Angeles, California “Midnight Cowboy”
Baltimore Artscape Festival, Baltimore, Maryland “Ceremony”
USA BAR, New York, NY “Cantorage”
2008
435 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York, “DW.NLB”
Keep Six Gallery, Toronto, Ontario “Twenty-three”
2007
Receiver Gallery, San Francisco, California, “RR”
2005
Nota Bene, Montreal, Quebec, “Black Sheep - White Smoke”
Select Group Exhibitions
2011
The Drawing Center, New York, NY “Drawing Gifts”
Ribordy Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland “Summer meltdown”
Mark Wolfe Contemporary San Francisco, California “Sight Unseen”
Battat Contemporary, Montreal, Quebec, “Call it a good marriage” (curated by Grier Edmundson)
107 Shaw, Toronto, Ontario, “Shangri-Seven”
2010
Ribordy Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland, “Abstract and Traces”
POVevolving Gallery, San Francisco, California, ” Dissonance” (curated by Alexis Ann Mackenzie)
The Drawing Center, New York, NY “Day Job” with catalogue (curated by Nina Katchadorian)
Temporary Storage, Brooklyn, New York, “After We Met” (curated by Claudia Eve Beauchesne)
2009
C.R.E.A.M. Projects, Greenpoint, New York, “Whitney’s Biennial” (curated by Davida Nemeroff)
Asian Song Society, New York, NY “Group Show”
HKJB, Brooklyn, New York, “Personal Abstraction”
Printed Matter, New York, NY “One Size Fits All”
2008
Division Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, “Images of Romantic Distress and Consolation”
Art Metropole, Toronto, Ontario, “Gifts by artists”
205 29th St, Manhattan, New York, “Eat Wet Records”
2007
Le Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, “Shangri-Lost” (with Jesse Harris and Jimmy Limit)
2006
VA Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, “Never-Weres” (with Sofi Brazzeal)
2005
Galerie Accidentelle, Montreal, Quebec “Alcoholocaust” (with Luke Painter)
Select Publications
2011
“Artist’s Bands” Artnet.com, New York, NY, August by Bozidar Brazda
“Day Job” The New York Times, New York, NY, January 20 by Ken Johnson
2010
“Best In Show” The Village Voice, New York, NY, by Robert Shuster, December Vol. LV No. 51
“No Joy” Sexbeat Records, Copenhagen, Denmark, November
“Spot drawing” The New York Times Magazine, New York, NY, April
2009
“Cover and feature” DOMUS, Milan, Italy, December
“Six Heurs Vingt” Enroute Air Canada Magazine, Montreal, Quebec, March
“Interview” Hearty Magazine, Manhattan, New York, by Hana May, May, No.2
2008
“Etc. Girls” Neue Probleme, Berlin, Germany, by Elizabeth Moch, August No. 3
“Shawn Kuruneru” Color Magazine, Vancouver, British Columbia, by Nick Brown, July No. 6.3
“Zines” The Journal, New York, NY, No.XXI
2007
“Shawn Kuruneru - Mega Zines” Border Crossings, Winnipeg, Ontario by Robert Enright, December, No.104
“Azabache.” The Believer, San Francisco, Califronia, edited by Andrew Leland, May No. 47
“The Strange World of Canadian Artist Shawn Kuruneru.” Tokion, New York, NY by Maxwell Williams, March No.57
“Critics’ Pick: Shangri-Lost.” Artforum.com, by Jennifer Allen, February
2006
“zine review.” Broken Pencil, Toronto, Ontario, by Sarah Evans No. 35
“Teenagers Mind” Walrus Magazine, Toronto, Ontario
“Skunks” Ascent Magazine, Montreal, Quebec
Collections
Montreal Contemporary Art Museum, Quebec, Canada, 2011
Experience
2010
Artist Talk, Drawing Center, New York, NY, December
Shawn Kuruneru
b. 1984
Education
Bachelor of Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec 2003-2007
Solo Exhibitions:
2010
Night Gallery, Los Angeles, California “Midnight Cowboy”
Baltimore Artscape Festival, Baltimore, Maryland “Ceremony”
USA BAR, New York, NY “Cantorage”
2008
435 Broadway, Brooklyn, New York, “DW.NLB”
Keep Six Gallery, Toronto, Ontario “Twenty-three”
2007
Receiver Gallery, San Francisco, California, “RR”
2005
Nota Bene, Montreal, Quebec, “Black Sheep - White Smoke”
Select Group Exhibitions
2011
The Drawing Center, New York, NY “Drawing Gifts”
Ribordy Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland “Summer meltdown”
Mark Wolfe Contemporary San Francisco, California “Sight Unseen”
Battat Contemporary, Montreal, Quebec, “Call it a good marriage” (curated by Grier Edmundson)
107 Shaw, Toronto, Ontario, “Shangri-Seven”
2010
Ribordy Contemporary, Geneva, Switzerland, “Abstract and Traces”
POVevolving Gallery, San Francisco, California, ” Dissonance” (curated by Alexis Ann Mackenzie)
The Drawing Center, New York, NY “Day Job” with catalogue (curated by Nina Katchadorian)
Temporary Storage, Brooklyn, New York, “After We Met” (curated by Claudia Eve Beauchesne)
2009
C.R.E.A.M. Projects, Greenpoint, New York, “Whitney’s Biennial” (curated by Davida Nemeroff)
Asian Song Society, New York, NY “Group Show”
HKJB, Brooklyn, New York, “Personal Abstraction”
Printed Matter, New York, NY “One Size Fits All”
2008
Division Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, “Images of Romantic Distress and Consolation”
Art Metropole, Toronto, Ontario, “Gifts by artists”
205 29th St, Manhattan, New York, “Eat Wet Records”
2007
Le Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, “Shangri-Lost” (with Jesse Harris and Jimmy Limit)
2006
VA Gallery, Montreal, Quebec, “Never-Weres” (with Sofi Brazzeal)
2005
Galerie Accidentelle, Montreal, Quebec “Alcoholocaust” (with Luke Painter)
Select Publications
2011
“Artist’s Bands” Artnet.com, New York, NY, August by Bozidar Brazda
“Day Job” The New York Times, New York, NY, January 20 by Ken Johnson
2010
“Best In Show” The Village Voice, New York, NY, by Robert Shuster, December Vol. LV No. 51
“No Joy” Sexbeat Records, Copenhagen, Denmark, November
“Spot drawing” The New York Times Magazine, New York, NY, April
2009
“Cover and feature” DOMUS, Milan, Italy, December
“Six Heurs Vingt” Enroute Air Canada Magazine, Montreal, Quebec, March
“Interview” Hearty Magazine, Manhattan, New York, by Hana May, May, No.2
2008
“Etc. Girls” Neue Probleme, Berlin, Germany, by Elizabeth Moch, August No. 3
“Shawn Kuruneru” Color Magazine, Vancouver, British Columbia, by Nick Brown, July No. 6.3
“Zines” The Journal, New York, NY, No.XXI
2007
“Shawn Kuruneru - Mega Zines” Border Crossings, Winnipeg, Ontario by Robert Enright, December, No.104
“Azabache.” The Believer, San Francisco, Califronia, edited by Andrew Leland, May No. 47
“The Strange World of Canadian Artist Shawn Kuruneru.” Tokion, New York, NY by Maxwell Williams, March No.57
“Critics’ Pick: Shangri-Lost.” Artforum.com, by Jennifer Allen, February
2006
“zine review.” Broken Pencil, Toronto, Ontario, by Sarah Evans No. 35
“Teenagers Mind” Walrus Magazine, Toronto, Ontario
“Skunks” Ascent Magazine, Montreal, Quebec
Collections
Montreal Contemporary Art Museum, Quebec, Canada, 2011
Experience
2010
Artist Talk, Drawing Center, New York, NY, December
1. Untitled 2011ink on canvas
30x30 inches
2. Red Yellow Blue 2011ink on canvas
24 x 18 inches
3. Gold 2011ink on paper mounted on board
14 x 11 inches
4. Black Grey 2010ink on paper mounted on board
14 x 11 inches
5. Virgin 2010ink on canvas
24 x 18 inches
6. Virgin 2010ink on canvas
24 x 18 inches
7. The Drawing Center New York, NY 2010Install
8. St. Lawrence Cryogenic encapsulated ink beads on snow
variable dimensions
9. Turn 2008ballpoint pen and ink on paper
14 x 11 inches
10. Portrait of a Woman 2009ballpoint pen and ink on paper
14x 11 inches
11. Dog (Instinct) 2009ballpoint pen and ink on paper
12. Bust 2009ballpoint pen and ink on paper
13. Battat Contemporary Montreal QuebecInstall
14. Head of Rapture (After sorrow) 2009ink on paper
24 x 24 inches
15. Year of the Rat 2011ballpoint pen and ink on paper
20 x 8 inches
16. Year of the Rat 2011Install
17. Sono I 2011pencil on paper
7 x 7 inches
18. Sono II 2011ballpoint pen and ink on paper
7 x 7 inches
19. Lee 2009ballpoint pen , pencil and ink on paper
14 x 11 inches
20. Red 2009ballpoint pen, ink and acrylic paint on paper
14 x 11 inches