To visit the 3D view of the exhibition on Artland (click here)
 

"As this May’s residency artist, the artist presents works she developed before and during her time at Kates-Ferri Projects. Kuchar’s unique artistic approach involves using light to transparent fabrics that bind with wall paint or plaster from old, dilapidated buildings. Creating abstract and referential items of the world, such as swimsuits and bodies, Kuchar imbues her work with a sense of history and transformation, merging the past with the present and a sense of place in a tangible and evocative way.

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Unlike Jackson Pollock or Damien Hirst’s use of wall paint through their own gesture or application, Kuchar’s equally aggressive practice strips walls of its paint—ripping it bare. The artist shared that the longer she leaves the binder-thickened fabrics on the walls, the greater the physical exertion it takes to remove the fabric, paint, and plaster from its rested state. Architecture and construction sites are socially coded as masculine. By provokingly rendering the spaces nude, Kuchar questions the gendered readings of her work as feminine while demonstrating the strength of fabrics and providing herself with the materials to create work. 

Using the transferred wall paint strips to construct oversized swimsuits, Kuchar’s centerpiece features her Space Suit (2024). Not her first foray into this series, the focal point consists of a paint-ladden wine-red synthetic organza fabric with pink and sink pieces and a braided cord detail sewn together. The swimsuit exemplifies the blurring of the boundaries between public and private spaces. The piece is hung so that the bottom of the suit touches the gallery floor, grounding it as a sculpture and transcending its appearance as a mere garment. This deliberate choice lends the works a sense of solidity and permanence, challenging viewers to reconsider their perceptions of clothing and space.

Although she has an MFA in expanded pictorial space, Kuchar does not consider her two-dimensional works as paintings. Seeing them more as objects with inherent materiality, she plays with the sheer quality and the opacity within each work. This distinctive method highlights the space of the body, the space of the room the wall paint once came from, the space outside, and the new room it now inhabits. By collapsing those spaces into one, Kuchar invites a layered reading of her work that serves as a metaphor for the fluidity of space and identity. In the latest iteration of her explorations, Kuchar began to stuff her works with polyester fillers which further allude to the body. The braid in her sculptural Space Suit bridges these two bodies of two-dimensional works. 

Last, but certainly not least, are Kuchar’s ceramic works. Continuing the cheeky beach theme, the artist made flip flops with a deep well for placing a small amount of colored water. By positioning a pair of these flip flops in front of the wall works, Kuchar places an invisible person before her work, thereby creating an installation. By generating an active dialog between the two works, the artist invites the body into her work in yet another way.

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The exhibition opens with a reception on Thursday, May 30th offering attendees the first opportunity to experience Kuchar’s art. This show is not only a testament to her innovative techniques and thought-provoking concepts but also an exchange between the personal and the communal space."

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