Bold Colors, Sharp Lines and Prominent Social Statements

From the depths of MySpace—a cave filled with young, raw, untamed talent—emerged my first encounter with the works of 23 year old painter, Mackenzie Kouba. Her oil paintings are fresh, hip, dark and engaging.
Kouba graduated from Moorhead High School in 2003. At Moorhead High, she had the privilege of studying under local artist Michael Dunn.

Kouba says that this was when she “really started focusing on painting.” Although she’d been expressing herself through art since she was a child and was diagnosed with ADD, she began polishing her craft in her teenage years.

She is currently finishing up her BFA at NDSU and has been awarded a studio space at NDSU Downtown for the last 4 semesters.

Kouba was also the recipient of a scholarship to study in Italy for the month of July in 2007.

Additionally, her paintings have been displayed in spaces including NDSU’s Reineke Gallery, the Red Raven Espresso Parlor and the Spirit Room.

To understand what makes Kouba distinctive, one just needs to glance at her works. Her use of vibrant colors, clean lines and bold social statements cut through the canvas and into the psyche of the work’s viewer. She calls herself “a sucker for sarcasm and satire” and both emanate from her paintings.

Her untitled piece, which she describes as “an assignment regarding abstraction and the orchid plant in [her] studio,” is like a landscape painting on steroids.

The background is the red of a Target store and is a harsh contrast to the orchid in the foreground with its ethereal white halo surrounding crisp bluish-white buds and a strong wooden trunk.

Besides the bold colors and lines of this painting, another striking feature is the dripping of turpentine over the piece. These turpentine drippings look like transparent cuts in the canvas and allow the viewer to see the layers underneath. The turpentine through the Target-red paint gives the appearance of a bleeding orchid and gives the piece a tough, yet broken feel.

Another of Kouba’s works, Goldfish Envy, was inspired by a revelation about the American correctional system. The revelation came to her while she was bailing a friend out of jail.

Goldfish Envy depicts a conveyor belt dumping goldfish into a sardine can. There is another conveyor belt in the upper right corner of the painting that is supposed to transport the goldfish out of the can, but it is too high and is therefore empty. The fish are piling up at the bottom of the can because they can’t reach the exit.

Kouba says that she conducted a little research after her experience with the corrections system and says, “[I] discovered that, as of March 1, 2008, over one percent of Americans were currently incarcerated.”

Kouba’s goldfish are also significant because she says that, “A goldfish has about a 30 second memory. So, if [I] were in prison [I] would envy a goldfish,” but she also makes sure to mention that her revelation taught her that she never wants to experience the sardine can first hand.

Goldfish Envy also features Kouba’s trademarked bold colors, sharp lines and prominent social statement. The painting’s oranges, blues, yellows and blacks are both engaging and eerie. The piece also features cubist-esque blocks of color that are reminiscent of the cement blocks of a jail cell.

Following the completion of her BFA at NDSU, Kouba intends to pursue grad school and an MFA. For more information about her works, she can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Additionally, her paintings will be featured in a Studio 8 group show at NDSU’s Reineke Gallery from Oct. 30 to Nov. 20 and at Upfront Gallery for the month of January.

Mackenzie Kouba’s works are thoughtful and striking. She is definitely a notable up and coming local artist and her talent is a vibrant reflection of the art community that she grew up in.

If You Go

Who: Mackenzie Kouba
Where: Reineke Gallery, NDSU
When: Oct 30-Nov 20
Info: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).