With my work, I have tried to emulate the distinctive style of Eastern Orthodox icon paintings while exploring the legends of American history. I paint these historical themes with an approach that is rife with myth and dogma, as well as political satire. Much of my inspiration and imagery comes from a set of detailed 1898 encyclopedias.
“A post-industrial Rococo master, Kris Kuksi obsessively arranges characters and architecture in asymmetric compositions with an exquisite sense of drama. Instead of stones and shells he uses screaming plastic soldiers, miniature engine blocks, towering spires and assorted debris to form his landscapes. The political, spiritual and material conflict within these shrines is enacted under the calm gaze of remote deities and august statuary.