Altamira Fine Art Welcomes Todd Kosharek
Altamira Fine Art is pleased to welcome Jackson artist Todd Kosharek to our roster. Todd is a symbolist painter who studied art at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Todd's contemporary styling and modern interpretations of his subjects allow easy access to the viewer on a strictly visual level, as well as offer a deeper exploration. His strong sense of design and delicate brush work create dynamic compositions that invite the viewer to engage beyond the surface.
Todd's first solo exhibition with the gallery opens October 3, 2016, and is the latest in his "Project" series, which include interdisciplinary collaborations with fellow professionals in dance and music. The new exhibition, "Utopian Vision: The History Project" features over a dozen new paintings, and the reception event held October 6 will incorporate a modern dance performance by Kate Kosharek, with choregraphy by Cady Cox and an original score by Jackson musician Kyle Fleming.
“Utopian Visions: The History Project” is an exploration of concepts repeated throughout history and the universal symbols of peace that transcend culture and generation. The symbolic quality of historical documents and the compelling stories behind them inspire the paintings in this unique exhibition. The dance performance and musical score will explore the same theme.
Todd Kosharek grew up in rural southern Wisconsin with a supportive family that built him a studio at the age of thirteen. He has been devoted to painting ever since. At the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, he received a BA in Art History, focusing his attention on late eighteenth to middle twentieth century painting. Through these studies, he learned not only various approaches to technique, color theory, tonality and composition, but also about the importance of art with in the fabric of society and how this has changed through out the ages. This understanding has been an important factor in his choosing of subject matter and his continued exploration of realistic symbolism.
“What I love in painting, both as an artist and as a viewer, is the feeling I get from seeing something that was meticulously created by pigment and brush. I want to see time – time taken by the painter to think, feel and create – but also the element of time, as if the painting is not frozen as an image but will grow and change with me as a person as I grow and change.” – Todd Kosharek
Todd continues his study of art history while painting full time in his home studio in Jackson, Wyoming, where he has lived since 2000. He regularly takes portrait commissions and also paints the Wyoming scenery around him. In 2007 he started his series of paintings exploring the symbolic qualities of the origami paper crane for which he is best known. The Origami Crane Series is an on-going collection of interior paintings exploring the ancient Japanese prayer tradition of folding 1,000 cranes. These paintings are contemplations on memory, place, time and our acceptance of the nagging question “What is life?” He has also explored the concept of the origami crane as a universally accepted symbol of peace in his on-going “Project” series. These have included The Peace Project, The Perception Project and The History Project. These are equal part collaborations with composer Kyle Fleming and choreographers Kate Kosharek and Cady Cox that result in a full exhibition of paintings with a correlating dance performance.
Todd Kosharek has work in major private and public collections through out the United States and in Paris, France.
Exhibits:
March 2016 - “Duality: The Perception Project”, Solo Show, Altamira Fine Art, Jackson, WY
August 2015 - “Folded:Symbol – The Peace Project”, Solo Show, Daly Projects Gallery, Jackson, WY
February 2015 - “Frontiers”, Group Landscape Show, Daly Projects Gallery, Jackson, WY
June 2014 - Plein Air Festival, National Wildlife Art Museum, Jackson, WY
January 2014 - “Interiors/Exteriors”, Solo Show, Center for the Arts, Jackson, WY
June 2013 - “The Best of Wyoming”, Group Show, Art Association of Jackson Hole, Center for the Arts, Jackson, WY
June 2013 - Plein Air Festival, National Wildlife Art Museum, Jackson, WY
Nov 2012 - “Silverspot: A Graphic Novel”, Group Show, National Wildlife Art Museum, Jackson, WY
Sept 2012 - “Jackson Rising”, Group Show, Art Association of Jackson Hole, Center for the Arts, Jackson, WY
To receive updates on the artist and his new work, please contact the gallery, connect@altamiraart.com, (307) 739-4700.