Kurt Nilson: The Media of the Mind

Using an artistic philosophy that contrasts subversive naturalism, and postmodern superficiality with a technique alternating between layered transparency and flat cartooning Kurt Nilson creates a visual opposition between primal sensuality and flat dimensionless highway sign stylistic figures. His work both illustrates and penetrates the superficiality that forms the surface tensions of contemporary life. This dichotomy woven through his body of work reveals a rooted passion that does not hide from the violence and controversy that underlies beauty. The contrast between powerful archetypes drawn from myth and nature and the shallow archetypes of our time depicted by the flat ‘international sign’ forms are startling. The seeming disconnect adds another layer of illusion in his work and demands a concentrated participation from the viewer.