Kukec gleans these materials from everywhere from the trash to sourcing from friends. In fact, he bought many of the frames used in his latest exhibition from a drug addict, and was gifted a desk from artist friend Daniel Newman. This piece became “Danish Modern….Where is Newman?” in which he chopped up the drawers into triangular shapes before piecing them back together to form an almost spillage of wood.
His amorphous sculptures criticize the art world while successfully defining themselves from their recycled components. Used wooden desks are split in two and forced back together at awkward angles and painted. Vintage frames surround laser lights shone through a found two-way mirror. Parking garage safety mirrors are arranged together as if peering down at epoxy coated Styrofoam balls below. Packing materials are fused with paint and epoxy and set upon an old desk chair, creating a crouching creature which looks to be made of expensive materials.
His transformative abilities are beyond impressive, as each piece disassociates itself from its salvaged parts and together they take on a meaning of their own.
