Sorry Not Sorry
Opens Friday, June 3, 6pm-9pm
The exhibition will be on view June 4 & 5 from 10am till 6pm.
273 Grand Street
New York City, NY 10002
On the 3rd Floor
Sorry Not Sorry, is the newest selection of Jake Scharbach’s meticulously executed paintings influenced by the history of representation and hyperrealism curated by Boshko Boskovic. Fusing historical images such as Christopher Columbus and Marie-Antoinette with signs of contemporary consumerism the artist draws our attention to the failure and fictions of our society. Representing noble portraits of famous historical figures and then literally defacing them with the waste of late stage capitalism, the artist leaves a comment for future generations to perhaps not trust their elders. The myriad of objects in each painting have been carefully selected to retell history in a tongue in cheek manner through trademarks, packaging, candy bar wrappers and dollar store plastics. Scharbach brings forth pop culture at its best and worst - no real knowledge, mere memes and attitudes while drugs and alcohol become coping mechanisms. Yet the artist is able to convey humor amidst the bleakness, permitting himself to make fun of the present and the past while teasing out our individual conditioning.
Scharbach questions humanity’s impulse towards acquiring power & wealth and the inherent void it brings that is never fulfilled with material goods. Through this series of portraits he challenges colonialism, the monarchy and structures of civilization that brought the world to its knees in order to sustain a way of life that does not seem to be rewarding for the majority. The false promises of commerce and industrialization have taken a mental toll on everyone. Humans are literally burning the past in the form of fossil fuels while stealing the future through pollution, resource consumption and habitat destruction. Scharbach interrogates art's ability to act amidst the destiny we are experiencing as a species and how to make sense of what got us to this point in humanity.
Using commercial logos of our times the artist makes puns through a pop art aesthetic yet draws attention to the darker side of the humankind. Scharbach evokes notions of the western expansion, vandalism of the past and present generations as well as what we are currently dismantling and leaving behind for future generations. By failing to reach enlightenment our stakes are quite high and the consequences even more severe. These paintings become a meditation on the concept of history which the artist simultaneously mocks and rejects while concurrently commenting on our disposable culture. Scharbach has a reverence for materials and surfaces which he scrupulously creates on his canvases while pointedly critiquing our way of life, reminding us that our actions often speak louder than our words.
For more information on the Artist and his upcoming show, please click here to visit Jake Scharbach's website
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@jake.scharbach.studio
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