The Armory Show 2022

New York, NY

September 9-11, 2022

The Pit is pleased to announce a solo booth of new large scale whale works by Craig Kucia. The latest paintings by Craig Kucia mark a continuation of this idiosyncratic artist’s practice which has taken the shape of a long term investment into a continued subject matter. In this case, the new works all feature the image of a whale, portrayed in profile, emerging from the ocean as the composition’s central motif. Upon first encounter, the viewer is immediately confronted with the image of the whale but it is in the details and compositional subtleties that these paintings become activated; taking on different narrative qualities, emotional impact, and allegorical resonance. As is the case with all symbolic or archetypal imagery there is more beneath the surface of these paintings. A multitude of themes presented by both the novel and historical events can be found embedded in the paintings of Kucia’s whales, and their surroundings. At first these bright canvases aesthetically give the impression of a light hearted, playful practice but when one begins to sift through the layers of references a variety of different metaphors can be parceled out through Kucia’s on-going series.