Can an artist really change the world around him or at least ‘make a dent in it’ in the words of Henry Miller? How relevant are his criticisms if he himself lives in the society’s margins? Should his choice rather be to remain completely uninvolved, focusing entirely on the exploration of his medium?
While the choice is highly personal, one thing is apparent – whether we want it or not, often simply by default, we are affected by the world around us, its regulations and policies, motions and decisions, the rational and the irrational, in short its general whirl, which influences us both positively and negatively.
My own stance is that of a sideline observer. An artist alone is incapable of bringing about major change unless he abandons his art and chooses to go into politics instead. However in his quest for truth an artist can inspirer others to a collective effort.
Despite his often powerless position, I am convinced that the artist’s ultimate function, the one which should not be abandoned under any circumstances, lies in the quest for truth, in stripping what is veiled or obscured, be it in regard to the society he lives in, historical facts or reinventing his medium. The true purpose of art is not to embellish or entertain but to indeed reveal the truth. This quest seems to be the only one worth pursuing, the only one that brings fulfillment in the end.
In some of my recent works I attempt to question the validity and authenticity of what is handed to us, and then regarded and accepted by us as truth, and which I consider as truth obscured or misrepresented.
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#109: The Crawler (2008)
Medium: olieverf op doek
Afmetingen: 200 x 150cm.
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#110: The Surreptitious of the Uebermensch (2008)
Medium: olieverf op doek
Afmetingen: 320 x 180cm.
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#111: The Anatomy lesson of Dr. Shtulp (2008)
Medium: olieverf op doek
Afmetingen: 200 x 150cm.
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Curriculum Vitae:
Leo Kogan (27-9-1974)
Education:
De Ateliers, Amsterdam, 1997-1999 The Cooper Union, New York City, 1994-1997 RIT, Rochester, New York, 1992-1994
Selected Solo Exhibitions:
The Hermit. Centrum voor Jonge Kunst, Gent, Belgium, 11-12/2005
SNS/REAAL Group, Utrecht, 10-11/2005
Galerie Ruth Leuchter, Duesseldorf, Germany, 9-10/2005
Aschenbach and Hofland Galleries, Amsterdam, 9/2004
New Drawings, St. Nicolaasstraat Window Gallery, 6/2004
SBK Osdorp, Amsterdam, 1/2004
Text Work, NP40, Amsterdam, 2/2002
Enlightened by Smut, Buro Empty, Amsterdam, 5/2001 New Work City, Buro Empty, 5/2000 Sabine Wachters, Brussels, 9/1999 Sabine Wachters, Knokke, 7/1999 Buro Empty, Amsterdam, 7/1999 De Ateliers, Amsterdam, 6/1999 Selected Group Exhibitions/Events:
Precurse: Nationalmuseum Berlin, Berlin, 10/2008
Drawings: Maurits van de Laar Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands, 10/2008
Intersection IV, Galery Resy Muijseres, Tilburg, Netherlands, 3-4/2007
Intersection, Tilburg, Galerie Resy Muijsers, Netherlands, 10/2006
Museum Explosion 2, Cultural Center Knooke-Heist, Belgium, 9/2006
Motherland, Kunstvlaai, Amsterdam, 5/2006
Video Projection: Russian Jokes, Vaesteras, Sweden, 4/2006
Carter Presents Apt Draschan, Vienna, Austria 4/2006
MS Research Art Prize 2006, The Hague, 3/2006
Th Gallery, Leo Kogan en Bart Baele: Les Extremes se Touchent, The Hague, 2-4/2006
Akademie Galerie, PR: Painting Relations, Utrecht, Netherlands, 1/2005
Group Show with Armen Eloyan and Roman Wolgin, East Area, Amsterdam, 11/2004
4th Works on Paper Biennale, St. Petersburg, Russia, 6/2004
Shining, Aschenbach and Hofland Galleries, Amsterdam, 4/2004
SBK Breda, 1/2004
Koninklijke Prijs Voor Vrije Schilderkunst, Koninklijk Paleis, Amsterdam, 10/2003
Christie’s, SOLD!, Amsterdam, 10/2002
Rotor – Contemporary Art, Oh, it’s the Curator! A multimedia presentation Quiz, Graz Austria, 4/2002
Artissima Turin, Italy, 11/2001 Konsthal Passagen, Linkoping, Sweden, 10/2001 KunstRAI, Amsterdam, 6/2001 ART Brussels, 4/2001 Buning Brongers Stichting, Amsterdam, 12/2000 Kunst 2000 Zurich Art Fair, Zurich, 11/2000 Artforum Berlin, Berlin, 9/2000 Sabine Wachters, Knokke, 8/1999 De Gele Rijder, Arnhem, Netherlands, 9/1999 Osaka Triennale 1996, Osaka, Japan, 9/1996
Other Projects:
Curator: Installation – Museum Explosion, with works by Eric Knoote and Rob v/d Schoor, NP 40, Amsterdam, 5/2004
Participant in project/seminar Neue Werkstrategien (organized by Dr. des. Necmi Sönmez, Curator of Contemporary Art) at Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany, 5/12-6/12/2001
Publications:
A Hunch and a Leverage, Catalogue, 2004
NRC Handelsblad, 9/2004
Kunstbeeld, 8/2004
SOLD! Christie’s, 2002
De Volkskrant, 5/2001
Buning Brongers Prijzen, 2000
De Volkskrant, 5/2000
KunstRAI, 2000
De Gele Rijder, 1999
Osaka Triennale, 1996
Prizes and Grants:
Bijdrage Werkbudget, Fonds BKVB, 2007
Basisstipendium, Fonds BKVB, 2005
Werkbeurs, Fonds BKVB, Amsterdam, 2004
Buning Brongers Prize, Amsterdam, 12/2000 Kinki-Nippon Prize at Osaka Triennale 1996, Japan Collections: Private collections in the U.S.A., Belgium, Austria, France, Spain, and the Netherlands, the Cooper Union collection, Osaka Contemporary Art Center