P•P•O•W is pleased to present new work by Dutch artist TEUN HOCKS. Hocks, an inventor, photographer, painter, performer and director has created a new body of work which is designed to both quietly entertain yet amaze the viewer. Hocks is a pioneer of the photographic practice of 'constructed imagery' in which many artists today work.
Using sets constructed in his studio, Hocks photographs himself as the hapless everyman combating the absurdities of daily life. Hocks paints over his black and white photographs with transparent oil paints. Working the photographs by hand (sans digital manipulation), he sidesteps the long debate between the two mediums by marrying them to each other. The technique intensifies the tongue-in-cheek melodramas that he portrays.
With humor and drama Hocks plays on the sympathy of the viewer. Through his use of self-portraiture he is seen as a melancholy yet playful artist who illustrates his encounters with the mysteries of his existence. As both the comic (artist) and the straight man (subject), he represents the futile discontinuities that result from occupying both positions.
Additionally, Hocks has made many super-8 films and videos. In this exhibition the painted photographs will be accompanied by a looped DVD projection that sets into motion a number of the constructed scenes.
Teun Hocks has exhibited internationally for the last twenty years. There are many publications of his work including a large monograph entitled "The Late Hour" with an essay by Donald Kuspit published in 1999. He exhibited "The Late Hour" photographs in a Light Box Project at Grand Central Station in New York City. His work is included in many museum and private collections and has been reproduced in major publications worldwide. Most recently a solo exhibition of his work, "Made in Holland", was held at the Cotthem Gallery in Brussels, Belgium.
Using sets constructed in his studio, Hocks photographs himself as the hapless everyman combating the absurdities of daily life. Hocks paints over his black and white photographs with transparent oil paints. Working the photographs by hand (sans digital manipulation), he sidesteps the long debate between the two mediums by marrying them to each other. The technique intensifies the tongue-in-cheek melodramas that he portrays.
With humor and drama Hocks plays on the sympathy of the viewer. Through his use of self-portraiture he is seen as a melancholy yet playful artist who illustrates his encounters with the mysteries of his existence. As both the comic (artist) and the straight man (subject), he represents the futile discontinuities that result from occupying both positions.
Additionally, Hocks has made many super-8 films and videos. In this exhibition the painted photographs will be accompanied by a looped DVD projection that sets into motion a number of the constructed scenes.
Teun Hocks has exhibited internationally for the last twenty years. There are many publications of his work including a large monograph entitled "The Late Hour" with an essay by Donald Kuspit published in 1999. He exhibited "The Late Hour" photographs in a Light Box Project at Grand Central Station in New York City. His work is included in many museum and private collections and has been reproduced in major publications worldwide. Most recently a solo exhibition of his work, "Made in Holland", was held at the Cotthem Gallery in Brussels, Belgium.