KOKOSKA, MARY-ANN

Statement
This selection of work addresses the changing nature of landscape and my altered perception of it in response to global warming. In so doing I revisit and question the traditions of a picturesque vista in light of recent climactic events. I am particularly interested in the effects of monster storms and tornados as well as the devastating wild fires and floods that have been so destructive in recent years.

My work utilizes the medium and process of drawing and collage. These are most appropriate for conveying an environment in flux and the instability of our climate through their immediacy and malleability. I compose in fragments, bits and pieces of paper, gestural notations, as well as glimpses of representation imagery. These are loosely organized where one merges into another, gradually building and finding a new form. I deliberately play with ambiguity and uncertainty reflecting the precariousness of our current situation in nature.

The installation format and grand scale is intended to fully engage, and overwhelm the viewer.(It verges on being a spectacle and touches on characteristics of the Sublime. I often reference dramatic imagery in art history such as Leonardo's cataclysmic storms and deluges, Casper-David Friedrich's Sea of Ice and Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa to elicit an emotional response and contextualize meaning.

Biography
Mary-Ann Kokoska was born in Toronto, Canada. Her education includes an MFA from Concordia University in Montreal, a BFA from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, as well as an Advanced Certificate from the St. Martin’s School of Art in London, England.

She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally in commercial and public galleries, and alternative artist-run centers. Some of these are located in : Toronto, Montreal, New York , Denver, London, Wales, Prague, Italy. She is an alumni of A.I.R. Gallery, NY and her work can be found in corporate, private and public museum collections.

Ms. Kokoska is also the recipient of awards from the Canada Council, The Ontario Arts Council and Colorado State University where she is currently a Professor in the Department of Art and Art History.

Kokoska has been an Artnaut since 2019.
www.maryannkokoska.com