"Fire really means a certain kind of burning in the soul that one can no longer tolerate when one is pushed against a wall. So, you straighten your back up, you take your stand, you speak your truth, you bear your witness and, most importantly, you are willing to live and die." - Cornell West
Ignited by smoldering discontent over the growing racial and socio-economic divides in America, this first collection of works by GK Allen aims to visualize truths about the systems of power that sustain these divisions, explore questions of identity, and honor those whose fire serves as beacons of light through the darkness.
Initially sparked by a determination to make a statement on the relentless transformation of neighborhoods in New York City and beyond, the Gentrification painting was designed as a depiction of the modern evolution of urban dispossession—as mostly lower-income minorities are displaced by moderate-income creative types, who are in turn forced out by higher-income whites and others seeking to live in these newly desirable locales. While the first layer of black, white, and orange accurately represented the demographics behind this system of change, Allen claims it failed to capture the force of its spirit. Inspired by the action painting of Jackson Pollack as a means to move beyond the conscious mind to reveal the true nature of things, he applied rigorous yet intuitive strokes of yellow across the canvas with a palette knife, suddenly revealing a distorted face with disfigured eyes that seemingly challenged him “to no longer ignore the difficult problems that lie all around us, hidden in plain sight.”
Further motivated by repeated incidents of excessive force, popular protests, and the lack of justice in their aftermath, Allen began to explore other conceptual works around the larger themes of race and class in America. His increasing ambition to create without restriction—whether physical or psychological—was aided by a move in late 2015 to a formal studio in Bushwick, resulting in many of the uncompromising sculptures and paintings that form this collection of works, including XLII, Unconcentration Camp, and Baltimourn, which speak to the challenges of our times.
GK Allen is a self-taught sculptor and painter from New York City who works in a diverse range of everyday materials and objects. He creates conceptual works that explore how the constructs of race, class, and other forms of identity function within systems to define, connect, and alienate us in relation to others and to ourselves.
While formally educated in political science and national security studies, Allen’s experiences in government, finance, and advertising have provided him with a deep knowledge of the structures of power and motivations of men and women--all of which informs his art.
Beginning with purely abstract works such as I Don’t See Color and Shelter Is The Storm that he started in a painting class on the Lower East Side, Allen continued to experiment out of his apartment for several years with a variety of techniques, tools, and tones. This process of investigation steered him to create increasingly structured canvases like Missed Connections, Resilience, and Dangerous Desire, based out of a need to derive greater meaning through more intentional gestures—an impulse that ultimately led to his current collection.
For more information about GK Allen’s work or to arrange a studio visit, send an email to garrettkallen@gmail.com.