Koak
Koak (b. 1981, USA), based in San Francisco, is known for work that portrays the complex duality of identity and human nature through a mastery of the line which extends across drawing, painting, sculpture, and installation. Rendered with exquisite technique and seemingly effortless mark-making, her emotionally charged figures and landscapes are imbued with a compelling sense of agency and inner life.
Through her work, Koak reclaims the female gaze, using her paintings to confront the objectification of women by male artists over centuries. Her figures express a range of emotions, from boldness to vulnerability, as she delves into the complexity of human experience. The artist notes that her paintings are “about archetypes of self that we have that are developed throughout our life or are internalised by experience,” suggesting that she is both engaging with and intentionally subverting these deeply ingrained archetypes.
With her innovative use of colour and figurative style, Koak brings a contemporary perspective to the tradition of depicting female form in art. This exhibition serves as an investigation into themes of gender, history, and the complex interplay between interior and exterior space. Through her diverse body of work, Koak engages in a nuanced dialogue with the artistic legacy of Vanessa Bell and the Bloomsbury Group, reflecting her sustained exploration of their influence on contemporary artistic practice.
Recent solo exhibitions include: Lake Marghrete, Perrotin, Paris (2024), Letter to Myself (when the world is on fire), Altman Siegel, San Francisco (2023), The Driver, Perrotin, Hong Kong (2022), Return to Feeling, Altman Siegel, San Francisco (2020) and Holding Breath, Union Pacific, London (2019). Selected group exhibitions include: Infinite Regresse: Mystical Abstraction from the Permanent Collection and Beyond, Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas (2024), I’ve got a feeling, Musées d’Angers, Angers (2023), I’m Stepping High, I’m Drifting, and There I Go Leaping, XIAO Museum, Rizhao (2022), Familiars, Et. Al Gallery, San Francisco (2022) and New Time: Art and Feminisms in the 21st Century, Berkeley Art Museum, Berkeley (2021), amongst others.
Date Night, 2023, flashe and acrylic on canvas, 61 x 48.5 in, 154.9 x 123.2 cm
Letter to Myself on a Bent Ship, 2022, flashe, acrylic, charcoal, charcoal paint, and graphite on linen mounted to panel, 10 x 8 in, 25.4 x 20.3 cm
It’s Bad, 2022, graphite, gouache, casein, and beva 371 on found paper and pearl grey rag paper 12 x 9 in, 30.5 x 22.9 cm
Untitled, 2022, graphite, casein, and beva 371 on found paper and pearl grey rag paper and acrylic ink dyed fawn rag paper, 12 1/4 x 9 in, 31.1 x 22.9 cm
Sun Dour, 2022, bronze, 15 x 15 x 10 in, 38.1 x 38.1 x 25.4 cm
To Be Touched, 2020, acrylic, pigment, pastel, chalk and graphite on linen, 76.2 x 101.6 cm
Little Helper A, 2017, bronze with custom patina, 21 x 8 x 23 1/2 in / 53.3 x 20.3 x 59.7 cm, Edition of 10
Recessing, 2020, oil and graphite on muslin mounted to panel, 10 x 8 in / 25 cm x 20 cm
At the Edge of a World on Fire, 2020, oil and acrylic on linen mounted to panel, 16 x 12 inches / 40 cm x 30 cm
Waiting (Having Feelings), 2019, graphite and casein on fawn rag paper, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in / 21.6 x 16.5 cm
Strawberry, 2020, graphite and casein on fawn rag paper dyed with acrylic ink, 37 x 28 1/4 in / 94 x 71.8 cm
Breathless, 2019, acrylic, pastel, graphite, and casein on stretched canvas 79 1/2 x 59 in 201.9 x 149.9 cm
Shift In Heat, 2019, acrylic, pastel, pigment, chalk, and graphite on linen mounted to panel 52 x 71 1/2 in / 132.1 x 181.6 cm
Like Flesh to Wolves, 2019, oil, acrylic, pigment, and graphite on stretched muslin 15 x 12 in / 38.1 x 30.5 cm
We're Still Here, 2019, pastel, graphite, and casein on pearl grey rag paper 10 x 8 in / 25.4 x 20.3 cm
I'm Still Here, 2019, pastel, graphite, and casein on pearl grey rag paper 10 x 8 in / 25.4 x 20.3 cm
In The Mood, 2019, graphite, charcoal, and casein on fawn rag paper dyed with acrylic ink 14 x 11 in / 35.6 x 27.9 cm
Untitled, 2018, graphite, chalk & casein on pale blue rag dyed with pink, 20 cm x 25 cm
Alexa, 2017, graphite, charcoal, and casein on rag paper, 10 x 8 in / 25.4 x 20.3 cm
The Brooder, 2017, graphite, charcoal, and casein on rag paper, 10 x 8 in / 25.4 x 20.3 cm
Fresh Air (Having Feelings), 2019, graphite charcoal and casein on white rag paper dyed with acrylic ink, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in / 21.6 x 16.5 cm
Modesty, 2023, solid maple, optium plexiglass, plexiglass, metal hardware, enamel paint, and drawings on rag paper dyed with acrylic ink drawn in graphite, charcoal, chalk, ink and casein, 208.5 x 190.5 x 58.5 cm
Below Here a Deep Well, 2022, flashe, acrylic, charcoal, and chalk on linen mounted to panel, 66 1/2 x 50 1/16 in each, 168.9 x 127.2 cm
Self Portrait w/ Flowers, 2022, flashe, acrylic, graphite, pencil, pastel, chalk, and casein on linen, 40 x 30 in, 101.6 x 76.2 cm
Facade, 2022, oil, acrylic, flashe, and graphite on canvas, 108 1/2 x 84 in, 275.6 x 213.4 cm
California, 2021, flashe, acrylic, graphite, pigment, and chalk on linen mounted to panel
196.8 x 157.5 cm
Bench, 2020, cast bronze and walnut, 218.4 x 87.6 x 78.7 cm
Red String, 2021, acrylic, pastel, graphite and casein on canvas, 195 cm x 157 cm
A Certain Sort Of Depth, 2020, oil, acrylic and graphite on linen mounted over panel, 25.4 cm x 20.32 cm
Ready (Having Feelings), 2019, graphite charcoal and casein on white rag paper dyed with acrylic ink, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in / 21.6 x 16.5 cm
Tendering (Having Feelings), 2019, graphite and casein on natural rag paper dyed with acrylic ink, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in / 21.6 x 16.5 cm
Pacifica, 2019, acrylic, pigment, pastel, chalk, and graphite on linen mounted to panel, 52 x 71 1/2 in 132.1 x 181.6 cm
The Hermit (Caged Breath), 2019, acrylic, pigment, pastel, oil, chalk, graphite, and milk casein on linen mounted to panel 60 x 48 in / 152.4 x 121.9 cm
When Our Bare Wounds Show, 2019, acrylic, pigment, and graphite on muslin mounted to panel 60 x 48 in / 152.4 x 121.9 cm
The Trade, 2019, oil, acrylic, pigment, graphite, and chalk on stretched muslin 15 x 12 in / 38.1 x 30.5 cm
Air Meeting in the Middle, Like Two Bodies of Water Mixing, 2019, pastel, graphite, and casein on natural rag paper 20 x 16 in / 50.8 x 40.6 cm
Snake Pit, 2019, graphite and casein on pearl grey rag paper dyed with acrylic ink 10 x 8 in / 25.4 x 20.3 cm
The Relic, 2018, graphite, chalk, and casein on pearl grey rag paper dyed with acrylic ink with pale blue inlay, 10 x 8 in / 25.4 x 20.3 cm
Thinking of You, 2017, graphite, charcoal, and casein on pale blue rag paper, 14 x 11 in / 35.6 x 27.9 cm
Quarrelling, 2017, graphite, charcoal and casein on pale blue rag paper, 38 x 28cm
The Gift, 2017, graphite and casein on rag paper, 15 x 1 in / 38.1 x 2.5 cm
Blue Raspberry (Having Feelings), 2019, graphite and casein on white rag paper, 8 1/2 x 6 1/2 in / 21.6 x 16.5 cm