ANNA KUNZ
Introduction by Linnea Gits
A few months ago I was sitting with Anna on the floor in her studio in Brooklyn just hanging out, talking about our plans for the day - visiting places she had discovered that she wanted to share and galleries with work of friends she wanted me to see. As long as I have known Anna she has always been searching, finding and sharing extraordinary people, places and things. Her curiosity and commitment to this soulful search and her inventive interpretation of what she discovers along the way are what make her such a vibrant, responsive person and in turn what makes her work so authentic, magnetic and alive.
As we talked that day in her studio the sunlight was shining through one of her hanging, painted scrims catching us both inside delicate, dancing hues of color. It felt so peaceful and yet, wonderfully energizing. I just wanted to remain seated there in that colorful space between the wall and the scrim - the space of infinite possibility and hundreds of millions of tiny little futures realizing themselves - and leave all the exactness of the world behind for a little while.
It is no surprise to me that Anna’s star is rising in the art world and that her work is sought out by collectors and museums. It is with great pleasure that we were able to obtain a small selection of her work – 30 of Anna’s paintings on paper – brought back from that studio visit and now available at Uusi Studio for you. Deceptively simple upon first glance, these paintings are intoxicating in their use of color, intricate line and mark making. Meditative and joyful they are filled with journeys past and those yet to be taken - small treasures for the mind’s eye.
ARTIST BIO
Anna Kunz is an artist who makes works on paper, paintings, sculptures, installations and projects that seep out of the rectangle, often using painted and dyed fabrics that function like nets to capture and manipulate light and color. These experiential works are often combined with objects or surfaces that add complexity and invite viewers to structure the space in time by walking through them.
Her work has been included in numerous national and
international collections. Ms. Kunz has had exhibitions in Los Angeles,
Houston, Brooklyn, San Antonio and the UK and Poland. Recent exhibitions
include at LVL3 in Chicago, curated by Andrew Blackley of Golden Gallery, White
Box’s Ai Wei Wei exhibition/fundraiser, Portable Caves by HKJB Brooklyn, Chain
Letter at Samson Projects, MA and The Outdoor Banner Project for the Smart
Museum on the University of Chicago’s campus. In 2010, she was a resident
artist in the Marie Walsh Sharpe Studio Program in NYC.
Anna has worked collaboratively with dancers and musicians to create Décor for theatrical and dance productions, namely for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in 2009.
Quarterly, Kunz presents curated group exhibitions and events in the experimental space that she co- runs with Niels Vis in Amsterdam. The space, KUNZ, VIS, Projects features events that pair local, contemporary work in many creative forms with complimentary work from around the globe. In addition, she has served as a curatorial advisor and brain-stormer for several organizations and artists.
Anna Kunz has been nominated for a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award, Richard H. Driehaus Award, and an Emerging Artist award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts in WA, D.C, and, this year, is nominated for the Rema Hort Mann Foundation’s Individual Artists Grant in NYC.
Anna lives in Chicago, where she teaches in the Art and Design Department of Columbia College, and works in her studios in Brooklyn and Chicago.
Contact: akunz@sbcglobal.net