SCOPE Miami 2017
BOOTH C15
December 5th – December 10th
“Princess of None” is a series of new oil paintings by Israeli-born artist Kukula that portray her stylized females as the women of strength and power that they are, answering to no one but themselves. “Princess of None” is a play on both historical & modern day positions of gender as male dominated aesthetics of the past are usurped and embraced by Kukula’s women and remixed into feminizing and unique exhibitions of their own creative expressions, further supporting their distinct qualities and unfettering puissance. Kukula’s females confidently strut and recline in historic garb traditionally worn by men of the aristocracy in suggestively famous landscapes and gardens reminiscent of the great monarchs and often times painted by male artists of the past. “All my paintings are inspired by British 18th century portrait painters like Gainsborough and Reynolds so there will be an American and French Revolutionary vibe but the characters in my paintings are strong females now in place of their male predecessors.” A contemporary twist dating the paintings to present day and further supporting the supremacy of her females can be found in the inclusion of present-day designer, Creepyyeha’s fashions; Creepyyeha’s leather and buckled designs echo lingerie yet enforce female sovereignty through fashions that echo dominatrix styles. Through presence, fashion and posture, each woman decides and fights for Herself, as she triumphantly continues her own revolutionary war on gender conventions.
ABOUT Kukula
Kukula was born in a relatively isolated village about an hour north of Tel Aviv. Her few neighbors were mostly retirees, many of them Holocaust survivors. Her childhood imagination was nourished by equal parts princess fantasies and World War II horror stories. Thus the attempt to reconcile real life horror with fantasy life sweetness emerges as a central theme in her work. After receiving her degree in illustration in 2003 from Vital-Shenkar, Kukula moved to the U.S., where she lives now.
