Book Review: Kris Kuksi: Divination and Delusion

Divination and Delusion is a mesmerizing book.

There are some pretty good art books in 2010 but this probably tops them all.

Kris Kuksi's intricate assemblages are surreal. I was fortunate to see one of them on display. Seeing them is a surreal experience itself.

Thanks to beinArt Publishing, now we have a book that all can enjoy. It's a 140-page hardcover without any dust jacket. The print quality is very good. It collects not just the assemblages but some paintings as well.

The photos of the assemblages are printed one per page, sometimes across two pages. The overview photos are very sharp and there are so much detail that I wish it was a larger book. There are closeups on selected areas but they aren't quite as sharp and not all areas are in focus because of the lens blur.

Kris Kuksi is the ultimate Rococo master. His assemblages are highly ornamental and florid. His inspiration comes from mythology, religion and events from our time, the war, corruption, death and degeneration. That's the common theme you'll see throughout. These assemblages aren't sculptures but are made of different parts put together before getting painted on.

The works are exquisite and reminds me of sculptures from Renaissance masters, except with a twist. For example, the Churchtank is his way of highlighting contradictions in religion - the cannon pointing out from the entrance is brilliant. Many pieces feature new and old military icons mixed with just about everything. You have a rooster with a Roman soldier's head, or a soldier with a tank's head, or the god Mars holding a machine gun.

This is a highly recommended awe-inspiring book. Every assemblage inside is a page-pausing moment.

A post-industrial Rococo master, Kris Kuksi obsessively arranges characters and architecture in asymmetric compositions with an exquisite sense of drama. Instead of stones and shells he uses screaming plastic soldiers, miniature engine blocks, towering spires and assorted debris to form his landscapes.

The political, spiritual and material conflict within these shrines is enacted under the calm gaze of remote deities and august statuary. Kuksi manages to evoke, at once, a sanctum and a mausoleum for our suffocated spirit.

- Guillermo del Toro

The book is available at Amazon.com, beinart.org and Last Gasp. Not many places are selling, so grab it when you see it.

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Here are direct links to the book:
Amazon.com | beinart.org | Last Gasp