Touch, tenderness, together
The night may have looked different had we known what was coming.
The occasion was the opening of Return to Feeling, Anna Koak’s first solo exhibition at Altman Siegel Gallery. A merry crowd came out to take in Koak’s celebration of humanity, wondrous figures composed of sweeping lines, at once light and free but simultaneously rigid and confident. These figures explore the tenderness of touch — as it relates to themselves and one another.
Koak, Having Feelings, 2020, signed and dated on verso, acrylic, charcoal, chalk, graphite and pastel on canvas, 84 x 108 1/2 inches. Courtesy of Altman Siegel Gallery and Koak
Little did we know how sincerely we should have savored that sentiment. A cheerful mood graced the gallery, no surprise considered the joyous mastery of technique and self-expression. Artists chatted about what they were working on, studio visits planned, future exhibitions schemed.
Undoubtedly, the pandemic was present. The general attitude stood at the crossroads between fastidious hand washing and ‘this too shall pass’. Friends shook hands and kissed cheeks. The pervasive power of community in support of each other’s creative endeavors instigated a blissful ignorance. For many, myself included, this was the last opening attended before we took to our homes. While that reality is difficult to bear, Return to Feeling was deeply fulfilling to fit that role — a night where the evidence of community ran deep, in an exhibition that distinctly mirrors current times and encourages us to learn from ourselves.
The exhibition reveals itself in two parts. In the first two galleries, large paintings flank vast walls. These large works portray solitary figures in moments of sincere intimacy. Their backs arch, limbs twist and eye flutter shut, transported to imaginary moments — ones where pleasure, happiness and self-actualization exist in harmony. Beauty and grace exist in isolation, defined often by intensity and inquisitiveness
Koak, Bench and Hot Boredom
The juxtaposition of the painting Hot Boredom and the sculptural bench Bench prophecized a reality none could imagine would manifest so quickly and decisively. Rich yet soft in a deep cerulean, Hot Boredom portrays a moment of physical exploration, as the figure contorts itself in an unfamiliar fashion, beginning to blend into its surroundings. One eye covered, the open eye reveals a flicker of awakening, the delight in discovery. You can sit on Bench to behold this sight or step back to view the two together. Two elongated bronze arms, gestural motions sprung to life out of Koak’s canvases support a walnut plank. The ends of arms meet on the ground as two hands graze each other, titillating as if they grasp each other for the first time. The supposition seems that with time and thoughtfulness, we can learn to hold ourselves up.
Koak, The Hurricane, 2020, signed and dated on verso, graphite and casein on pearl grey rag paper, 15 x 11 inches. Courtesy of Altman Siegel Gallery and Koak
In the last room, a suite of twenty drawings demonstrates the ways in which people come together. Ranging from tender to sensual to erotic, these drawings of interactions follow the isolated figures with clear intent. Without those moments of self-identity, how can we bring our best to someone else? As Koak ponders “A touch on our own skin is all in the feeling, a touch from another is infinite in questions.” We must be prepared for those questions.
Here we go
You will begin again, again and again, at the beginning
Installation view of Return to Feeling at Altman Siegel Gallery