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The Hole is pleased to present Memories are Weapons, a captivating solo exhibition of 19 new oil paintings by artist Kevin Christy. On view from February 18th to March 28th, 2021, Memories are Weapons is a culmination of the artist’s musings on the dependability of memory. In advance of the exhibition opening, Christy is launching a participatory experience for viewers by showcasing his forthcoming works on Instagram. Much like Christy’s multifaceted curriculum vitae, his artistic practice is complex, melding representation and surrealism to probe the human condition.

In Memories are Weapons, Christy continues his exploration of surreal, comical and haunting imagery most recently embedded in his work for The Hole’s exhibition in 2020, Second Smile. By manifesting a sense of ambiguity with little crossover between frames, Christy transfers agency to the viewer, creating a space where individual memory can intersect with collective perception.

The exhibition’s title originated from the artist’s own introspection on episodic memory and our ability as humans to manipulate, whether consciously or unconsciously, our perception of past experience. The show divulges the dark side of memory – as Christy calls it, “an apparatus to attack other people or yourself.” Conversely, Memories are Weapons as a body of work also conjures up seemingly innocent qualities of memory, such as our diminishing ability to recall detail as time passes.

Memories are Weapons was born from Christy’s own selective ability to recount past events as time and narrative eroded during the pandemic. Where his earlier works featured scenes of interaction, this show emphasizes the independent echo of human experience, comprising a series of intimate paintings created during a time of social isolation.

Kevin Christy is a Los Angeles-based fine artist whose work has been exhibited at galleries in New York City, San Francisco, Los Angeles as well as Europe. Captivated by drawing from a young age, Christy refined his art practice at Pasadena Art Center College of Design. Christy is most well-known for his professional roles as an actor and stand-up comedian, two endeavors interwoven with his career as a young artist. Christy’s work has been featured in publications such as The Atlantic, McSweeney’s, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, Nylon, and Stop Smiling Magazine. In addition to his media features, Christy has published an artist book under Cederteg Publishing titled, Who’s Laughing Now. Most recently, the artist’s works have been exhibited at New Image Art Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, and at The Hole in New York, NY.

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For available works please contact Raymond Bulman