NEW YORK CITY – Hashimoto Contemporary is pleased to present State of
Mind, our debut solo exhibition with Los Angeles-based artist Augustine
Kofie. Made over a period of nine months under quarantine, the collection
of Kofie’s ongoing industrial approach to fine art, which
incorporates techniques such as overspray, tape blocking, detailed
handwork, deconstruction, and draftsmanship drawn from architecture,
graffiti and California car culture.
The particularities of quarantine shaped the process and thus the work itself. Unlike the usual linear development of paintings from start to finish, the State of Mind collection took a much more circuitous route.
“Some of these works were very frustrating to manifest. On the one hand, I had all this extra time, but on the other, it took much longer than usual for things to take shape. Emotionally and tonally, the works run the gamut from angst to harmony. My feelings are in the brushstrokes, the movements, the process of repeatedly adding and taking away, the layers of time it took to complete these paintings,” stated the artist.
The circular form, always prominent in Kofie’s earlier work, appears here to be breaking down.
“Where your eyes want to continue to complete the circle, you are stopped. With painting, I am in control. The pandemic was a stop, an interruption, a loss of control. So these interrupted circles, which break off and take new paths, are life interrupted,” Kofie elaborated.
With art supply stores and estate sales—Kofie’s two primary sources of tools and materials—shut down, a new technique emerged. Three of the works in the collection have a textural wood support, created by collaging
found materials from the artist’s archive onto hand-made wood panels. This underlying structure, painted over entirely, comes through nonetheless, adding a hidden layer of meaning, a pentimento that also speaks to our varying, overlapping states of mind this year.
For every solo exhibition, Kofie creates a soundtrack. The music is assembled as part of the work process, which is both sonic and pictorial. This mix blends experimental hip hop with chill wave, including extended,
up-cycled sophistso-pop saxophone, 80s synths, new wave breaks, lo-fi telefilm intermissions and poignant dialogue relevant to the exhibition theme and tone.
The gallery will be open by appointment only. In order to ensure the health and safety of visitors and staff. Please note that masks are legally required for entry. To schedule an appointment, please click HERE.
ABOUT THE GALLERY
Hashimoto Contemporary is located in San Francisco, CA and New York, NY. Our roster consists of an eclectic blend of new contemporary artists. With monthly rotating exhibitions, our programming focuses on a range of painting, sculpture and installation-based work. You can also visit us at a variety of international art fairs in Miami, New York, London, San Francisco and Los Angeles.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born and based in Los Angeles and active in the Southern California graffiti scene since the midnineties, BIPOC artist Augustine Kofie (b. 1973) works in painting, collage and mural interventions. Kofie’s fine art practice draws together the languages of graffiti’s deconstructive lettering, mechanical drafting, architecture, and plunderphonics, creating a unique take on constructivist abstraction.
