If you’re looking for a real sense of otherworldly disturbance this Halloween week, there’s no better place to go than the Greene County Council for the Arts (GCCA) upstairs gallery in Catskill, where an eerie memorial exhibit by the late Konnik (1974-2011) is up until the start of the holiday season. Titled “Old Devil,” the exhibit is made up of simply framed works on vellum that depict graphic imagery of saints and devils in a mysterious style mixing religious symbolism with something postmodern in its raw nature.
Born in Brooklyn, but a Palenville resident since age 12, Konnik worked with a medium that he termed “sauce,” which turns out to have been a mixture of ink and blood. “Each piece is a literal piece of me,” he would say of his haunting works, which showed online at www.olddevil.com as well as a few GCCA group shows before the artist passed away in March at age 36.
“Despite his dark work and appearance, he was a supporter of cancer research and the humane treatment of animals,” Konnik’s widow Star has said of him. “He often donated pieces for charity auctions.”
Showing with these works is “Monsters, Myths & Masks: Personal Demons/Private Monsters,” a group show of masks and other Halloweeny images, through November 19. The Greene County Council on the Arts Catskill Gallery is located at 398 Main Street in Catskill. For further information call (518) 943-3400 or visit www.greenearts.org.
