Kent Anderson Butler might be known more for his video art and performance art, in which he uses his body as a tool to communicate ideas of transcendence, spirituality, pain and suffering. But for Avant-Kitsch, ending this week at Amanda Harris Gallery of Contemporary Art, the LA-based artist presents a series of photo tapestries connecting ideas of portraiture, kitsch and the avant-garde, using artists, art writers, museum directors and curators as his models.
The series differs from his 2009 works in photo tapestry—which highlighted topless males of different body types—but it shares the commonality of presenting contemporary portraiture in an art form dating back centuries and originally used to depict religious and historical events in houses of nobility. It’s a merging of past and present ideas and media by the faith-based artist, who teaches at the evangelical Christian school Azusa Pacific University, and incorporates his religion—along with religious references—into his work.
Hear him discuss the nature of the tapestries in Avant-Kitsch on March 13, the closing night of the exhibition.
Kent Anderson Butler Artist Talk March 13, 6 p.m., free. Amanda Harris Gallery, Soho Lofts, 900 S. Las Vegas Blvd. #150. RSVP to [email protected].
