"Ekstasis," the classical Greek root of the English word "ecstasy" means literally "to stand outside oneself."
Kevin Cobb, a New York based painter, sculptor, printmaker, and digital artist who graduated from the Visual Arts Program in 2023, takes this definition literally. His debut New York Solo exhibition, Ekstasis, at 81 Leonard Gallery, borrows the term as its title, bringing together his recent paintings, drawings, and digital works around themes of viewership, transference, and displacement.
The show, curated by Elizabeth Skalka, is arranged in four sections, which range from the personal to the ethereal. 'The Studio' takes on the point of view of the working artist; designed to resemble Cobb’s own studio space, which is reflected in many of his paintings, the section features an interactive desk where visitors are invited to explore his influences.
Following 'The Studio' is 'Ekstasis,' the central portion of the gallery, which functions as a meditation on sight, for the seer and the seen. 'The Teleport' launches the viewer from the corporeal to the celestial realm, and 'The Portal,' a virtual space, brings to life Cobb's digital renderings.
Cobb's paintings vary drastically in their point of view: in some, Cobb is shown at work, reflected in a glass orb on the table below him; in others, the viewer peers down at a shrunken Cobb, creating a fish-eye effect reminiscent of a surveillance camera. In Spatium Interiorem (59.5 x 59.5, oil on panel, 2024), the circular panel is transformed into a retina; the viewer goes through the motions of ocular processing in order to get to the small scene at the center of the canvas: Cobb's arm outstretched, paintbrush in hand, working on this very painting.
In these works, Cobb interrogates the act of viewing—but the act of viewing itself functions as a lens. Through exploring the physical processes of sight, Cobb invites questions about subjectivity, temporality, and the creative act.
Born in Baltimore and based in New York, Cobb has been the recipient of several awards, including the Mozaik 2022 Future Art Award and a 2016 Fulbright Nomination. His work has been exhibited widely, including at New English Art Club, The Mall, London, UK; M+B, Los Angeles, CA; Klaus von Nichtssagend Gallery, Tribeca, NY; and Fredric Snitzer Gallery, Miami, FL. He works in his Manhattan studio, supported by the competitive Hercules Art Studio Program.
Ekstasis is on view Jan 30–March 23, 2025 at 81 Leonard Gallery in Tribeca.
