A.J. Fosik

Upcoming Shows

November, 2010, Solo

Artist Biography

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, a folk revival boomed in New York City’s Greenwich Village. Bob Dylan emerged as the leading figure among the swarm of young people who had come to New York to explore a sound that captured the spirit of America—a sound based on an older folk ideal, with authenticity at a premium.

A.J. explains his connection: “Bob Dylan started with Woody Guthrie, but used those traditional songs and American symbolism as a platform. Because that platform was familiar, Dylan was able to open people up to ideas that were uncomfortable and sort of sneak them in—a sort of wolf in sheep’s clothing.” In similar fashion, Fosik employs familiar imagery—however odd or eerie—in order to sneak past the viewer’s defenses. “The symbols and signifiers in the work are not meant to point directly at any one idea, but instead make the viewer question what the cultural icons mean to them personally and, in turn, how we relate to one another through a jumble of ideas that all constitute American culture.”

A.J. Fosik received a BFA in Illustration from Parsons School of Design in New York. His artwork explores the powerful medium of language and metaphor to emphasize narrative and interpretation. Using wood and found materials, he creates figural, eclectic and intricately designed three-dimensional pieces that intrigue and provoke. Fosik’s animal subjects and anthropomorphized beings are built using a complex process in which each form is carefully handcrafted by arranging hundreds of pieces of individually cut and varnished wood, which the artist paints in vibrant colors and patterns. Sharp teeth, claws, and eyes emerge once the creatures are completed—either constructed as freestanding forms or wall-mounted pieces, referencing modern taxidermy practices. Evocative of American Folk Art, the work is often inspired by subversive cultural influences that shift complacency. Fosik creates work which suspends comfort with the appeal of familiar symbols and images. In this dynamic tension, the art and the viewer come together in an expanded definition of culture and assumption.