Chris Komater’s photo series Sexting consists of large but extremely low-resolution enlargements of graphic images shared over the internet through the course of his recent dating experiences. The digital C-prints are all 30” x 36”, resolution 8 pixels x 10 pixels.
From a distance, it’s almost possible to make out what’s being described, but as the viewer is drawn closer, the images fall apart into pixelated near-abstract grids of colored squares. The titles titillate: “Rob in His Bath;” “A Little More of Me;” “Tented Speedos;” etc… but like the process of seeking intimacy on the internet, the viewer’s titillation is ultimately frustrated by the experience of trying to give form to one’s imagination.
Chris Komater is a San Francisco-based artist. His photographs and sound installations have been shown at Cheryl Haines Gallery, Patricia Sweetow Gallery, Mark Wolfe Contemporary Arts, Meridian Gallery, and the LAB Gallery in San Francisco; Jan Kesner Gallery in Los Angeles; Bernard Toale Gallery in Boston, and many other venues. He is the recipient of a WESTAF-NEA Regional Visual Arts Fellowship, a Market Street Art-in-Transit grant, and was the founding director and curator of Secession Gallery, a non-profit gallery without walls in San Francisco, and the online arts venue, Marjorie Wood Gallery. This is Chris’ third solo show at the Mercury Twenty Gallery.
SPECIAL EVENTS:
Reception/Artist Talk: Thursday, May 19, 6-8 pm
Third Thursday on 25th Street: Thursday, June 16, 6-8pm
Art Murmur First Friday: June 3, 6-9pm
