Zak Kitnick

Zak Kitnick uses sculpture to expose how instructions or suggestions, both as a consumer and viewer of art, influence the assessment of an object. Be it an emotional, functional, or aesthetic connection, each individual edits the objects they surround themselves with. Kitnick proposes these edits are actually a mode of communication that blurs the line between architectural space, design, and art. Products, rather than raw materials, are the artist’s medium and he shoulders the expectations and assumptions the viewer adds to these materials. Powder-coated steel shelves or the branding of Hamilton Beach kitchenware reveal preference as a form of making. Purchase power and the power of the artist’s hand are united, but with an optimism that counteracts the conceptual sculpture of Dada or Pop. Kitnick proposes that the potential for objects based on utility, function, and aesthetic quality presents a unique tension more apparent now than ever.

Kitnick has exhibited extensively at New York institutions including MoMA PS 1, Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens Museum of Art, Artists Space, and the Hessel Museum, among others. He has shown internationally since 2009.