Ms. Kaoru Mansour affords us a superb entry into her marvelous imagination with her latest exhibition IKUZE! At Launch LA. The artist makes a concerted effort to present cryptic yet accessible meditations on contemporaneous subject matters which provoke us to ponder, until we are beaming from the whimsy which percolates our own mind. Terrifically, each composition is its own original idea, with a confidence with mixed media seen from a masterful artist. The techniques, in other words, demonstrates to us efficiency in the choreography of the idea and the medium; avoiding over-embellishments in her use of raw materials to bludgeon us and instead favoring gentle remarks which enliven and amplify her truth.
‘Baseball Rabbit Is Telling Me (Quit Playing Game)’ (2021) Mixed Media on paper 21 5/8 × 16 1/8 in. Courtesy of the artist and Launch LA
Baseball Rabbit Is Telling Me (Quit Playing Game) provides a concrete example of this superlative effort. Consistent with my critique of being lorded over by machinery, the artwork invites the viewer to affirm that a world which is authentic is one which is necessarily forever outside of our head – regardless of how creative the opportunities are for us to play with what jiggles inside of it. The conscientious decision to use an actual tattered baseball exemplifies this affirmation of choosing to play in the Beyond instead of playing within oneself. Yes, loses are more actually experienced, but that is necessary to cultivate ourselves to higher planes of quality, measured by our ability to remain consistent with the perfection of Nature. To succumb to operations which are necessarily created by man are there forever limited by his own frailty at say, knowing what tomorrow will bring. What is for certain, however, is that tomorrow will be naturally beautiful, and this perception is what we must remain focused upon.
‘Did You Call?’ (2021), 38 × 14 × 2 in mixed media on paper. Courtesy of the artist and Launch LA.
Did you Call? Is another instance of this affection, where Ms. Mansour cheekily plays with our gloomy concept of darkness, to move it towards the more mysterious and playful. As if out of the abyss of boredom, there is the everlasting playfulness of pure imagination and its hilarious incantations that remain forever possible where an inner light glows. Our ability to move permits us the ability to move out of darkness and into happiness, however peculiar its representation may appear. At the very least, it signifies we are never truly alone, even with ourselves.
Ms. Mansour’s artwork is a celebration of the eccentric possibilities of human imagination and is worthy of its fullest contemplation in its authentic form. Digital images do not do it justice.