Born in Germany in 1975, Kozul was raised in Zagreb, the former Yugoslavia, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb before returning to Germany where he studied under Janis Kounellis. Kozul now resides in New York. Inspired by European and American folk culture and art Kozul transfor... Read more
Born in Germany in 1975, Kozul was raised in Zagreb, the former Yugoslavia, where he studied at the Academy of Fine Arts, Zagreb before returning to Germany where he studied under Janis Kounellis. Kozul now resides in New York. Inspired by European and American folk culture and art Kozul transforms banal objects into outrageous pseudo-relics using obsessively crafted ornament, often seemingly at odds with the object’s original function. The outrageousness of these new objects serves to question the underlying cultural and political assumptions associated with the original.
For this exhibition, Kozul presents a carnival of glitz associated with the American West centered on a re-interpretation of a mechanical bull. The bull is transformed from a functional apparatus of entertainment (a machine for rodeo training as well as a staple of barroom machismo) into a magnificent and massive beast of loaded cultural iconography. Embellished with black sequins, chrome spikes, feathers and buckles, Kozul’s bull takes on an a sinister, lurid air—part S & M, part Vegas showgirl, part urban bling.
Says Kozul: The mechanical bull is a machine that has a very particular evolution from a symbol of a literal ‘taming of the beast’ to its entry into pop culture, most notably in the film “Urban Cowboy”, which established it as a symbol with multi layered references toward the culture and mentality which it came to represent. It was transformed into a very popular, sexually suggestive symbol Рadding yet another dimension to its already crowded signifying capabilities.”
The other objects in the exhibition are a cowboy hat, saddle and pair of cowboy boots all covered in red, white, and blue sequins and inlaid with chrome spikes. Here again Kozul invokes popular iconography from the American West and American culture.
For Kozul these objects refer to another cultural character, the √¢‚Ǩ≈ìdaredevil,√¢‚Ǩ¬ù personified by 1960’s celebrity stuntman Evel Knievel who fused American iconography with the values he came to represent: a derring-do and willingness to √¢‚ǨÀúrisk it all√¢‚Ǩ‚Ñ¢ for personal gain. Kozul believes √¢‚Ǩ≈ìhe imbued opportunism with imaginary nobility; in him national identity and pride merge with the demands of the entertainment industry.√¢‚Ǩ¬ù It is not so far, perhaps, from these improbable feats of motorcycle jumping to a U.S. president in fake military garb beaming a premature √¢‚Ǩ≈ìMission Accomplished√¢‚Ǩ¬ù across the world in a no-less staged event.
Kristian Kozul’s works have been featured in various solo and group exhibitions internationally, including exhibitions in Croatia, Holland, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Japan. In 2006, Kozul had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Zagreb. His work has also appeared at the Kunstlervereinigung MAERZ, Linz, the Beijing Bienniel of Contemporary Art and at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York.
