Marat Paransky: “The Files on Gutwald Emargut”

March 3 – April 21, 2023
Reception & Gallery Talk: Saturday, March 4 at 1–4 pm

Color | Ink Studio & Gallery is pleased to present “The Files on Gutwald Emargut”, an exhibition of conceptual art curated by artist Marat Paransky. The show opens on March 3 and runs through April 21.

According to Marat, “The work in the exhibition comprises text- and symbol-based objects and images. Words and texts are pulled from the news, corporate jargon, artworld disclaimers and popular culture. Alongside new works, older works are reconfigured and the artistic choices re-evaluated, at times as commentary within the artwork itself.” This project, he notes, was initiated in November 2016.

“The overarching themes now are the same,” Marat continues, “but, of course, the pandemic, insurrection and war in Ukraine has put everything in sharper focus. The humor is darker, if not more cynical, and the criticism is directed as much at the outside as the self. The project is a visual offspring from this period of decline.”

Conceptual art was first defined in the 1960s, but its origins trace back to Marcel Duchamp in 1917. The artist uses whatever materials and whatever form is most appropriate to putting across an idea, and it results in art-as-idea that can be – and can look like – almost anything. This exhibition challenges the viewer to understand and appreciate the concept or idea involved in the work and to let it take precedence over the traditional aesthetic, technical, and material aspects.

The public is invited to attend a Reception and Gallery Talk on Saturday, March 4 from 1-4 pm. It’s free, and you’ll have the opportunity to meet Marat and discuss the exhibition in person. Light refreshments will be offered. There is ample parking in the lot and on the side streets.

Marat is a sculptor, painter, photographer and mixed-media artist. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1986, his family settled in Metro Detroit in 1997. He has a BFA in Drawing & Printmaking from Wayne State University and received an MFA in Visual Arts from the Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. He has exhibited throughout Michigan, Boston (MA), San Francisco (CA), Reading (PA), Fayetteville (AR), and Windsor (ON). Paransky lives in Farmington Hills with his wife, two children and two Siberian Huskies.

Artwork on View

The individual works on view in the exhibition are displayed below. Click on an image for more details.