MATHIAS KESSLER — SUNSET IN SIMULACRUM 03

Austrian-born, New York-based Mathias Kessler critiques and reimagines the concept of nature by re-staging representations of the natural world with an eye to art history and a sense of humor. His goal of amplifying the idea of “nature as an escape” is on display in the Joshua Treenial with Sunset in Simulacrum 03. “Unable to truly copy nature that has been exploited and exoticized for so long,” Kessler writes, the artist instead “gives us the image of our desire,” presenting a vivid interpretation of Paradise in Parallax. Kessler holds an MFA from SVA and has had solo exhibitions at the Kunsthal Rotterdam; Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art; Palmengarten Frankfurt, Germany; and several other prestigious institutions.

Artist website: mathiaskessler.com