Dave Kinsey

Ostentatious Oasis

Through April 19


Artist Talk moderated by

Michael Sitaras

April 5 from 2-3pm · RSVP to reserve a seat

info@oolongallery.com

view this email if your browser

Oolong presents a new exhibition that confronts humanity’s delusions of permanence.


Oolong Gallery is pleased to present Ostentatious Oasis, a solo exhibition by San Diego based painter Dave Kinsey. In his first solo exhibition in four years, this body of work—a continuation of Kinsey’s ongoing Existential Synthesis series—confronts humanity’s precarious relationship with nature and the self-imposed isolation that blinds us to its realities.


For this exhibition, Kinsey employs disjointed marble figures as metaphors for human arrogance— symbolizing illusions of purity and permanence that fracture under the weight of our own actions. White marble, historically tied to wealth and power, becomes a symbol of hubris, crumbling in contrast to the consequences of human advancement: wars that displace, disasters that devastate, and relentless exploitation that erodes the natural world.


How do we as humans coexist or even adapt within these uncanny and divergent spaces? What will become of our modern way of living that seems at odds with the natural rhythm of our planet? the artist asks.


Set within surreal, urbane environments, the figures reflect humanity’s disconnection from nature, insulated within artificial comforts that distort our perception of reality. Through deep earth tones and fluid, dreamlike compositions, Kinsey invites viewers to confront these fragile constructs and reimagine humanity’s role—not as masters of the Earth, but as beings inextricably bound to it.


Influenced by a pivotal trip to Florence in 2022, Kinsey draws upon the grandeur of Renaissance sculpture while subverting its ideals through a surrealist lens. This synthesis of historical reverence and contemporary existential inquiry defines Ostentatious Oasis, bridging past and present in an urgent reflection on civilization’s fragility.

Dave Kinsey COTTON CARRARA, 2025 Acrylic on canvas 48 x 38 in 121 x 96.5 cm

Dave Kinsey lives & works in Vista, CA and is currently developing multiple bodies of work: outdoor sculpture, relief works, and paintings. Kinsey (b. 1971, Pittsburgh PA), has exhibited nationally and internationally at galleries including; New Release Gallery, New York; ICA San Diego (formally LUX Art Institute), Encinitas, CA; Library Street Collective, Detroit; Jules Maeght Gallery, San Francisco; Die Kunstagentin, Cologne, Germany; Alice Gallery, Belgium; Joshua Liner Gallery, New York. His works are in the collections of Takashi Murakami, The Penny and Russell Fortune Collection in Indianapolis, Indiana, The Maeght Foundation in St. Paul-de-Vence, France, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, and The Dean Collection in New York. CV click here

DAVE KINSEY & TJEBBE BEEKMAN


FEBRUARY 2025 interview excerpt


TB: There seems to be a theatrical element in the paintings, as if the objects are placed within a set design. Is this a conscious choice to create a specific narrative, or is it meant to evoke a sense of isolation or unease?


DK: I think it’s a bit of both. The whole can only exist if all the characteristics of each supporting element is in place—like the set of a movie and how each object or the chosen camera perspective plays a crucial role in enhancing the narrative of that cinematic experience. I took notice of this when looking at the renaissance paintings in Florence—Michelangelo, Bellini, Uccello, Caravaggio, Botticelli. Using an intentional placement of objects, viewpoint or color palette to enhance the story or point of view creates an emotional tension or mood within the picture.


TB: Your recent works are partly inspired by a trip to Italy and the classical Roman art you encountered there. Does the fall of the Roman Empire and its decadence serve as a metaphor for the current state of the USA or rather the western world ? Do you intend it as a warning?


DK: Ha, possibly. I can’t help but use my art as a means of distilling the current state of the world, this has been fueling the fire of my work for decades. It’s the only way I can make sense of the cyclical chaos of the world we live in. I saw so many correlations in the renaissance paintings to modern times.


Things are so weird at the moment—not to mention the world itself—and it’s fucked that so many people seem to be ok with it, or maybe they’re looking at things on an insular scale, which is worse? That’s the most unsettling thing for me to comprehend. I’m hoping that this is all part of a strange cycle of events we must endure to reach an inflection point or renewed clarity, but I’m not very optimistic about the future well-being of the human race, especially with technology and disinformation running rampant. I’ll leave it at that.


...interview continued here

Dave Kinsey VS., 2023 Acrylic on canvas 12 x 12 in 30.5cm x 30.5cm

pdf of the press release click here

Image credits: Philipp Scholz Rittermann

OOLONG

6030 La Flecha, Rancho Santa Fe, CA 92067

Telephone +1 858 229 2788  Mobile +1 917 340 0877

www.oolongallery.com

Instagram