“But certainly for the present age; which prefers the sign to the thing signified; the copy to the original, representation to reality; the appearance to the essence…illusion only is sacred; truth profane: Nay, sacredness is held to be enhanced in proportion as the truth decreases and illusion increases, so that the highest degree of illusion comes to be the highest degree of sacredness.”

- Ludwig Feuerbach, from the preface to the second edition of “The Essence of Christianity”.

Leo Koenig Inc. is delighted to announce a solo exhibition of new work by Justin Faunce entitled “Pictophilia.” The centerpiece of the exhibition is a painting by the same name, measuring 10×18 feet, which is the culmination of the artist’s exclusive efforts for the past year and a half.

With this latest exhibition, Faunce explores the nature of our present day experience of reality. Pictophilia is a fetish involving the preference for pornographic images over actual physical contact. A true pictophiliac can only achieve gratification with the aid of pornographic images. Faunce conveys the premise that as a society, we are all becoming pictophiliacs, preferring the carefully packaged depictions of reality, to the actual experience. The constant bombardment of images and information that have been precisely altered to alleviate them from the burden of their context, in effect compromises the viewers ability to make critical examinations, thoughtful choices and commitments to meaningful social actions.

Faunce attempts to turn the banal imagery of passive, consumerist titillation on its head. In his practice the artist has sifted through an enormous variety of found images, both familiar and obscure. With this considered arrangement, his visual language places familiar mediated images within a disturbing landscape of surprising malevolence. Faunces technique of obsessive devotion imbues the picture with an additional power of intent. Working with an extremely precise method of stenciling and layering paint, Faunce executes the work with an intense focus that concentrates on the smallest of details. This methodology and imagery, collude to spur an inquiry of intent that renders a passive response impossible.

Justin Faunce received a Diploma from the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts. His work has been seen in exhibitions such as Greater New York, PS 1 MOMA, Long Island City, New York, “Superstars,” Kunsthalle Vienna, Austria, “Metro Pictures” at The Moore Space in Miami FL, and “Unlearning” at the ICA, Manitoba, Canada.