RENTAL and The Happy Lion are pleased to present Politicus, an exhibition of new work by Los Angeles based artist Marina Kappos. Inspired by current events, Kappos’s second show with the gallery is a virtuoso painting installation presenting the psychic landscape of the American mind. In a nod to her Greek heritage, Kappos follows the subject matter and palette of ancient Greek vase painting in its depiction of cultural history and everyday life.

Casting herself and her friends in a circus-like parade of familiar characters and imagery, Kappos references the current state of affairs with aggression and passion: the Iraq war, the economic crisis, and the presidential election. The rhythmic compositions in her signature graphic painting style are the perfect foil to the complicated and dissonant narrative which envelopes the viewer. The central canvas references Picasso’s Guernica. Fragmented figures, chaotic layering and angry brush strokes epitomize the suffering and pointlessness of war. Another large panel suggests the frustration of the people, the dissolution of the American dream hinged on the collapse of the housing market and mistrust of the political system. Kappos uses her own image to play out the scenes: as the ringleader, Uncle Sam, a woman in a burka, a warrior—clearly defining the imaginary. As Thomas Lawson writes about Kappos, “This is no longer a space of reverie, but an acknowledgement of the particularities of the present. We have moved beyond the comfort of the known unknown into the everyday terrors of the alienated subject seeking something to recognize and cling to.”

Marina Kappos received her BFA from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles and her MFA from Yale University. In 2007, Marina was Creator-in-Residence at Tokyo Wonder Site, Aoyama. Her previous solo shows include Sutton Lane in London, I-20 Gallery in New York and Galleria Marabini in Bologna. Her work has been included in numerous group exhibitions across the US and abroad, including the Hiroshima City Museum of Contemporary Art in Japan, Haunch of Venison in London and P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in New York. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles.