CHRISTOPHER PEKOC HAND MADE
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1 Henri Focillon, “In Praise of Hands” in The Life Forms of Art (New York: Zone Books, 1989), 157.
Hands in myriad gestures—
extending invitation, protecting,
playfully balancing balls or in
Tantric poses—recur again and
again in Christopher Pekoc’s
evocative assemblages. The
artist’s complex constructions
also convey the presence of
his hand in their making—
with scarred surfaces
serving as metaphors for
our imperfections. Pekoc
comments that hands appear
alongside dots, another of his
favored motifs, as far back as
the Prehistoric cave paintings
at Pech Merle in France. He
cites Henri Focillon’s essay
“In Praise of Hands,” quoted
above, as an influence.
A native of Cleveland, where he has forged his career, Pekoc uses the familiarity he acquired with tools in
his family’s hardware stores to invent techniques that assist him in achieving his artistic purpose. Always
adept with his hands, Pekoc quickly mastered traditional artistic skills—ably portraying the faces and
hands of aging family members in exquisite graphite drawings while in his early 20s. Pekoc’s facility with
pencil on paper encouraged the artist’s turn toward more complex media—creating large canvases using
airbrush and acrylic paint. His monumental Night Sky, Cleveland, installed at the Cleveland Public Library
Hands are almost living beings. Only servants? Possibly.
Servants, then, endowed with a vigorous free spirit, with a physiognomy.
Eyeless and voiceless faces that nonetheless see and speak.1
Fig. 1. Portrait of Kathryn with the Planets, 1992, mixed media, including gelatin silver
and electrostatic prints, paper, polyester film, brass leaf, food seal and machine stitching,
24 ¾ x 28 ½ in., Collection of Jack and Mary Ann Katzenmeyer, Shaker Heights.
Photo by Joe Levack/Studio Akron
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2 Christopher Pekoc has generously shared comments on his work with the author in conversations at his studio
in Cleveland and in Akron, Ohio, dating from August 2013 through September 2014.
in 1979, is on prominent public display. The forms that comprised these compositions
were defined in collages Pekoc assembled from printed advertisements and other
magazine imagery. Once he mastered the airbrush, Pekoc’s enthusiasm for executing
the paintings diminished, making him receptive to a friend’s encouragement to
“consider collage an appropriate end product.” 2
Since 1988, Pekoc has created an impressive series of photographically-based
assemblages whose surfaces are constructed with and visually enriched by
stitching. Artists Al Loving, Alan Shields and Lucas Samaras influenced his decision
to incorporate sewing as an integral part of his compositions. The artist has clear
memories of Andy Warhol’s photographs of an airplane wing sewn together horizontally
and vertically. For Pekoc, stitching “symbolizes the repair of the psyche,” referencing
setbacks we encounter and surmount in the course of our lives. In his assemblages,
Pekoc reinforces this content by featuring emphatic gestures, as well as expressive
faces and torsos.
Although Pekoc expresses a preference for working at night in his basement studio in
Cleveland’s Tremont neighborhood, he is attuned to the activities of artists working both
close to home and afar. The walls of his studio are covered with elements Pekoc uses in
his compositions—including cut outs of eyes, birds, crosses, snakes, discs and hearts.
They also showcase postcards depicting artworks from across centuries and throughout
the world. These include Italian Renaissance portraits, Albrecht Dürer’s engraving Adam
and Eve and Lucas Cranach’s painting of Lucretia and more contemporary works by
Francis Bacon, Yayoi Kusama and Arthur Gonzalez. He recalls seeing photographs by
Doug and Mike Starn in Boston in the 1980s and Luis Gonzalez Palma’s compositions
on frequent visits to museums, including the Akron Art Museum. An avid consumer of
magazines and purchaser of art books, Pekoc admires artists as diverse as Lesley Dill,
David Ireland, Anselm Kiefer, Mimmo Paladino and Andrew Wyeth.
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Portrait of Kathryn with the Planets (Fig. 1), an early assemblage, differs from
many of Pekoc’s later works in that its central component is a traditional gelatin
silver print rather than a Xerox enlargement. Pekoc enjoyed experimenting in
the darkroom, but—as with other endeavors—lost interest when he became
proficient. He took Kathryn’s photograph as a test for another artwork, but it
“proved too faint for its original purpose.” This was one of many occasions when
the artist redeployed an image or took advantage of an accident.
The surface of Portrait of Kathryn with the Planets reveals the complexity of its
construction. Kathryn’s head is crowned with wings from a sculpture Pekoc
photographed behind the Cleveland Museum of Art—wings the artist shows
bound, restricting their freedom. He speaks of composing with the primary
concern of how his forms fit visually, but also consciously endows them with
personal symbolism. Here his references range from planets that serve as
indications of “a power in this universe that is greater than we are” to the thorns
on the hand at the right alluding to life’s ups and downs. For Pekoc, the circular
form floating above Kathryn’s head—a repurposed yogurt container seal—is
at once an orb and an allusion to the subject’s femininity. On inspection, we
discover other images that are not what they appear to be, with the heart at the
lower edge in fact a cropped magazine photograph of the knees of a model in
leopard print tights.
As has become his custom, Pekoc laminated his photographs to allow him to
manipulate them more easily. Portrait of Kathryn with the Planets was shellacked
and the figure covered with clear acrylic medium. As evidence of his hand,
Pekoc left traces of the masking tape he used to hold elements in place. Since
he envisioned his composition being pinned up with tacks for display, he applied
a muslin backing with clear acrylic medium that seeped through to the front,
causing the surface “to ripple, look like leather.”
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Portrait of Lara (as Olympia) (Fig. 2),
2000–June 8, 2008, acknowledges
Pekoc’s practice of dating works
at their start and completion–and
their often extended duration in
his studio. Here the figure, again a
muse, is composed from separate
photographs Pekoc took of the
model’s head and body. Their
imperfect fit is disguised by the
ribbon that surrounds her neck,
which alludes to the iconic Edouard
Manet painting that provides its title.
Again Pekoc reused an image from
another project for this composition.
Now deprived of the darkroom
Case Western Reserve University
once offered, he instead enlarged
Lara’s portrait with Xerox, seeking
to “take the photograph and drag
it as far into the world of painting
as it can go” by magnifying his
image to the extent possible and
achieving maximum value contrast.
Spots of paint on the surface,
which Pekoc carefully spattered off
a toothbrush, likewise reflect his
interest in achieving a painterly effect. A smudge on Lara’s shoulder remains as residue from the artist gilding
the composition, then, dissatisfied, deciding to scrape away the gold tone—an indication of his experimental
approach and willingness to leave evidence of his arduous process. The background, which has the quality of
“lumpy silver,” is material leftover from another project.
Fig. 2. Portrait of Lara (as Olympia), 2000–June 8, 2008, mixed media, including aluminum leaf and laminated electrostatic prints on polyester film and machine stitching, 25 5/8 x 22 in., Collection of Ursula Korneitchouk, Cleveland
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Fig. 3. Shadows (The Chinese Room
Remembered, in Red), Čimelice Castle, Czech
Republic, 2001, mixed media, including brass leaf,
laminated electrostatic prints on polyester film,
paper and machine stitching, 65 ½ x 30 ½ in.,
Private Collection, Cleveland
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An invitation from the Ohio Arts Council to spend two months in
the Czech Republic in 2001 proved decisive for Pekoc, particularly
since it closely followed the death of his father. Pekoc was moved
when he learned that Čimalice Castle, where he stayed, was only a
short distance from the ancestral homeland his father had dreamed
of visiting. Čimalice proved more a chateau than a castle; a grand
home dating to the late 1800s that had fallen into some disrepair.
Pekoc shared communal dinners with thirteen other artists from the
United States, Europe and Australia, and found himself responding
to the surrounding countryside and embracing new materials he
encountered there.
Despite his fascination with Čimalice’s rural landscape and the
peasant routines he observed, Pekoc was drawn to the castle
interior. He began photographing details of the structure and décor,
which reflected the influence of Orientalism in Europe at the time of
the castle’s construction. Elaborate footstools, a parquet floor, and
the bamboo and birds used as decorative motifs caught the artist’s
attention. Pekoc sought to reproduce these at scale in Shadows
(The Chinese Room Remembered, in Red), Čimalice Castle, Czech
Republic (Fig. 3). Although the décor of the castle was dominated
by dark greens and browns, Pekoc chose the “regal colors” of red
and gold for his composition. He describes himself as “in love with
this red,” which he discovered in the Czech Republic, and sees its
use as part of his celebration of his time there. While the color was
intended for staining wood, Pekoc realized it could be employed
for his purposes. He achieved the brilliant scarlet by painting on
a roll of paper that he soaked in water, crinkled and left to dry,
with the pooled pigment producing areas of saturated color. The
composition’s sheer beauty is interrupted by an obscure figure that
approaches in the background with hand extended. Not originally
part of Shadows, the silhouette is the first self-portrait Pekoc
incorporated into an assemblage.
Fig. 4. The Juggler’s Hand IV, 2008–October
8, 2010, mixed media, including laminated
electrostatic print on film, brass and aluminum
leaf, plastic discs, laminated wax paper and food
container seals and machine stitching, 36 x 23
1/8 in., Courtesy of the artist and Tregoning &
Co., Cleveland
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3 Thomas Ball,The Beauty of Damage: The World of Christopher Pekoc (Cleveland: Telos Productions, 2008).
Balancing Blue (Fig. 5) features the sumptuous manganese
blue pigment Pekoc discovered in the Czech Republic.
The artist’s own outsized fingers hold bright blue forms
symbolizing the color he works with as a painter. These
contrast with amber circles that function as accents and
acknowledge shellac as another important medium in his
work. Another composition with a prominent hand, The
Juggler’s Hand IV (Fig. 4), references the “precariousness of
life.” Pekoc notes how juggling requires skill and how “we’re
always juggling different things to get through the days,
weeks, years.” This image is backed by a sheet of wax paper
that the artist had used to capture shellac, its dark outlines
residue from earlier compositions. Pekoc added silver leaf
to the lower section when Thomas Ball asked to show this
process in his award-winning film on the artist and describes
its contrast with gold leaf above as serendipitous. 3
Threats to nature and environmental degradation have
increasingly engaged Pekoc, concerns that are embodied
in his recent work. As an example, Black Hand, Gold Dove
(Fig. 6) was conceived as a commentary on the fossil fuel
industry. The ominous hand is formed by material that Pekoc
cut from the background of Balancing Blue (Fig. 5), one
of the more dramatic examples of how the artist reutilizes
his scraps—and of how dissimilar his motifs appear when
placed in different contexts. Both the forms between the
fingers and the hand, which Pekoc elaborated with scrawl
stitching to increase its visual interest, represent coal. The
dove that hovers above symbolizes nature, its gold color
signifying value. While the menacing cloud surrounding the
bird alludes to pollution, Pekoc comments that its sparkling
gold dots signal the possibility of correcting the damage the
earth has sustained.
Fig. 5. Balancing Blue, 2008–September 11, 2010,
mixed media, including laminated electrostatic print,
polyester film, paper and machine stitching, 24 ¾ x
15 ¾ in., Courtesy of the artist and Tregoning & Co.,
Cleveland
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Among his current projects, Pekoc
is engaged with photographs he
took of the renowned photographer
Jan Saudek in the Czech Republic.
Long an admirer of Saudek’s work,
particularly an early self-portrait series
that he had viewed in New Orleans
many years before, Pekoc secured an
introduction to the artist. Since Saudek
had portrayed himself progressively
disrobing, Pekoc asked his subject to
remove his shirt and jewelry, requests
that Saudek largely accommodated.
Working with black and white film and
without access to a tripod, Pekoc
took six photographs, each capturing
Saudek expressively gesticulating. In
addition to serving as a portrait of an
artist he admires and who connects
him with his Czech heritage, Pekoc
describes The Architecture of the
Sky (Portrait of Jan Saudek in Blue
with Bees) (Cover) as addressing the
importance of “preserving nature,
being one with and respectful of
nature.” Initially thinking he would not
use this photograph, Pekoc pulled
it out when Ball wanted to film him
using a blowtorch. Following the
demonstration, Pekoc liked the effect
the blowtorch had created and regained
interest in the image, which he now
envisions as part of a series of six
assemblages featuring Saudek.
Fig. 6. Black Hand, Gold Dove, 2008–2013, mixed media, including laminated
electrostatic print on film, brass leaf, polyester film, paper and machine stitching,
40 x 25 in., Courtesy of the artist and Tregoning & Co., Cleveland
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4 Richard Avedon, Ronald Fischer, Beekeeper, Davis, California, May 9, 1981, from the portfolio In the American West.
The yellow jackets that surround the
subject in The Architecture of the Sky pay
homage to Richard Avedon’s startling
portrait of an albino beekeeper.4 Pekoc
references the collapse of bee colonies
as a cause for concern about our
environment and notes that Saudek’s
pose emphasizes his eyes, suggesting
the power of his vision. On one level,
Saudek can be viewed as having the
vision required to be an insightful
photographer and “on another, the vision
to identify the need to be more respectful
of the planet.”
Portrait of K. as Eve with a Black Heart
(Fig. 8) revives a theme Pekoc has
explored for more than two decades. This
new composition is the culmination of
an extended series of images of Adam
and Eve from the 1990s. The earlier
images, many of which featured full-
length figures, were intended in part to
address the failure of men and women
to communicate, a theme Pekoc has
identified as central to his work. The
artist was inspired to embark on Portrait
of K. as Eve by his interest in animating
a powerful image that had sat in his
studio unused. The figure of Eve, from
a gelatin silver photograph Pekoc made
in 1991, is printed life-size surrounded
by some of the iconic elements—lilies,
Fig. 8. Portrait of K. as Eve with a Black Heart (in progress), 2014, mixed media,
including gelatin silver print, on laminated electrostatic prints, polyester film, paper
and machine stitching, 41 ½ x 33 in., Courtesy of the artist and Tregoning & Co.,
Cleveland
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hearts, dots—the artist stores sorted in cardboard trays to draw upon as
needed. The muse featured in Portrait of Kathryn with the Planets (Fig. 1) is
now depicted with her arms crossed over her chest, the artist’s longstanding
symbol for female beauty. Pekoc wrestled with the composition for some
time, initially demurring from placing the figure against a black background,
which functions as a symbol of night. He views this in opposition to amber as
indicative of daytime and embodying female attributes.
Christopher Pekoc’s assemblages are distinctive among the work of his
colleagues in Cleveland and far beyond. At a time when artists are engaging
with technology and exploring new tools, Pekoc uses gelatin silver and Xerox
prints, shellac, sandpaper, punches and other common tools and materials
to expressive effect. He employs hand stitching to supply content to his
compositions, as well as to add visual resonance—another uncommon
approach. Pekoc’s work is dark and reflects the artist’s preference for the
night and interest in exploring the human psyche. His content has expanded
over time, admitting new concerns and reflecting both his added experiences
and new reflections on ongoing themes. Compositions developed in the
studio over the course of months and sometimes years are thoughtful,
engaging and original.
Janice Driesbach
Chief Curator
November 2014
Cover: The Architecture of the Sky (Portrait of Jan Saudek in Blue with Bees), 2001–2014, mixed
media on laminated electrostatic prints on paper, brass leaf, polyester film and machine stitching,
36 ½ x 36 in., Courtesy of the artist and Tregoning & Co., Cleveland
CHRISTOPHER PEKOC HAND MADENovember 15, 2014 – April 26, 2015
For further information on the artist:
Adams, Henry. The Beauty of Damage: The World of Christopher Pekoc.
Cleveland: Case Western Reserve University through Green Panda Press, 2008.
Ball, Thomas with Henry Adams, The Beauty of Damage: The World of Christopher Pekoc.
Cleveland: Telos Productions, 2008.
Connections: Ohio Artists Abroad. Columbus: Ohio Arts Council, 2002.
This exhibition is organized by the Akron Art Museum and made possible by generous
grants from the Margaret Clark Morgan Foundation, the John P. Murphy Foundation
and the Ohio Arts Council.
One South High I Akron, OH 44308 I 330.376.9186 I AkronArtMuseum.org