ROBERT POKORNY

Steve Turner is pleased to present Inside Out, a solo exhibition by Los Angeles-based Robert Pokorny that features new portrait paintings depicting his recurring stylized characters –– Bearded men and confident white-haired women –– engaged in everyday activities such as reading a book, eating an ice cream cone, drinking a cup of coffee or smoking a joint. He simplifies the composition with strong lines, striking color, repeated marks and patterns to suggest various emotional states. According to the artist, “These portraits are not meant to depict one person in particular but rather are pictures of us all. They allow me to engage with great painters of the past, to tap into my own emotions, and to relate them to the outer world. They might seem absurd or humorous, but they are always sincere.”