August 2007     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Peter Zokosky: The Order of Primates
September 8, 2007–October 27, 2007
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday-Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., Saturday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Koplin Del Rio is pleased to announce its premier exhibition with artist Peter Zokosky, entitled “The Order of Primates”.

Peter Zokosky paints intimate, mesmerizing, portraits, but his subjects for this exhibition are all monkeys. He creates these captivating works of art with consummate skill and utter sincerity. While we are all acquainted with respectful portraits of kings, archbishops, and princes, Zokosky’s paintings are done with the same sense of reverence. He is quite serious about his subjects.

“We all belong to the order of primates”, Zokosky states, “It’s a classification that includes marmosets, chimpanzees… and us. Genetically, there isn’t much difference. We’re all members of an extended family and I paint these distant relatives as individuals imbued with unique characters”.

“In the grand tradition of portraiture,” Zokosky continues, “animals are rarely portrayed. Most of the time, when animals do appear, they’re used as symbols or props. Once in a while, a specific animal gets documented and there’s something poignant about a member of one species memorializing a member of another. We can see it in the undefeated racehorse Eclipse, by George Stubbs or the celebrity rhinoceros, Clara, by Jean-Baptiste Oudry”.

All of Zokosky’s portraits invite close inspection and seem to elicit empathy. “For this show”, Zokosky points out, “the portraits all have names; Pearl, Echo, Tarsus, Agnolo, etc. As I work on them, they seem to plead for naming”. In this exhibition, the personalities range from Zokosky’s tenderly depicted “Umbra”, a wise old chimpanzee regarding us with a thoughtful and bemused expression to “Winslow” an energetic guenon bordering on manic. “While I’m painting, the personalities that emerge start to dictate decisions and even suggest the kind of frame they need.”

And Zokosky does take great care with his framing, creating unique, beautifully crafted frames that suit each subject. The details may go unnoticed at first, but undeniably add to the overall satisfaction of the experience.

The show’s title “The Order of Primates” suggests several different meanings. Order can imply scientific classification, an honorary society, a directive or a religious ordination. The title for the show, like the paintings themselves, seems intentionally open-ended, leaving room for interpretation and further reflection. Zokosky’s own appreciation for his subjects, and his attention to detail, feels like a gentle invitation to join in this contemplative experience and perhaps looks at things from a slightly different perspective.

Peter Zokosky lives and works in Long Beach, CA. He earned his B.A. from the University of California in Riverside, CA and his M.F.A. from Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, CA. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally with pieces placed in many prominent collections including the Long Beach Museum of Art; The Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell, NM; Pacific Bell, San Ramone, CA; Chemical Bank of New York, and Union Bank of Los Angeles, CA.
For further information or photos, please contact Ronald De Angelis at (310) 836-9055.