These monochromatic pieces are all acrylic paintings on panel, fairly diminutive (all under 12 inches tall). I first became interested in air-brushing when I was spray-painting some sculptural objects and felt moved by the afterimage on the newspaper, the way the atomized particles suggested a thing that once was and a reference to time passing. While I don’t want to explain the images away or destroy their mystery, for me they are both landscapes and blankscapes—there is little depth to the paintings other than the nebulous aura surrounding the figures, which likens them to figures on a stage, an existential stage, with people engaged in activities or struggles. They are both positive and negative—afterimages in a void of sorts.
Koss is a queer writer, fine artist and designer with an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They have work in Entropy, Diode Poetry, Cincinnati Review, Hobart, Spoon River Review, Spillway and others. They also have a hybrid book due out in 2020 by Negative Capability Press. Keep up with Koss on Twitter @Koss51209969 and Instagram @koss_singular.