5/05/2008

April May Artist : George Kocar




















AIV welcomes local artist GEORGE KOCAR
for the month of April - May 2008.

This exhibit will feature recent large scale
paintings by Kocar. Best known for his
humorous subject matter, colorful palette
and historical references layered within
his works, Kocar's body of work at AIV
is a strong political tone to the humor while still
captivating the viewer with his ability to paint.
Layers of characters and scenery dominate the
canvas and create a view into more than just
a cartoony painting. Rich with self imposed humor,
family members, political and art historical images
infiltrating the space along with the subject matter
provides the viewer with insight into a deeper
idea behind figurative works with a message.
The exhibit is up until May 31.

from his website - Flying Banana Studios :



Kocar is an award winnng artist who has exhibited his paintings in over 300 shows across the United States.
He has won numerous awards including a Jurors award
at the Butler Institute of Art in Youngstown, Ohio in 1985 and 1998, Best of Show
at the Ohio Exposition Center in Columbus, Ohio in 1998,
a Jurors Award at the Western Colorado Watercolor Society in 2000,
an award for printmaking at The Society of American Graphic Artists
in New York in 2002, and The George Stocker Award for watercolors with
The Ohio Watercolor Society in 2003, First place for painting at the Zanesville Art Center
Annual Exhibition in Zanesville, Ohio in 2007. He is listed in Who's Who in American Art.
He has a B.A. from Cleveland State University (Class of 1977) Cleveland, Ohio,
and a M.F.A. from Syracuse University (Class of 1983) Syracuse, New York. George is a lifetime Cleveland
area native. He lives with his wife Kathleen. He has two daughters. Diana
is a recent Graduate of Ohio State University majoring in music and biology,and now studying
medicine at Wright State University, and Allison who is a graduate of the
School of Visual Arts in New York majoring in computer art.
She is a freelance video effects artist and an instructor at The School of Visual Arts.
She resides in the Williamsburg district of Brooklyn, New York.























Please join us May 16 from 5 - 7 for
an artist's reception for George !