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What kind of reality would emerge if Georgia O’Keefe were to meet René Magritte? In his series “The Edge Effect” Daniel Kukla presupposes this encounter and the result is both familiar and foreign. Using the infinite landscapes of California’s Joshua Tree National Park as inspiration, Kukla captures a snapshot of the big-picture surroundings – be it a night sky, or a stretch of mountain range – in addition to a small, intimate detail on a square of canvas. That small peek of shrubbery or jagged corner of a rock becomes the singular tie that connects Kukla’s fabricated landscape to the natural one that serves as a contrasting backdrop. The “edge effect” is powerful and palpable to the viewer; the sharp fall-off of colors from the painted sky is met by the dark blades of foliage while, in another work, a cloud-streaked blue surface meets a new companion in the quiet rocks and boulders. Kukla’s series gently encourages a reexamination of a singular environment in two different scales and contexts, and opens a new realm of possibilities of interpreting the gifts of nature.
