Figuring Out

Those familiar with the artistic lexicon of Samuel Bak will recognize many of the symbols present in the series Figuring Out, but they will also meet and explore a new cast of characters. Human figures in many guises navigate a search for identity in the postwar world and invite the audience into a dialogue about the future of mankind. The human face appears in various states—from flesh to stone, in wooden profile, and as a gigantic monument slowly sinking into the earth, to name a few—but always in some way eroded, defaced, masked, blindfolded, bandaged, or distorted. Human figures inhabit a ravaged landscape but collaboratively and resolutely drag each other out of their wounded past in their determined journey toward an uncertain future. New to Bak’s drama of identity is the figure of the magician, a master of manipulation who drifts between the whimsical and the grim. With this latest body of work, Bak steadfastly proves the important role of the artist in understanding the human experience and confronting difficult episodes in our time.