About the Exhibition
This series was born from a vision of life itself: at times, delicate and luminous, and at others, grotesque—so much so that we instinctively look away. Within the work, I’ve tried to hold space for both extremes, creating a visual tension between beauty and revulsion. That contrast feels essential, honest.
Several unincluded pieces depict views from a living room window—and represent the darker elements. They’re heavy and have not been included in this exhibit.
At its core, this series is also about empathy—how we absorb or ignore the brutality surrounding us. I’m exploring how society metabolizes horror, how we sometimes become indifferent to what should move us deeply.
In today’s cultural climate, where we see leaders attempting to rewrite or erase the past, I feel a responsibility to document, to remember. We must acknowledge where we’ve come from in order to avoid repeating the same atrocities.
From The Curator
An emerging artist with ample life experience, Kirk Knoll, uses a familiar object that we interact with regularly throughout our lives — a number 10 window envelope to create work. His goal is to create tension between pleasure and pain, joy and melancholy, and the beautiful and the grotesque.
In his work, Knoll juxtaposes colorful, miniature paintings with various themes painted on envelopes, suggesting glimpses of life. Through this, he positions himself as a witness to both the beauty and horror of the world around him. The envelopes then instead carry messages on their outside, subverting their original purpose, which is to keep messages hidden within themselves. Knoll is therefore able to express blips of his internal dialogues about the world around him and his disdain for indifference. At the same time, however, Knoll paints about the sublime that life is able to offer. Honest and expressive, Knoll strives to push the boundaries of ideas as well as our perception of art media. Knoll believes that acknowledgment of our dark histories leads to the avoidance of repeating them. And so we are left with the question: how are humans able to show so much kindness and so much brutality all the same?
Artist Biography: Kirk Knoll
Kirk Knoll is an artist based in Fairfax, Virginia, whose journey in the arts began in first grade during “art period” and grew through his years as a rock ‘n’ roll drummer. His earliest artistic memories involve drawing crude helicopters for his classmates, a childhood experience that sparked his lifelong passion for creating art and his addiction to reaction. Knoll's artistic style has evolved significantly over the years. Early on, he discovered a love for screen printing, which expanded his repertoire beyond his early pen and Sharpie drawings. Kirk Knoll is a rock n roll drummer turned visual artist. A veteran of the DC music scene in the 90’s he spent his early mornings playing in the Georgetown and Arlington bars and clubs. Recurring motifs in his work include flower blooms and skeletons, symbolizing the cycles of death and rebirth. His work is heavily influenced by pop art, with Andy Warhol's iconic pieces serving as a major inspiration. Additionally, Knoll infuses the punk energy of the music he loves into his paintings, drawing significant inspiration from bands like the Clash, Devo, and Rage Against the Machine. His talent and unique vision have earned him recognition in the art community, with his artwork being featured in a prominent art gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico and boutiques in Santa Fe and Fairfax City, VA. He has been the featured artist in exhibits in Raleigh, NC and has done performance rock ‘n’ roll painting to live audiences. Today, Knoll works primarily in acrylics, which he uses to paint on miscellaneous surfaces such as canvas, cardboard, newspaper, and other found items. Knoll’s art easily bounces between whimsical and an irreverent denunciation of custom, tradition, practice, rule, and hypocrisy.