Kyle Coniglio - Last Summer

About

Coniglio often thinks of his paintings as fictional tellings based on authentic
experiences. Naturally, this leads viewers to search for clues in his paintings to
understand Coniglio as an artist, as a painter. A good starting point, as the exhibition
title suggests is Last Summer. The title talks about the particular kind of warming
nostalgia from memories of the past, and also Coniglio’s time spent on Fire Island.
Fire Island which is parallel to the south shore of Long Island, New York, has long
been a haven to LQBTQ+ visitors and residents alike. The island, a utopian-like
place that is bountiful with queerdom, offers social freedoms that are less
experienced in the outside heteronormative world. As an island that is secluded,
there is the obvious physical distance that acts as a buffer - allowing one to drop
their preconceptions at the shore. Coniglio goes on to reference The Wizard of Oz in
Under the Rainbow: the famous quest to return home that situates its protagonist
Dorothy in a technicolour world. There is the geographical distance of Fire Island,
but also the materials that make up the island and speak to an alternate.
Architecture is predominately made of wood, materials that heed and welcome the
weight of a walking figure. This lends itself to strolling barefoot and the approving
suggestion of further nudity. Various other architectural decisions such as paths and
boardwalks integrate the inhabitants of the island into the landscape and thus the
natural world.

The island provides a space to build a society around another set of values. There is
the sexual context which is well documented, but Coniglio also places importance on
friendship, and how it brings people together. Because of this queer framework in
which interactions are less bounded by traditional notions - connections to each
other are more fluid. In turn, feelings of the fevered nature come to the forefront
such as rejection, insecurity, isolation and shame. It is within the context of
expanded communal interactions that these challenging notions can be candidly
embraced.

Orange, reds, blues, soft tans and even black – each portrait in the exhibition have
different colours that are tied to a distinctive narrative. All the paintings together
function to create a cast of characters and lexicon of emotional experiences.
Characters wear briefs that are comfortably sculpted to their bodies, cut off shorts
that are tailored around the waist to reveal lean legs, shirts that have been tied above
the navel, or an epic combination: tote/beach/paint-brush bag that brings together
queer, summer and artist modes of dress.

Coniglio’s own understanding of friendship on the island is based on artistic
synergy. He visits each summer with a group of other creatives, making work
side by side and exchanging ideas. This is reflected throughout the exhibition
where painting and portraiture are referenced in most of the works. There is a
blue ghost ready to capture one’s image on a polaroid camera. This is a
particularly poignant notion as the transient ghost is trying to grasp something
permanent through the appearing ink of the instantaneous polaroid. In The
Fiction of My Affliction, a flesh toned protagonist clutches paintbrushes behind
his back. The end of the brushes are sticking out and at first glance could be
perceived as deadly arrows. The duality of this interpretation works within the
greater composition in which the protagonist is being tempted by a red painted
figure looming behind him. The pursuit for freedom, whether sexual or artistic is
understood to be paved with devil like temptation - though our protagonist
manages to stay removed from the corruption of the scarlet scene and demon
like characters behind him.

Shy Guy, takes inspiration from Ad Reinhardt’s work. The muted nature of the
colour is outwardly deceiving, with the painting appearing as a plain black
rectangle when viewed from a distance. As one edges closes, the details come
into sight and the painting reveals itself in full magnificence. Through the formal
attribution of looking, the artist uses this mechanism to tell a story of shyness -
presenting a figure that might not want to be seen and a longing for a generous,
committed viewer to discover the character.

Coniglio says “We view memories through a coloured lens and with each
retelling we slowly begin to exaggerate, embellish and dramatize recollections
until they become idealised fiction, we call nostalgia”. The narrative of each
piece in the exhibition is linked by this context of retelling, where colour and
light are essential to Coniglio’s practice. From an aesthetic consideration, the
illuminating, natural shining light of Fire Island, emboldens the artist’s -
significant and introspective colour exploration. Perhaps the work with the
biggest departure from the group is Sunflowers, which was painted on the
island last summer and the only work created from observation. Coniglio attests
to the painting “which acts as a bridge between my show and the reality it is
based on”.

Kyle Coniglio has his MFA in painting from Yale University and a BFA from
Montclair State University. He has been a fellow of the Queer Art Mentorship
program in New York and an affiliated fellow at the American Academy in Rome.
His work has been included in shows in New York, Los Angeles, and Berlin.
Conilgio opens his solo exhibition with Taymour Grahne Projects, London, May
2022. Coniglio lives and works in Hoboken, New Jersey.