Zerek Kempf’s work examines conditions that shape perception, knowledge, and identity. Using his body, video, objects, and CGI, he experiments with surprise and crude illusion to activate terrain that questions our maintenance of truth and reality. By extension, this pursuit engages the limbo between freedom and captivity that accompanies existence. Cognitive science and philosophies of vision lay the foundation in his work that extends into areas of stage magic and cinematic stunt work. His studio often becomes a set for video production in which a few coats of paint, patience, and postproduction editing establish a limitless backdrop for performative action. Spatial relationships and sequence are fundamental to his approach, linking the mystery of time to the mystery of consciousness and being.
Kempf is based in Brooklyn, New York. He received his MFA from the University of California, San Diego in 2006 and his BFA from The Ohio State University in 2003. He has been selected to attend residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Vermont Studio Center, The Atlantic Center for the Arts, Fountainhead, and the New York Art Residency & Studio Foundation. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at The Museum of Modern Art Library, New York; The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego; Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Los Angeles; Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus; Waag Society, Amsterdam; CA2M Museum, Madrid.