Mark Jenkins’ solo show Knock Knock is currently on view at Ruttkowski;68 in Cologne, Germany. His third exhibition with the gallery includes around 15 new sculptural pieces in the style that he has been creating for the past 13 years. The title of the show comes from artist’s ability to metaphorically knock the viewer’s mind calling norms into question and rethinking the reality. Though primarily creating for public spaces, where his works come to life during interactions with passersby, the American artist has also been successfully showing work indoors for the last 10 years. Self described as “street smart,” Jenkins’ pieces are detached from their environment with an eye-opening irony and cleverness. Created almost exclusively using Scotch tape, his life-sized, hyper-realistic human body sculptures are constructed in impossible installations that play tricks with us. Appearing as an everyday scene at first, it’s the unexpected, absurd twist that makes them striking both when experienced within a gallery, and even more, in the public space.

Photo credit: Nils Müller.
Discuss Mark Jenkins here.