KYLER GARRISON: HOLD MY HAND WHILE I GOOGLE SYMPTOMS

Carl Kostyál is delighted to present the debut solo exhibition by Kyler Garrison in London, ‘hold my hand while i google symptoms’.

December 12, 2024 – January 17, 2025

Garrison’s new body of work presents delicate arrangements of deeply personal items curated for each painting to display a moment in time – both physically and emotionally. Each painting depicts a short story, varied timelines of comfort and nostalgia in the still, solid – the inanimate. Childhood toys left untouched past youth, lamps that cut through winter nights with warmth, a late Grandparent’s piano; a reminder of something bigger than oneself.

The act of googling symptoms is a reaction of an anxious impulse, grasping for a sense of control. This act is violent, pure, and inherently self sabotaging, offering no real solutions except for the hope of peace of mind and comfort, but it almost always makes things more worrisome. The intention of these paintings thus far has been to highlight this poignant process and never-ending cycle of the search for comfort, stability, and new experiences in a worrisome and ever-changing world.

This body of work is meant to exist in the liminal space of anxiety and isolation. The compositions are primarily still-life based, with two defining compositions presented in a delicate arrangement of deeply personal items, curated within each painting to display a moment in time – both physically and as an emotional placeholder. The works thus far mostly depict dreary bedroom still life settings, that are meant to evoke a sense of cold isolation from the outside world.

“All images referenced in the works are taken by me, throughout the last year. Some images are digitally manipulated and constructed in photoshop, and others are painted directly from the photo, the way it appears in my camera roll. I am always documenting what is around me, creating emotional placeholders for me to look back on and immortalise in a painting.”

– Kyler Garrison, 2024