On September 24^th, Kukula returns to Corey Helford Gallery fashioned with a new exhibition of confident, achingly beautiful paintings, ‘Lonely Opulent Things.’ Inspired by the Roocco style and imbued with a 18^th century French color palette, the works sing of a magnificent melancholy via buxom yet lithe figures set amidst antiquated settings filled with the rich details of luxury; marble floors, towering gardens and glittering chandeliers.

Within this lavish world, the figures appear more ‘realistic’ than in the past, their faces carrying a more potent emotive nuance that compliments the evolved sophistication of her technique. Often appearing alone or paired with an equally attractive figure, they appear in a state of transformation, exquisitely adorned with odd details such as clockwork gears, tea cup handles and climbing filigreed molding that seem to ‘disease’ their porcelain skin, a subtle hint at the obsessive nature of coveting beautiful objects and the cultivation of an aesthetically pleasing contained cosmos no matter what the cost. View more preview images below.