The drawings in Separate come from the idea of breaking the image down (in this case, into the four channels that are used to print) and reconstituting it by hand with drawing utensils. The result is ultimately close but off, different and separate from the original. The source material is images of light. In essence, light can only be depicted by representing its effect on things or by its absence. Koken works in layers using “hard” tools (pencils and ball-point pens) and rough, active, scribbled lines to bring form to the formless and weight to the weightless.

Tom Koken has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions including Phantom Limb, Pattern Theory and A to B at MKG127; Undertow at QueenSpecific in Toronto; the Drawing Center, P.S. 1, Clocktower, Group Material and Artist’s Space in New York; and Hallwalls in Buffalo. His work is included in several public and private collections. He lives and works in New York.