…While the many twisted images of writhing animals or multi-headed beasts may appear dark and disturbing, he insists his work is not morbid…
Deeply influenced by the rituals of different cultures, it’s no surprise that Fusik led a rather nomadic life, moving from place to place over the course of his career, drawing inspiration from countless places, centered around Portland, Oregon, Philadelphia, and Denver. As his work has evolved, he has moved away from his original two-dimensional illustrations and focused almost entirely on animals. Still, even as the medium continues to evolve, Fusik’s work remains bright, intense, and colorful. Whether it’s a two-headed bear covered in autumn-colored fur that pulls out chains where its intestines should be, or a golden goat with a tongue reminiscent of Gene Simmons, Fusick’s use of rainbow and metallic textiles enriches the fantasy.
Over the course of his evolving career, Fusik has exhibited in galleries across the United States and around the globe, from Philadelphia, Austin, and San Francisco, to abroad in France and Mexico. He is represented by Library Street Collective in his hometown of Detroit and Jonathan Levine Gallery in New York City. He was even commissioned to create the album cover for Mastodon’s fifth studio album, The Hunter, and Fosik’s compositions for the piece were recorded in the band’s music video Black Tongue.
His latest solo exhibition, held at the Library Street Collective in mid-2017, was titled From Maturity to Decay. The show showcases the duality of Fusik’s unnatural beasts as they get into various predicaments, like being impaled by artificial arrows, engorged with snakes, or just a good old-fashioned battle royale. Strong ouroboros imagery – a snake eating its own tail – pervades many of Fosick’s wall hangings in the exhibition, such as “Rising, Flip in Two, Pulled to Pieces,” in which two snakes wrap around the body of a headless feline beneath a human skull. This snake imagery continues into one of the exhibition’s centerpieces, “Penduli, Pendulum,” a free-standing multi-antlered deer severed at the waist with six familiar black snakes erupting from its mouth.
