D. Dominick Lombardi reviews the exhibition Mike Cockrill: The Existential Man at Kent Fine Art, New York, on view through January 25, 2014.

Lombardi writes that the show "is a huge leap from the sumptuous and fleshy surfaces of [Cockrill's] earlier work, though his eye for color and his impeccable painting skills remain. Now we see a deeper focus on the structural basis of form and composition. Here, Cockrill presents 1960s-ish men and women who are steadfastly confined by the banality of their lives. Forlorn and hopeless, these men and women carry on unflinchingly as they literally fall apart at work, at home or en route. Stylistically, Cockrill mixes brilliant touches of Modernism in the form of geometric accents to give these works a tinge of movement that further animates his subjects. You can’t help but feel sorry for the men and women he depicts as they sweep or rake up their dislodged eyeballs, even though they seem more or less calm and composed. Is this a metaphor of our generation as we lose sight of our personal dreams amongst all the static and hype; or is it an indication that our frailties can be our strength?"