LEWISTON — Ryan Kohler is the featured artist of the month for June at Wicked Illustrations Studio and Gallery, 140 Canal St.

Kohler makes art that is both playful and serious, light-hearted with disastrous undertones. He is obsessed with paradox. His subject matter focuses on the inventions of mankind. He paints them boldly, in bright colors, and at times, almost cartoon-ish.

“I like to find what I think are good examples/symbols of civilization, and poke fun at the impermanency of them by suggesting that they now exist underwater, in a futuristic, apocalyptic disaster. By superimposing one of my fish circling a motorcycle, a strange narrative of forms, allowing me to play with time, scale and context in a disorienting and entertaining way. My art is not about destruction. It is not about pain. It is about transition and humility. It’s about facing the fact that humans have existed an impossibly short amount of time in the timeline of the universe. It is both terrifying and freeing,” he said.

Although the paintings themselves are colorful and fun, the disastrous implications are endless. Massive flooding, environmental impact issues, genetic engineering, the nature of infinity and teleportation are all possible explanations for how these unlikely encounters came to be.

Kohler earned a bachelor’s degree in art with a concentration in drawing from the University of Maine at Augusta in 2011. He has shown his work in galleries all over the state, both in group shows and solo exhibitions. He lives in Skowhegan.

His work will be displayed at the L/A Art Walk on June 24.

FMI: www.wickedillustrations.com.