The opening night crowd at START Gallery.

START Gallery has invoked some primal powers with its newest collection, Armageddon Beachparty & Co., a collaborative body of work created by husband-and-wife pair who go by Motu & Kozma (respectively).

Kozma, of Motu & Kozma, one half the husband-and-wife team behind Armageddon Beachparty & Co.

Creating pieces built from and painted upon found objects salvaged around Detroit, the collection is a riot of color and detail, and overall conveys an instinctive sense of personal mythology, with small altars assembled of odd objects and heavy goddess imagery throughout.

Kozma states that she has always had an interest in the female form as a subject, both aesthetically and as an invocation of empowerment. Pictured here: “Not Your Ordinary Dame.”

Vintage pornography takes on a decidedly different feel when anointed with tribal markings.

The work draws from a myriad of traditional sources, with altars that somewhat resemble Mexican ofrendas, repurposed Catholic statuary elements, and 2D and 3D characters throughout the work adorned with decorative markings reminiscent of African tribalism. The aesthetic seems equally informed by modern influences, as well, such as phsycedelia and street art.

Painted statuary punctuates the exhibit; all of the starting materials are found objects salvaged from around Detroit.

Colors, textures, and dimension leaps out from every wall.

All in all, Armageddon Beachparty is a powerful synthesis of influences and a intense conversation between creative partners. With more than 80 pieces on display throughout the gallery, it is one that merits a return visit to catch every detail, in perhaps a quieter moment than the opening reception, heavily attended and presided over by the musical stylings of Botanical Fortress and Jaws That Bite.

Jaws That Bite performing at the opening reception.

Congrats to START Gallery on another epic showing, and hats off to Motu & Kozma, two Detroit originals coupling to channel the creative higher power.

Start Gallery: 206 E. Grand River, Detroit; 313-909-2845; www.facebook.com/startgallery