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JAMES RIECK
March 29 - April 27, 2013
Artist's Reception
Friday, March 29th, 2013
6-8pm
Lyons Wier Gallery
542 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
Gallery Hours: Tues - Sat, 11-6pm
Nearest Subway: C,E @ 23rd St & 8th Ave.
Lyons Wier Gallery is pleased to present On Location, by James Rieck AND celebrate our 20th year in the art industry.
In
his latest series of paintings, James Rieck's new muse is his
'self-imposed dislocation.' Eight months ago, Rieck uprooted his
long-time residence and studio/safe house in Baltimore, MD, and
transplanted himself 'on location' in downtown Los Angeles, CA -- the
home of infinite 'locations'.
The
artist states, "One's relationship with their environment is a critical
definer of how they feel about themselves and the world. The artist's
studio is the place where artists usually feel at ease to experiment and
explore. The idea behind the new body of work was to explore what a
different environment does to the artist's 'natural' approach. Does
one's environment affect the outcome? What happens when one consciously
disrupts their 'safe' environment, and therefore the 'natural' outcome
of their artwork? This is the idea for "On Location" -- the pursuit of
dislocation or purposeful disruption to find a different result."
In
a conversation with the artist, Rieck asked, "Is Los Angeles/Hollywood
the land where dreamers transplant themselves, hit it big and find their
pot of gold? Or, is it the seedy underside where dreams are broken and
hopes are dashed?" Either way, the mere fact that these simplified
scenarios may seamlessly coexist, yet not exist, are the myths
perpetuated by the magic of the movie industry. It is this disconnect
between posturing and position that has fascinated Rieck about his new
surroundings.
Rieck has always sifted source material from
commercial advertising catalogs. But for first time, the artist has
deviated away from exclusively using commercial catalogs by introducing
imagery from manufactured studio locations. It is obvious that the
self-imposed exile to Hollywood and the celluloid scene of Los Angeles
has influenced his current work. Like the magic of movies, our beliefs
are momentarily suspended as we gaze at these images of beautiful
people, visiting exotic locations, indulging in the finest that life has
to offer, knowing all the while that the compositions are make-believe.
The paintings in On Location are compositions painted
from digitally composited studies of figures in grandiose landscapes.
The figures are clearly models poached from advertisements and the
landscapes are classic displays of manufactured nature; but combined,
they are 'on location'! The clothing models have been transported to
exotic lands, but we know that they are not actually there. These people
were not in these places; they were not interacting with the nature.
This revelation brings home an almost universal feeling of displacement,
and yet no matter how disquieting, there is a peaceful feeling of
serenity, as if that is exactly how the narratives and compositions
should be.
James Rieck earned both his MFA and his BFA from
the Maryland Institute College of Art, attended the Skowhegan School of
Painting and Sculpture, and the Glasgow School of Art. He has shown at
the Flag Foundation, New York, Charles Campbell Gallery, San Francisco,
and the Corcoran Museum, Washington, DC. Rieck's work is present in the
Burger Collection, the Bollag-Rothschild Collection, Switzerland, and
the Chadha Collection, The Netherlands. Rieck lives and works in Los
Angeles and has been represented by Lyons Wier Gallery since 2003.
For more information & images, contact:
Lyons Wier Gallery
542 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
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