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February 24, 2006
Event: Los Angeles. March 25. Long Distance New Works by Richard Colman
merry karnowsky gallery
170 S. La Brea
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: (323) 933-4408
Fax: (323) 935-4406
E-mail: mkultra@flash.net
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact:
February 20, 2006 mkultra@flash.net
Long Distance New Works by Richard Colman, March 25th-April 22nd, 2006
Opening Reception: Saturday, March 25th, 8-11 PM
Merry Karnowsky Gallery is proud to present Long Distance, the latest exhibition of paintings by Richard Colman. The exhibition bridges the gap between two disparaging personal mythologies by using linear narrative and nuance to connect the past to the present.
Intricately painted shrines sit atop richly dressed women who contain within the bubbles of their gowns, complex interactions between man and beast. These sanctuaries serve as place of reprieve where candles burn brightly, dials turn slowly, and beams of rainbow luminescence burst from nowhere. Her companion, an equally tailored Gentleman, has ballooned out britches that become a dramatic sphere where mirrored men pull at coffins as a haloed bear mediates the contest. Hanging throughout the many scenes are brightly painted porcelain bells that dangle delicately on the thinnest of wire, reinforcing stasis and classical linear control.
Through metaphor and detail, Long Distance is a continuation of Colman’s visual dialogue about relationships and the search for virtue in the realm of the unreal.
Many have described Richard Colman’s work as an ambiguously tongue-in-cheek exploration of all things Inarticulate. Anti-super heroism takes on allegorical proportions as stiffly drawn figures grapple center stage with their internalized melancholy and misdirection. Like Hansel and Gretel leaving a trail of breadcrumbs, Colman’s characters exist somewhere in the netherworld of flawed intention and idiotic sapience. But Colman is not without humor. Symbolism runs rampant, as cloaked figures, druids, fire, ghouls, and blood create an over-the-top landscape in which a more prosaic story unfolds. With the glorified portrayal of white trash beautiful and beaus’ non-ideal, Colman creates a modern mythos whereby the unwashed and uncertain become unapologetically luminous.
Richard Colman was born in 1976 in Silver Springs, Maryland and received his BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Colman has had numerous shows across the country and has contributed artwork to various books (Free Agents, Enamelized, Morning Wood) and has been featured in many magazines (While You Were Sleeping, Art Prostitute, Swindle Magazine, Super 7 Magazine). R77 Publishing will release Mid-Career Survey--Richard Colman Paintings 2000-2005, a collective of Colman’s work this spring.
The Merry Karnowsky Gallery, established in 1997, represents a select group of emerging and mid-career artists who push beyond the boundaries of their medium. Within the program structure of 8 solo shows a year, the Gallery is devoted to exhibiting contemporary artwork that is challenging, innovative, and daring. Additionally the gallery works collaboratively with various international curators for the most beneficial exposure of the artist’s work.
Posted by marc at 8:20 AM in Los Angeles | Recommend this! (1) |
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