FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Regen Projects II
9016 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Tel. (310) 276-5424
Fax. (310) 276-7430
www.regenprojects.com
LARI PITTMAN
September 14 – October 20, 2007
Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Opening Reception: Friday, September 14, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Regen Projects is pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by Lari Pittman. This exhibition will present seven large-scale paintings, 3 mid-size paintings, and 17 works on paper. Pittman's operatic, intricate, multi-layered works synthesize figuration and abstraction to create a unique vocabulary. Each work is composed as a web of interconnections, overlays, and interlockings that resonate on both a visual and conceptual level. The meanings that unfold are emotional, social, philosophical, and above all else, intensely personal.
In these new works, a rough, dark, and unsettled undercurrent is present. A formal and conceptual tension exists – an antithetical dynamic structured by the co-existence of numerous dichotomies. This simultaneity of opposites is illustrated in the themes found within the works: somber/celebratory, death/life, beautiful/ugly, utopic/dystopic, sublime/profane, radiant/contaminated. Formally, Pittman's paintings are also structured by dichotomies – abstraction/figuration, personal imagery/broad cultural signs, reality/illusion. Within this play of opposites, a tension is created that draws the viewer in and invites them to explore the event unfolding before them.
Pittman's works are a visual stimulation that seduces and unsettles both the eye and the psyche. In his compositions, images are not arranged traditionally around a central focus. Rather, they are placed expansively – essential elements run laterally across the surface, or dot the perimeter, or sprawl in a dazzling array all over. The surface of the works is multifaceted and the image field appears to be constantly shifting and reinventing itself. This visual cacophony is not accidental but carefully calculated with acute attention to formal properties and rooted in Pittman's own discourse with the history of modernist painting.
"A native of Los Angeles, Lari Pittman's densely layered oeuvre has primarily been read through the long shadow of his hometown…While Pittman has coyly exploited this regional affiliation as one element of his artistic arsenal, the unique "look" of his painting – with their garish color schemes, seemingly 'eccentric' imagery, and unbridled use of ornament – can not only be attributed to their Los Angeles-ness. Beyond style or iconography, Pittman seems to borrow something else from his place of residence. As cultural critic Mike Davis suggests, Los Angeles captures the imagination because of its polarity. Sunshine and noir; rich and poor; the spectacular and the vernacular – L.A. runs on an engine of opposites. Extrapolating from this energy, Pittman has harnessed a similar polarizing dynamic in his work."
(Alison M. Gingeras. "Polarized: The Recent Work of Lari Pittman" in Lari Pittman, published by Villa Arson, Nice, 2005, pp. 24-25)
Lari Pittman's work has been the subject of exhibitions throughout Europe and the United States. Recent solo exhibitions include Villa Arson, Nice; ICA, London; Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; and Corcoran Museum, Washington DC.
An opening reception for Lari Pittman will take place on Friday, September 14, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. For further information please contact Jennifer Loh, Yasmine Rahimzadeh, or Stacy Bengtson at (310) 276-5424.
Upcoming Exhibitions:
Regen Projects II (9016 Santa Monica Boulevard at North Almont Drive)
Glenn Ligon: October 27 – December 8, 2007
Urs Fischer: December 15, 2007 – January 19, 2008
Regen Projects:
Matthew Barney: December 15, 2007 - January 19, 2008
Regen Projects II
9016 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069
Tel. (310) 276-5424
Fax. (310) 276-7430
www.regenprojects.com
LARI PITTMAN
September 14 – October 20, 2007
Gallery Hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Opening Reception: Friday, September 14, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Regen Projects is pleased to announce an exhibition of new paintings and works on paper by Lari Pittman. This exhibition will present seven large-scale paintings, 3 mid-size paintings, and 17 works on paper. Pittman's operatic, intricate, multi-layered works synthesize figuration and abstraction to create a unique vocabulary. Each work is composed as a web of interconnections, overlays, and interlockings that resonate on both a visual and conceptual level. The meanings that unfold are emotional, social, philosophical, and above all else, intensely personal.
In these new works, a rough, dark, and unsettled undercurrent is present. A formal and conceptual tension exists – an antithetical dynamic structured by the co-existence of numerous dichotomies. This simultaneity of opposites is illustrated in the themes found within the works: somber/celebratory, death/life, beautiful/ugly, utopic/dystopic, sublime/profane, radiant/contaminated. Formally, Pittman's paintings are also structured by dichotomies – abstraction/figuration, personal imagery/broad cultural signs, reality/illusion. Within this play of opposites, a tension is created that draws the viewer in and invites them to explore the event unfolding before them.
Pittman's works are a visual stimulation that seduces and unsettles both the eye and the psyche. In his compositions, images are not arranged traditionally around a central focus. Rather, they are placed expansively – essential elements run laterally across the surface, or dot the perimeter, or sprawl in a dazzling array all over. The surface of the works is multifaceted and the image field appears to be constantly shifting and reinventing itself. This visual cacophony is not accidental but carefully calculated with acute attention to formal properties and rooted in Pittman's own discourse with the history of modernist painting.
"A native of Los Angeles, Lari Pittman's densely layered oeuvre has primarily been read through the long shadow of his hometown…While Pittman has coyly exploited this regional affiliation as one element of his artistic arsenal, the unique "look" of his painting – with their garish color schemes, seemingly 'eccentric' imagery, and unbridled use of ornament – can not only be attributed to their Los Angeles-ness. Beyond style or iconography, Pittman seems to borrow something else from his place of residence. As cultural critic Mike Davis suggests, Los Angeles captures the imagination because of its polarity. Sunshine and noir; rich and poor; the spectacular and the vernacular – L.A. runs on an engine of opposites. Extrapolating from this energy, Pittman has harnessed a similar polarizing dynamic in his work."
(Alison M. Gingeras. "Polarized: The Recent Work of Lari Pittman" in Lari Pittman, published by Villa Arson, Nice, 2005, pp. 24-25)
Lari Pittman's work has been the subject of exhibitions throughout Europe and the United States. Recent solo exhibitions include Villa Arson, Nice; ICA, London; Centre d'Art Contemporain, Geneva; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; and Corcoran Museum, Washington DC.
An opening reception for Lari Pittman will take place on Friday, September 14, from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. For further information please contact Jennifer Loh, Yasmine Rahimzadeh, or Stacy Bengtson at (310) 276-5424.
Upcoming Exhibitions:
Regen Projects II (9016 Santa Monica Boulevard at North Almont Drive)
Glenn Ligon: October 27 – December 8, 2007
Urs Fischer: December 15, 2007 – January 19, 2008
Regen Projects:
Matthew Barney: December 15, 2007 - January 19, 2008