Alexis Rockman
08 Apr - 05 May 2006
ALEXIS ROCKMAN
American Icons
April 8th, 2006 through May 5th, 2006
Opening Reception Saturday April 8, 6—8 pm.
Leo Koenig Inc is pleased to announce the opening “American Icons” an exhibition of ten new paintings and five new drawings by Alexis Rockman. Beginning where he left off with the epic painting “Manifest Destiny” in which he imagined the future of the Brooklyn waterfront, Rockman has envisioned specific American landmarks, such as the Gateway Arch, in Saint Louis, the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, and the Capitol building in Washington DC after the effects of global warming. Rockman imagines the future of these most beloved contemporary markers in the tradition of the sublime ruin. The transformed landscapes show how ecosystems continue to thrive, regardless. In keeping with the theme of climate change, Rockman’s oil drawings show severe weather phenomena.
Although Rockman’s subject matter remains disquieting, these paintings and drawings reveal a new-found painterliness and a fascination with the alchemy of materials. A decaying Hollywood sign appears against a spectacular sunset. The Capitol building appears like Angkor Wat from underneath vegetation that has nearly engulfed its Neo-classical architecture. In a painting entitled “Lawn,” dandelions stretch out as far as the eye can see, their voraciousness hidden in the guise of a cheerful yellow flower. The scenes are lusciously tactile, and act as luminous cautionary odes to future that may very well transpire, but whose alternative fleetingly lies within our reach.
A native New Yorker, who spent much of his childhood at the American Museum of Natural History, Rockman’s work is partially inspired by botanical and zoological renderings while being informed by art historical references from Thomas Cole to Robert Smithson. He has a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and has exhibited his work in galleries and institutions worldwide. Numerous catalogues have been published of his work and he most recently had a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, Camden Art Centre, London, and the Wexner Center for the Arts, OH. Public collections that have acquired Rockman's work include the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. Rockman lives and works in New York City.
A 48-page hardcover catalogue including full-color reproductions of all the paintings in American Icons and co-published with Baldwin Gallery, in Aspen Colorado will accompany the exhibit. The catalogue also features reproductions of oil drawings included in Rockman’s simultaneous exhibit, Big Weather at the Baldwin Gallery through April 16. The catalogue includes an introduction by Dorothy Spears, and essays by the art historian Robert Rosenblum and the environmentalist, Bill McKibben.
© Alexis Rockman
“Red Hurricane”, 2006, Oil on paper, 48.5 x 74.75 inches
American Icons
April 8th, 2006 through May 5th, 2006
Opening Reception Saturday April 8, 6—8 pm.
Leo Koenig Inc is pleased to announce the opening “American Icons” an exhibition of ten new paintings and five new drawings by Alexis Rockman. Beginning where he left off with the epic painting “Manifest Destiny” in which he imagined the future of the Brooklyn waterfront, Rockman has envisioned specific American landmarks, such as the Gateway Arch, in Saint Louis, the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, and the Capitol building in Washington DC after the effects of global warming. Rockman imagines the future of these most beloved contemporary markers in the tradition of the sublime ruin. The transformed landscapes show how ecosystems continue to thrive, regardless. In keeping with the theme of climate change, Rockman’s oil drawings show severe weather phenomena.
Although Rockman’s subject matter remains disquieting, these paintings and drawings reveal a new-found painterliness and a fascination with the alchemy of materials. A decaying Hollywood sign appears against a spectacular sunset. The Capitol building appears like Angkor Wat from underneath vegetation that has nearly engulfed its Neo-classical architecture. In a painting entitled “Lawn,” dandelions stretch out as far as the eye can see, their voraciousness hidden in the guise of a cheerful yellow flower. The scenes are lusciously tactile, and act as luminous cautionary odes to future that may very well transpire, but whose alternative fleetingly lies within our reach.
A native New Yorker, who spent much of his childhood at the American Museum of Natural History, Rockman’s work is partially inspired by botanical and zoological renderings while being informed by art historical references from Thomas Cole to Robert Smithson. He has a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and has exhibited his work in galleries and institutions worldwide. Numerous catalogues have been published of his work and he most recently had a solo exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, Camden Art Centre, London, and the Wexner Center for the Arts, OH. Public collections that have acquired Rockman's work include the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. Rockman lives and works in New York City.
A 48-page hardcover catalogue including full-color reproductions of all the paintings in American Icons and co-published with Baldwin Gallery, in Aspen Colorado will accompany the exhibit. The catalogue also features reproductions of oil drawings included in Rockman’s simultaneous exhibit, Big Weather at the Baldwin Gallery through April 16. The catalogue includes an introduction by Dorothy Spears, and essays by the art historian Robert Rosenblum and the environmentalist, Bill McKibben.
© Alexis Rockman
“Red Hurricane”, 2006, Oil on paper, 48.5 x 74.75 inches