NYAB Event - Steve Riedell “Here / There”

Steve Riedell “Here / There”

Howard Scott Gallery

This event has ended.

Howard Scott Gallery presents the third solo exhibition of the Philadelphia-based artist Steve Riedell, entitled Here / There.

This body of work was made working in two studios simultaneously. One located in Philadelphia, the other an hour away in Frenchtown, NJ. Riedell was curious if the work would differ from one location to the other. He found that while it had somewhat, the changes have not been significant. What has been is how shapes, colors and the like have been shared between the two.

My main concern in painting has been how the memory of a place, such as light, space, smell, color, etc., can influence a work. These remembered things brought into the present moment create a link between the here / there. I think of all the works as one, the previous informing the next. The work embodies the passing of time. Numerous layers of paint are built-up on each canvas. The covering of one layer over the other both hides and reveals what has come before in subtle ways. In the two larger works of this show, The Garden and Untitled, the paint is applied in a more expressive manner with succeeding marks not so much covering up as canceling out. In The Garden, this is also achieved by cuts made with a miter saw - marks sometimes left visible, other times filled in. The dimensional, object-like support of the paintings offers an entry point into the works anatomy in the sides, top and underside.

The relationship between the object and the viewer creates a kind of dynamic that is representative of the passage of time and continuity.
Steve Riedell was educated in California, receiving his BA in 1982 at Art Center College of Design. He has received numerous grants and prizes, including the Pollock-Krasner Grant in 2001 and the Elizabeth Grant in 2000. He lives and works in Philadelphia. In recent years, he has shown his work in London, Naples, and St. Louis, MO.