Enrico Riley “Stand”

Jenkins Johnson Projects

This event has ended.

Jenkins Johnson Projects presentsEnrico Riley’s solo exhibition Stand. The exhibition explores the materiality of paint and the expressive potential of painted images in relation to issues around identity and visibility. This is Riley’s second solo exhibition at Jenkins Johnson Projects. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring an essay by Connie Choi, Associate Curator, Permanent Collection, The Studio Museum in Harlem.

The opening reception will be on Saturday, September 10 from 5-8 pm. During the reception, Riley will be in conversation with Choi from 6-7 pm to talk about the exhibition and his artistic process. This event will be live on the Jenkins Johnson Gallery’s Instagram (@jenkinsjohnsongallery). And on the West Coast, selected works by Riley will be on view in the atrium of the Minnesota Street Project from October 1 - 29, 2022. There will be a special talk between Riley and composer and Stanford Professor Jonathan Berger in the atrium on October 12 at 7-9 pm (see more information about their collaborative opera below).

Riley’s new series of paintings investigate the agency of bodies moving through space with dance. The artist uses formal techniques to expose the issues surrounding mobility through the flattening and abstracting of figures within a liminal space. Riley’s new body of work is inspired by and expands on the rich and complex traditions of hip-hop and other forms of street dance and in particular the way these activities allow individuals to expand their presence in space. This new series is a result of the artist thinking about hip-hop, break dance, and rap culture of the 1980s and 1990s and reflecting on the significance of these expressions on American culture. The artist uses a vibrant palette of monochromes such as magentas, greens, and yellows to highlight the role fashion played, with sneakers and polo shirts turning into identity markers. The result on the canvas is an homage to energy and expression. Building space through color and absences, Riley invites the viewer to question the ephemerality of the body.