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Opening Night: Friday June 13th
6-9pm
(show runs until July 5th)
Both artists will be in attendance music by DJ Vodka Twist |
 Roq
La Rue is pleased to present two solo shows for the month of June, by
Seattle painter Chris Crites, and Los Angeles based artist and animator
Chris Reccardi.
 Chris Reccardi is
a very successful animator, having worked closely on Ren and Stimpy,
Powepuff Girls, Samurai Jack, Spongebob Squarepants, as well as films
(Shrek 3 & 4, “Monsters vs. Aliens [2009]) Sony Pictures (“Cloudy
with a chance of Meatballs” [2009]) and the soon-to-be released “Rob
Zombie’s haunted world of El Superbeasto” and an original Pilot for
Nickelodeon “The Modifyers”). However, in the fine art world Reccardi is highly sought after for his playful mod retro-space age paintings. Lush with color and exquisite linework, his work harkens back to animation from the 50's and 60's, exuding a pop beatnik cool and original hipster sensibility. His mix of the space age idealogy of the 60's (also called psy-fi) mixed with campy spy imagery creates a world that is hauntingly familiar yet also very of the moment. Reccardi’s latest solo exhibition “Mono” explores a fantastical future-retro world, it’s colorfully Mod inhabitants and their mysterious bond to a secret code ...
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 Chris Crites
also paints in a vibrant color palette, with a more somber subject
matter. The iconic image of the gun is the focus of his current show.
Hie paintings are painted on paper bags and painted in such a way that
no surface is ever painted over twice. Each color is laid down
individually in sections, and each tiny detail is left empty until the
proper color is ready to be applied. This incredibly labour intensive
method creates a painting that looks much like a mass produced
screenprint, yet is actually a one of a kind, highly detailed original.Crites' decision to paint such a highly charged subject is addressed in his statement: "All tools are extensions of the human body. Guns by definition are extensions of the fist. This defines guns as tools of power, force or violence. That being said, this body of work is neither anti-gun nor pro-gun but rather an examination of a tool that has been used in much conflict and controversy throughout the modern age of mankind. Why are Americans in particular so obsessed with guns? Why are there so many firearms in the United States? They permeate our history as well as our entertainment. They are also a big business and seem to be practically everywhere. I have no answers for why this is, but recognize how powerful a symbol just the image of a gun can be. For better or worse, guns are a part of our history, a history that fascinates me. This series allowed me a way to examine the innovation and design of these firearms and see them in a different way..." |