Artist James Rieck

When gallery owner Michael Lyons Wier and his wife Deanne Shashoua first saw James Rieck’s latest body of work, “ColorSafe”, the first thing they thought was, how great it would be to see this style of dress in vogue again, especially during the splendid social summer months they spend living in the Hamptons. The New York gallerists commute weekly between their homes in East Quogue and Chelsea. Over the last three years, the couple has been navigating the Hamptons art scene looking for a way to bridge their commute with their passion for art, design and lifestyle, sharing their gallery program at events such as Art Southampton and ArtMarket Hamptons.

Michael Lyons Wier (left), Deanne Shashoua (center), artist James Rieck (right)

Their current exhibition, “ColorSafe” harkens to the bygone era of sharkskin suits, thin neckties, bold colorful patterns and broad collars, as popularized by designers such as Lily Pulitzer. The paintings highlight couture dresses from the 1960’s, think Don Draper and the “Zou Bisou Bisou” scene from Mad Men and you have the perfect visual! The women in the paintings are strong, sexy and secure in their positions. The narratives are overtly playful, and somehow calming.

“ColorSafe” is a continuation of James Rieck’s earlier paintings sourced from clothing catalogs from the late 1960s/early 70s. These ‘vintage’ images come with all sorts of inferred ideas about the aspirations of the American dream, often from a white, middle-class, conservative perspective. During this era, white models and models of color were standing side-by-side in equal status as if they were friends and having fun – posing in pairs, laughing, joking and sharing secrets. Given the racial divides at the time, were they just acting/modeling or was there actual camaraderie? Rieck conceptualizes these idyllic moments via the loaded content about race and class that ensues – issues that we as a culture are still working through today.

James Rieck, “Color Safe” exhibition is on display through November 8th

Lyons Wier Gallery
542 West 24th Street, New York, NY 10011
www.lyonswiergallery.com

James Rieck earned both his MFA and his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and the Glasgow School of Art, Scotland. Rieck’s paintings have been exhibited across the United States. Museum and group shows include: “We Could Be Heroes: The Mythology of Monsters and Heroes in Contemporary Art” at Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, “Size Does Matters,” curated by Shaquille O’Neal, the Flag Foundation, New York, “As Others See Us: The Contemporary Portrait,” Brattleboro Museum, VT, and at the Corcoran Museum, Washington, DC.

Rieck’s work is present in the Burger Collection, the Bollag-Rothschild Collection, Switzerland, and the Chadha Collection, The Netherlands, among others. James Rieck lives and works in Los Angeles and has been represented by Lyons Wier Gallery since 2003.