About the exhibition
"Color is heavy. Color lacks fear. Color reveals and color hides. Truth can be found through color.
I have no expertise in color theory. Yet color dominates my life. I use my instincts with color. Color uses its instincts with me. Colors say to me “Hey! Put me there, put me here, use more of me!” I am a servant of color. But I don’t know how color works. I only know when it feels right.
Color floors me every day. I am heavy when I am using color.
I chose the works in this exhibition for their fearless use of bright, unabashed color. These works grabbed me aggressively by the collar. I could relate to them instinctually. They literally brightened my day, made me think, and made me feel, with their heavy color.
In my every day practice, I strive to make work that is as honest as this work, and often I fail. I admire the artists who made these pieces, for trusting their instincts, and for abandoning themselves to the creative moment so completely. Color makes us feel alive. These works make me feel alive, and it’s been a privilege to have had the opportunity to organize them into an exhibition."
About the selector
Ryan Schneider was born in Indianapolis, IN and holds a BFA from The Maryland Institute College of Art. Recent solo shows include “No Filter Eden” at V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, “Mojave Masks” at The Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, Oregon, and “You Are Entering” at Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles. Recent group exhibitions include “Hope and Hazard: A Comedy of Eros” curated by Eric Fischl at The Hall Art Foundation in Reading, VT, “Brask Meets Willumsen” at the JF Willimsens Museum, Denmark, and “Natural Selection” at The Hole, NYC.
His work is held in public and private collections worldwide, and has been reviewed or featured in The New Yorker, Art in America, Modern Painters, The Brooklyn Rail, ArtInfo, Artsy, Kunsten.dk, and The Paris Review, among many other publications. Schneider lives and works in the wild desert of Joshua Tree, California.
