Wes Lang and Ryan Schneider: “Carry On”
Until June 20, 2009
An exhibition by New York-based artists Wes Lang and Ryan Schneider, Carry On brings together drawings, paintings, and books focusing on landscape and culture in California. Their shared interest in the state has transformed the subject matter and method that both Lang and Schneider normally employ.
Lang’s rendering of California uses the imagery of a defining era – the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. T-shirt graphics, Playboy centerfolds, David Crosby, and outlaw biker gangs are cast as characters in his description of the period. Focusing on a time when boundaries between worlds were obliterated by rampant lust and unrest, Lang uses a freedom in his subjects and influence that evokes this bygone era. His work depicts sexually charged and inspired relationships among these symbols and reveals Lang’s version of the local history – his chronicle describing what Joan Didion once wrote as “characteristic of Californians to speak grandly of the past as if it had simultaneously begun.”
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For Schneider the journey begins with personal spirituality. His paintings depict an internal meditation on life’s most penetrating relationships and experiences, set against a backdrop influenced by the palette and light found in California. Stylistically, his work has become smaller and more focused. His Bonnard-style brushstrokes layer color and texture throughout, bringing us even closer to the tangible aspect of his painting and process. Schneider’s work encourages his audience to closely scrutinize his life in the same manner that he himself experienced while creating it. He grasps what is essentially Californian by adopting the local proclivity toward introspection and rumination.
Schneider’s vivid portraits and Lang’s graphic paintings make reference to such LA artists as Phillip Guston and David Hockney, and speak like a counterculture term from the 1960’s. Carry On represents both Lang and Schneider’s trip, toward the West Coast and its unhinged state of mind.
Wes Lang’s work has been seen in exhibitions in New York at Zieher Smith, Alexander and Bonin, Greenberg Van Doren, and Andrea Rosen Gallery; in Athens at the Deste Foundation and Ileana Tounta Contemporary Art Centre; and in Berlin at Peres Projects, among others. This is his first exhibition in Los Angeles.
Ryan Schneider’s work had been seen in exhibitions in New York at Priska C. Juschka Fine Art; in Toronto at Artcore Gallery; in Seoul at I M Art; and in Copenhagen at V1 Gallery, among others. This is his first exhibition in Los Angeles.
A new contemporary art exhibition and publishing house located in Hollywood, California, Eighth Veil will provide artists with residencies to develop and oversee the creation of printed matter, as well as host a rotation of exhibitions and events.
Eighth Veil is housed in an original 1920’s Art Deco storefront on Sunset Blvd. Prior to becoming an exhibition space, 7174 Sunset housed offset lithographic presses for neighboring Paper Chase Printing. Eighth Veil will utilize its proximity to Paper Chase to give artists the opportunity to create printed works. The nature of the works will be determined entirely by the artist rather than by an overarching theme. Artists will be provided with studio space on the premises in which they can conceptualize these works and closely oversee their production. This opportunity will be extended to artists exhibiting with Eighth Veil as well as individuals chosen by the gallery, commissioning printed matter on a per project basis.
Eighth Veil aims to develop close relationships with artists and provide more visibility to their process. Allowing creativity beyond their normal medium and into print.
- Eighth Veil is located at 7174 Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90046
- Telephone: (323) 645-6639
- Website: http://eightveil.org
- Gallery Hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 12-6 p.m., and by appt.
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