MIGUEL ABREU GALLERY
blake rayne selected texts & press
88 Eldridge Street / 36 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002 • 212.995.1774 • fax 646.688.2302 [email protected] • www.miguelabreugallery.com MIGUEL ABREU GALLERY
BLAKE RAYNE
Blake Rayne’s paintings are structured by the generative duplicity of words like script, folder, application, dissolve, and screen. These operative terms locate the work between structures of linguistic description and the history of reflexive material procedures. Rayne begins from an orientation that would consider the terms ‘painter’ and ‘painting’ as signs— that is, as fictions. They have no stable material definition, but rather are shaped by linguistic, institutional, and physical relations. Rayne’s mode of abstract painting is irrevocably marked by conceptual art. Here, context is constitutive.
A cryptic accumulation of references culled from esoteric historical figures, archival images, literature, personal relationships, and network television are, in Rayne’s body of work, united under the structuring sign of cinema. Each exhibition is staged like a shot in a film, necessarily informed by and in dialogue with those that came before it. ‘Scripts’ drawn from film production that call for folding, spraying, stitching, and looping govern the work’s material formation. The patterns that appear on its surface always have a relationship to the structure of the pictorial support.
For The Disappearance of Red Pistachio Shells / The Dawn of the Californian Nut Industry (1979) (2007), a loop of canvas was acted upon with protective films, rollers, and spray paint, then cut and stitched into individual works. In Dust of Suns (2008), Rayne deployed the cut alongside the fold, this time hanging canvases alongside their corresponding crates in what amounted to a spatial ‘trailer’ for a future film. This dialectic between the word and the painterly gesture was again taken up in Folder and Application (2010), which overlaid white monochrome canvases with projected text and a cascading felt letter ‘a’; the exhibition staged a job ‘application’ for the position of painter. On Fridays We Have Half Days (2014) recast aspects of the movie theater apparatus—box office, concession stand, projection booth—within the space of the gallery: paintings functioned as ‘posters’ and promotional tools and a stop-motion digital ‘trailer’ projected them in miniature on live bacterial culture.
Blake Rayne continually engages the history of painting as a field of tensions that compose the practice of painting as cultural sign. He attempts to work through the need for historical competence in understanding the possible relevance of painting for both the painter’s level of self-consciousness and for forces of legitimation within a corporate culture of information. The sign ‘painting’ is on the one hand always compensatory for other cultural interests, at the same time that it also suggests a field of evasions and deflections, a material practice in which the artist is constantly displaced by language while being administered by institutional demands for certain types of artistic subjects: whether the latter be the hack enfant-terrible or the artist intent on legitimizing his/her endeavors with a trove of cultural reference.
Blake Rayne, born in Lewes, Delaware in 1969, lives and works in New York. He was educated at the California Institute of the Arts, received a fellowship from the American Acadamy in Berlin (2010), and has taught at Columbia University’s School of Visual Arts.
One-person exhibitions of Rayne’s work include Peaceful Photographers (Campoli Presti, London and Paris, 2015), Warmilk (Mendes Wood, São Paolo, 2014), On Fridays We Have Half Days (Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York, 2014), Blake Rayne (1301PE, 2013), Wild Country (Campoli Presti, London, 2012), Blake Rayne (Formalist Sidewalk Poetery Club, Miami Beach, 2011), Shade Subscription (Capitain Petzel Gallery, Berlin, 2011), Coastal Graphics (Sutton Lane, Paris, 2011), and Folder and Application (Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York, 2010). He has also been featured in group exhibitions such as PLIAGE/FOLD (Gagosian Gallery, London, 2014) Chat Jet: Painting
His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Collection FRAC Poitou-Charentes, Portland Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
88 Eldridge Street / 36 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002 • 212.995.1774 • fax 646.688.2302 [email protected] • www.miguelabreugallery.com MIGUEL ABREU GALLERY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exhibition: BLAKE RAYNE: CABIN OF THE ACCUSED
Location: Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, Texas
Dates: October 21, 2016 – March 18, 2017
Blaffer Art Museum is pleased present Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused, the first midcareer survey of the New-York-based artist, a central figure shaping current debates about painting. Opening on Friday, October 21, 2016 with a reception from 7-9pm, the exhibition features major works completed from 2003 to the present which showcase the breadth of his work in various media including in painting, sculpture, printmaking, and installation. In addition to the survey, the exhibition will also premiere new site-specific projects. Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused is organized by Javier Sánchez Martínez, Cynthia Woods Mitchell Curatorial Fellow at Blaffer Art Museum, in close collaboration with the artist and on view through March 18, 2017. The exhibition title, Cabin of the Accused, combines two words associated with opposite implications, describing a paradoxical architecture that sets into relation recreation and detention. Comprised of more than 30 works, Cabin of the Accused neither reconstructs nor presents a chronological or thematic selection of Rayne’s work, but it rearticulates specific elements, organizational attitudes, and pictorial procedures central to questioning, contributing, and testing contemporary beliefs regarding painting. Rayne’s work tests how painting is responding to shifts in perceptual regimes, labor conditions, and temporal paradigms. The artist asserts painting has no essence outside of its historical models, thus gathering and dispersing itself at every moment. On that premise, Rayne works on and through the technologies and institutions of painting, placing its conditions of possibility into relief. Rayne’s practice is an ongoing act of revision that creates a catalog of processes and operations. Through this constantly evolving catalog, he produces a discursive and material strategy that creates a plastic interplay between art and the social. The presentation of works as a series of episodes within exhibitions evokes the organization of serialized writing in sequential installments. Exhibitions are organized as scenographic arrangements like constellations, enabling us to perceive possible relationships between objects. Rayne examines pictorial strategies and operations to translate, decontextualize, fold, and superimpose “scripts” grafted from sites of cultural production.
Born in Lewes, Delaware in 1969, Rayne was educated at the California Institute of the Arts, and moved to Brooklyn in the early 1990s, where he currently lives and works. Rayne contributed to art spaces such as Reena Spaulings, Orchard, Scortched Earth, and Miguel Abreu Gallery. He held positions of instructor at the Bard College MFA program and Director of Graduate Studies at the School of Arts of Columbia University, where he is influential on to a younger generation of artists. One-person exhibitions of Rayne’s work include These Pellets Here This Powder There (Miguel Abreu Gallery, 2016); Peaceful Photographers (Campoli Presti, London and Paris, 2015); Warmilk (Mendes Wood, São Paolo, 2014); On Fridays We Have Half Days (Miguel Abreu Gallery, 2014), Blake Rayne (1301PE, 2013); Wild Country (Campoli Presti, London, 2012); Blake Rayne (Formalist Sidewalk Poetry Club, Miami Beach, 2011); Shade Subscription (Capitain Petzel Gallery, Berlin, 2011); Coastal Graphics (Sutton Lane, Paris, 2011); and Folder and Application (Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York, 2010), among others. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Collection FRAC Poitou-Charentes, Portland Museum of Art, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
88 Eldridge / 36 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002 • 212.995.1774 • fax 646.688.2302 [email protected] • www.miguelabreugallery.com Paul Galvez, “Blake Rayne,” Artforum, Vol. 55, No. 7, March 2017, pp. 273-274 Anthony Hawley, “Proposing Painting as a Form of Refusal,” Hyperallergic, February 21, 2017
GALLERIES Proposing Painting as a Form of Refusal Blake Rayne’s first midcareer survey is full of linguistic disruptions and quiet repetitions, bringing to mindGALLERIES Bartleby the scrivener’s disarming resistance. ProposingAnthony Hawley 15 hours Painting ago as a Form of Refusal Blake Rayne’s first midcareer survey is full of linguistic disruptions and quiet repetitions, bringing to mind Bartleby the scrivener’s disarming resistance. Anthony Hawley 15 hours ago
‘Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused,’ exhibition view, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston (all photos by Petee Molick unless noted)
“…even in his catatonic or anorexic state, Bartleby is not the patient, but the doctor of a sick America.” —Gilles Deleuze, “Bartleby; or, the Formula” ‘Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused,’ exhibition view, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston (all photos by Petee Molick unless noted) HOUSTON — As our 45th president’s chief white house strategist tells the media to “keep their mouth shut,” as the newly appointed press secretary chastises everyone for unfairly misrepresenting the 2017 inauguration crowds, and as Kellyanne Conway transmutes alternative facts into“…even reality, in his one catatonic wonders or anorexic what kind state, of Bartleby refusal ismight not the counter patient, refusal but the itself.doctor Givenof a sick a America.”political machine working overtime to silence any —Gilles Deleuze, “Bartleby; or, the Formula” converted by Web2PDFConvert.com competing versions of the truth, how does one counterattack a far right-extremism that touts falsehoods as “telling it like it is”? Like Tom HOUSTONHuhn, chair of— VisualAs our and 45th Critical president’s Studies chief at whitethe School house for strategist Visual Arts tells inthe New media York, to “keepput it theirin a recent mouth piece shut,” in as the the New newly Yorker appointed, “Part ofpress what makes Trump attractive to many is that he practices a kind of great refusal himself, saying no to just about everything, and thereby appearing to be on the side of human beings liberating themselves from restrictions and hierarchies.” As we enter a global political climate where the alt- right is on the rise and a large constituency is convinced that it’s being “liberated” by a particular form of refusal, howconverted does byone Web2PDFConvert.com form a refusal of another kind, one that resists and retrieves difference?
One avenue might be something akin to Herman Melville’s infamous “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.” In it, a Wall Street lawyer hires a new clerk who, after an intense period of impressive work, simply refuses to make another copy or do any of the other office tasks expected of him. Whenever the lawyer asks Bartleby to do something, Bartleby quietly utters, “I would prefer not to.” The phrase beguiles the lawyer: It’s not exactly a bold-faced rebuttal, nor is it walk-out, a workers’ strike on the streets. While the lawyer continues to press Bartleby to do various tasks, the scrivener instead does less and less. Bartleby eventually starts living in the office as he maintains his staunch and paralyzing “I would prefer not to.”
‘Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused,’ exhibition view, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston
I thought about Bartleby while viewing Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused at the Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston. Rayne’s first midcareer survey is full of linguistic disruptions and quiet repetitions, bringing to mind the scrivener’s disarming resistance. Wall Street doesn’t know the act of “preferring not to” — the simple statement has so much power not just because it interrupts but because it also creates a lingering silence in its lack of alternatives. For me, Rayne’s oeuvre and exhibition embody a similar act in the various refusals.
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com secretary chastises everyone for unfairly misrepresenting the 2017 inauguration crowds, and as Kellyanne Conway transmutes alternative facts into reality, one wonders what kind of refusal might counter refusal itself. Given a political machine working overtime to silence any competing versions of the truth, how does one counterattack a far right-extremism that touts falsehoods as “telling it like it is”? Like Tom Huhn, chair of Visual and Critical Studies at the School for Visual Arts in New York, put it in a recent piece in the New Yorker, “Part of what makes Trump attractive to many is that he practices a kind of great refusal himself, saying no to just about everything, and thereby appearing to be on the side of human beings liberating themselves from restrictions and hierarchies.” As we enter a global political climate where the alt- right is on secretarythe rise chastisesand a large everyone constituency for unfairly is misrepresenting convinced that the it’s 2017 being inauguration “liberated” crowds, by aand particular as Kellyanne form Conway of refusal, transmutes how doesalternative one form a refusal of another factskind, into one reality, that oneresists wonders and retrieveswhat kind difference?of refusal might counter refusal itself. Given a political machine working overtime to silence any competing versions of the truth, how does one counterattack a far right-extremism that touts falsehoods as “telling it like it is”? Like Tom Huhn, chair of Visual and Critical Studies at the School for Visual Arts in New York, put it in a recent piece in the New Yorker, “Part of what One avenuemakes might Trump be something attractive to akin many to is Hermanthat he practices Melville’s a kind infamous of great refusal “Bartleby, himself, the saying Scrivener: no to just A about Story everything, of Wall Street.” and thereby In it,appearing a Wall Street lawyer hiresto bea new on the clerk side who,of human after beings an intense liberating period themselves of impressive from restrictions work, andsimply hierarchies.” refuses Asto wemake enter another a global copypolitical or climatedo any where of the the other alt- office tasks expectedright isof on him. the riseWhenever and a large the constituency lawyer asks is convincedBartleby tothat do it’s something, being “liberated” Bartleby by a quietlyparticular utters, form of “I refusal, would how prefer does not one to.” form The a refusal phrase beguiles theof lawyer:another kind, It’s notone exactlythat resists a bold-facedand retrieves rebuttal, difference? nor is it walk-out, a workers’ strike on the streets. While the lawyer continues to press Bartleby to do various tasks, the scrivener instead does less and less. Bartleby eventually starts living in the office as he maintains his One avenue might be something akin to Herman Melville’s infamous “Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street.” In it, a Wall Street staunch andlawyer paralyzing hires a new “I wouldclerk who, prefer after not an intenseto.” period of impressive work, simply refuses to make another copy or do any of the other office tasks expected of him. Whenever the lawyer asks Bartleby to do something, Bartleby quietly utters, “I would prefer not to.” The phrase beguiles the lawyer: It’s not exactly a bold-faced rebuttal, nor is it walk-out, a workers’ strike on the streets. While the lawyer continues to press Bartleby to do various tasks, the scrivener instead does less and less. Bartleby eventually starts living in the office as he maintains his staunch and paralyzing “I would prefer not to.”
‘Blake Rayne:‘Blake Cabin Rayne: of the Cabin Accused,’ of the Accused,’ exhibition exhibition view, view, Blaffer Blaffer Art Art Museum Museum at at the the UniversityUniversity of of Houston Houston
I thought aboutI thought Bartleby about Bartleby while viewing while viewing Blake Blake Rayne: Rayne: Cabin Cabin of ofthe the Accused Accused atat thethe Blaffer Blaffer Art Art Museum Museum at the at University the University of Houston. of Houston. Rayne’s first Rayne’s first midcareer survey is full of linguistic disruptions and quiet repetitions, bringing to mind the scrivener’s disarming resistance. Wall Street midcareer doesn’tsurvey know is full the of act linguistic of “preferring disruptions not to” —and the quiet simple repetitions, statement has bringing so much to power mind not the just scrivener’s because it interrupts disarming but resistance. because it also Wall Street doesn’t knowcreates the a actlingering of “preferring silence in its not lack to” of —alternatives. the simple For statement me, Rayne’s has oeuvre so muchand exhibition power notembody just abecause similar act it ininterrupts the various but refusals. because it also creates a lingering silence in its lack of alternatives. For me, Rayne’s oeuvre and exhibition embody a similar act in the various refusals.
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Blake Rayne, “Untitled Painting No. 32 (Cover Letter)” (2015) (photo by Thomas Müller, courtesy of the artist, Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, and Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York)
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com Take the series “A Line (Cover Letter)” (2011–16), in which felt letter “a”s spill gently off of five large canvases and onto the floor. The way the huge monochrome vowel exceeds the frame does more than simply break the rectangular format; it forces speech into the exhibition space. But Takeit’s a the particular series “A kindLine (Cover of speech Letter)” act: (2011–16), the five canvases in which felt in lettera row “a”s become spill gently almost off oflike five a largekind canvases of stutter. and Asonto the the letter floor. “a” The shifts way from purple to tan,the huge then monochrome to olive green, vowel a exceedsdeep red, the andframe finally does more a kind than of simply royal breakblue acrossthe rectangular the wall format; of canvases, it forces itspeech loses into its thesingularity exhibition as a letter in the alphabet, becomingspace. But it’s instead a particular a sound, kind anof speechinterruption, act: the five a shape. canvases in a row become almost like a kind of stutter. As the letter “a” shifts from purple to tan, then to olive green, a deep red, and finally a kind of royal blue across the wall of canvases, it loses its singularity as a letter in the Part of whatalphabet, makes becoming Rayne’s instead work soa sound, interesting an interruption, is this lingering a shape. between things — this neither/nor. One of my favorite moments in the exhibition Partoccurs of what in the makes second Rayne’s room, work on so interestingthe back ofis thisthe lingeringlong wall between that slices things the — thisroom neither/nor. in half. Rounding One of my thefavorite corner, moments one infinds the a lone piece propped againstexhibition the occurs wall, “Selfin the Addressedsecond room, Stamped on the back Envelop” of the long (2010), wall that which slices consists the room of in ahalf. seven-foot-tall Rounding the aluminumcorner, one findsrod wrappeda lone piece with two sections ofpropped cotton against painted the in wall, red “Self and Addressed yellow acrylic. Stamped The Envelop” bright (2010), primary-colored which consists cotton of a seven-foot-tall has the texture aluminum of washcloths. rod wrapped Casually with two leaning there, the piece feelssections as thoughof cotton it painted is waiting in red to and be yellowactivated. acrylic. But, The given bright the primary-colored title, is it a reminder cotton has tothe the texture artist of towashcloths. do something? Casually Or leaning a confirmation there, that somethingthe was piece already feels asdone? though it is waiting to be activated. But, given the title, is it a reminder to the artist to do something? Or a confirmation that something was already done?
‘Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused,’ exhibition view, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston
For me, “Self Addressed Stamped Envelop” exemplifies the power of Bartleby the scrivener. It seems itself to be saying, “I would prefer not to” — prefer not to be a painting, prefer not to let you in on its secret, prefer not to let you know whether it has been used or is about to be. ‘Blake Rayne:And Cabin it serves of the as Accused,’ an invitation exhibition to consider view, the Blaffer before Art and Museum after, theat the silence University around of the Houston object. Rayne’s work and curatorial fellow Javier Sánchez Martínez’s skillful arrangement has created an environment that curates silence and silent refusal into a whole organism. For me, “Self Addressed Stamped Envelop” exemplifies the power of Bartleby the scrivener. It seems itself to be saying, “I would prefer not In his powerfully lyrical essay on Bartleby, philosopher Gilles Deleuze writes of the way in which the phrase of refusal creates a “music in its to” — preferstuttering not to language” be a painting, and nearly prefer “carves not out to leta kind you of in foreign on its language secret, withinprefer language.” not to let While you Rayne’sknow whether more painterly it has 2008–09 been used “Untitled” or is about to be. And it servesworks as canan invitationat first appear to aconsider bit decorative, the before if you stay and in after, them thea little silence longer, around the spray-painted the object. patterns Rayne’s on gessoedwork and linen curatorial start to look fellow like pre- Javier Sánchez Martínez’slinguistic hunks skillful or ruins arrangement of a forgotten has typeface. created Patterns, an environment yes, but in thethat context curates of silencethe show and as a silentwhole, refusalthey are intobroken a wholealphabets, organism. paused screensavers looping endlessly between letters appearing and disappearing. Suspended in different pre-linguistic states, Rayne’s paintings start In his powerfullyto feel like lyrical this “foreign essay on language Bartleby within, philosopher language.” Gilles Deleuze writes of the way in which the phrase of refusal creates a “music in its stuttering language” and nearly “carves out a kind of foreign language within language.” While Rayne’s more painterly 2008–09 “Untitled” works can at first appear a bit decorative, if you stay in them a little longer, the spray-painted patterns on gessoed linen start to look like pre- linguistic hunks or ruins of a forgotten typeface. Patterns, yes, but in the context of the show as a whole, they convertedare broken by Web2PDFConvert.com alphabets, paused screensavers looping endlessly between letters appearing and disappearing. Suspended in different pre-linguistic states, Rayne’s paintings start to feel like this “foreign language within language.”
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‘Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused,’ exhibition view, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston
At times like this, one wonders what the future holds for painting. What can painting do? In a moment where versions of reality that don’t line up exactly with that of the current US administration are being silenced; in a moment where Donald Trump’s tweets and bullying remarks toward a handicapped reporter get remixed with Snapchat face-swaps and cat videos, maybe painting can “prefer not to.” This is not to say that painting production should ignore the unending mashups, resting aloof and outside of a culture that, day by day, appears to be increasingly like an episode of Black Mirror. Rather, it’s to say that painting can still enact a haunting a neither/nor, a silence that bewilders and pauses us in the vein of Rayne and Bartleby the scrivener.
converted by Web2PDFConvert.com Take the series “A Line (Cover Letter)” (2011–16), in which felt letter “a”s spill gently off of five large canvases and onto the floor. The way the huge monochrome vowel exceeds the frame does more than simply break the rectangular format; it forces speech into the exhibition space. But it’s a particular kind of speech act: the five canvases in a row become almost like a kind of stutter. As the letter “a” shifts from purple to tan, then to olive green, a deep red, and finally a kind of royal blue across the wall of canvases, it loses its singularity as a letter in the alphabet, becoming instead a sound, an interruption, a shape.
Part of what makes Rayne’s work so interesting is this lingering between things — this neither/nor. One of my favorite moments in the exhibition occurs in the second room, on the back of the long wall that slices the room in half. Rounding the corner, one finds a lone piece propped against the wall, “Self Addressed Stamped Envelop” (2010), which consists of a seven-foot-tall aluminum rod wrapped with two sections of cotton painted in red and yellow acrylic. The bright primary-colored cotton has the texture of washcloths. Casually leaning there, the piece feels as though it is waiting to be activated. But, given the title, is it a reminder to the artist to do something? Or a confirmation that something was already done?
‘Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused,’ exhibition view, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston
For me, “Self Addressed Stamped Envelop” exemplifies the power of Bartleby the scrivener. It seems itself to be saying, “I would prefer not to” — prefer not to be a painting, prefer not to let you in on its secret, prefer not to let you know whether it has been used or is about to be. And it serves as an invitation to consider the before and after, the silence around the object. Rayne’s work and curatorial fellow Javier Sánchez Martínez’s skillful arrangement has created an environment that curates silence and silent refusal into a whole organism.
In his powerfully lyrical essay on Bartleby, philosopher Gilles Deleuze writes of the way in which the phrase of refusal creates a “music in its stuttering language” and nearly “carves out a kind of foreign language within language.” While Rayne’s more painterly 2008–09 “Untitled” works can at first appear a bit decorative, if you stay in them a little longer, the spray-painted patterns on gessoed linen start to look like pre- linguistic hunks or ruins of a forgotten typeface. Patterns, yes, but in the context of the show as a whole, they are broken alphabets, paused screensavers looping endlessly between letters appearing and disappearing. Suspended in different pre-linguistic states, Rayne’s paintings start to‘Blake feel Rayne: like this Cabin “foreign of the Accused,’ language exhibition within language.” view, Blaffer Art Museum at the University of Houston
At times like this, one wonders what the future holds for painting. What can painting do? In a moment where versions of reality that don’t line up exactly with that of the current US administration are being silenced; in a moment where Donald Trump’s tweets and bullying converted by Web2PDFConvert.com remarks toward a handicapped reporter get remixed with Snapchat face-swaps and cat videos, maybe painting can “prefer not to.” This is not to say that painting production should ignore the unending mashups, resting aloof and outside of a culture that, day by day, appears to be increasingly like an episode of Black Mirror. Rather, it’s to say that painting can still enact a haunting a neither/nor, a silence that bewilders and pauses us in the vein of Rayne and Bartleby the scrivener.
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Blake Rayne, “Almanac (2013) (photo by Florian Kleinefenn, courtesy of the artist, Blaffer Art Museum, Houston, and Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York)
Blake Rayne: Cabin of the Accused continues at the Blaffer Art Museum (120 Fine Arts Building, Houston) through March 18.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exhibition: Blake Rayne, These Pellets Here This Powder There
Location: 36 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002
Dates: May 1 – June 19, 2016
Reception: Sunday, May 1, 6 – 8PM
Miguel Abreu Gallery is pleased to announce the opening, on Sunday, May 1st, of These Pellets Here This Powder There, Blake Rayne’s fifth solo exhibition at the gallery. On view at our 36 Orchard Street space, the show is comprised of the following: 3/4 inch wide steel banding designed to be used to secure crates to their pallets during overseas shipments is here unspooled from its coil and employed to form a drawing in the space, made from the front to the back of the gallery. Once established, this drawing is held together by paperclips and compressed into a frame that shares a dimension with the series of paintings that adorn the walls. A group of 60 x 45 inch paintings are the result of a similar steel banding drawing, albeit one produced in Rayne’s current Navy Yard studio. The banding was again compressed within a temporary frame around the edges of the paintings and utilized as a soft stencil to create a white looping line lightly dusted with aerated acrylic paint in layers of various colors. The paperclips that initially held the banding together were released to allow for expansion into final shape of each of the line compositions. They now appear as silhouettes, while 8 1/2 x 11 inch US letter-sized portions of the white canvas are left exposed, containing short texts traced in graphite. Two large 8 1/2 x 11 foot acrylic polymer and pigment paintings that evoke the endpapers that bind a book’s cover to its content bracket the smaller paintings and function within the exhibition’s scenography as quasi-backdrops against which the steel banding and gallery staff are positioned. The gallery desk, having been rotated 90º and moved from its usual position to the adjacent wall, such that it appears to be a pier extending out into the gallery, is covered by a sheet of thick glass, straddling the divide between a museum vitrine on the one hand, and, on the other, a bar. The name of the exhibition, spelled out in Helvetica, is painted in glossy acrylic polymer on the gallery wall with the use of a vinyl stencil, disappearing into the wall and visible only in raking light. The gallery shelves, cleared of most of their content, will display several copies of Rayne’s Gangs of New York City artist’s book zip tied together so that only one copy is perusable. The book itself juxtaposes historical images of New York City police uniforms with drawings made with the fat Rayne collected from his semi-regular pig roasts at his former studio. A looping 6 minute film, transferred from video to 16mm, will project against the wall. Entitled La Libertad, after the municipality on the coast of El Salvador where it was shot, the film depicts a sounder of pigs at the beach, eating clams. For Rayne, painting is not only to be defined through its material components, it also exists as a fleeting sign that requires testing, stretching, and constant reassessment so as to remain alive in permanently renewed cultural circumstances. Taken together, the works in this compact exhibition, which expand from drawing to sculpture, performance to painting, and film to scenography, demonstrate Rayne’s ambivalent, constantly reimagined and dynamic relationship towards the medium of painting, while also recalling the constituent parts of the gallery’s inaugural exhibition ten years ago, Empedocles/Hölderlin, Cézanne/Gasquet, Straub/Huillet, Dominique Païni & Blake Rayne: two films, one text & paintings.
88 Eldridge Street / 36 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002 • 212.995.1774 • [email protected] www.miguelabreugallery.com “Blake Rayne, ‘These Pellets Here This Powder There’” Time Out New York, May 30, 2016
Blake Rayne, “These Pellets Here This Powder There”
Art , Contemporary art Miguel Abreu Gallery (/newyork/art/galleries/miguel-abreu-gallery) , Lower East Side Until SundBayl Jaunke e19 2R01a6 yn e , “T h es Aed dP reevilelwe ts Here This Powder There”
Art , Contemporary art Miguel Abreu Gallery (/newyork/art/galleries/miguel-abreu-gallery) , Lower East Side Until Sunday June 19 2016 Add review
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POSTED: MONDAY MAY 30 2016 POSTED: MONDAY MAY 30 2016 MIGUEL ABREU GALLERY !
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exhibition: Blake Rayne On Fridays We Have Half Days
Dates: May 9 – June 25, 2014
Reception: Friday, May 9, 6 – 9PM
Miguel Abreu Gallery is pleased to announce Blake Rayne’s On Fridays We Have Half Days, opening at the gallery on Friday, May 9th, 2014.
In his fourth solo exhibition at the gallery, Rayne unveils a sequence of events, or media studies, as he calls them, that build upon a series of recent solo exhibitions including Blake Rayne (2013), Almanac (2013), Wild Country (2012), and This is New York City (2012).
Here, the exhibition begins with an architectural intervention comprised of an amendment to one of the two bookshelves that have been inside the front windows of 36 Orchard Street since the gallery’s inaugural exhibition in 2006. Creating a passage between the gallery’s two locations, the exhibition moves from this deinstallation to a consideration of painting as a spatial practice, materially displacing a series of cinematic terms into a group of at once familiar, yet surprising objects.
For instance, the “dissolve” presents a single work comprised of ten pieces of paper individually dyed with Kool- Aid, and printed with an adhesive, which, while drying, is dusted with a layer of 7.66 ounces of walnut shell powder distributed across the individual prints until exhausted. Turning from the gradually dissolving legibility of the still (a desktop frame grab), the print series is completed by a C-print selected from Rayne’s ever expanding catalogue of iPhone image captures of the transparent glass border between the projection booth and the reflective screen in the cinema, in this case showing popcorn aligned on a narrow cill below it.
This image of an overexposed projection leads to the cinema scene itself, the following room featuring a mobile made of a bicycle frame rescued from a previous show featuring a constellation of prints. Live “culture”, further, is manifested by an upturned bucket of yogurt positioned on a pedestal of stacked rectangular cardboard “files” upon which a 108 minute looped video is projected.
The video loop opens to a composition of ten acrylic and oil paintings, each recording streams of movement and editing like a stuttering shot sequence, or “stop action” animation. The exhibition then concludes with a second architectural amendment to complement the first, an iris-sized shot through one of the gallery’s ten eastwardly facing windows, looking back towards the window alteration on Orchard Street where, along with the films of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, Rayne had the inaugural exhibition.
For more information or for visuals, please contact the gallery:
Miguel Abreu Gallery 88 Eldridge Street (between Hester & Grand) / 36 Orchard Street (between Canal & Hester) New York, NY 10002 Telephone 212.995.1774 • Fax 646.688.2302 • [email protected]
Hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 10:30AM to 6:30PM and by appointment Subway: F to East Broadway; B, D to Grand Street; J, M, Z to Delancey / Essex Street
! “Blake Rayne, ‘On Fridays We Have Half Days’,” Time Out New York, May 15-21, 2014
Blake Rayne, "On Fridays We Have Half Days"
The reasoning behind Rayne's work can seem inscrutable, meta to the point of incoherence, but he's proved himself adept at creating compelling objects, no matter the thinking behind them. This show, for example, includes architectural interventions to Abreu's space (some fussing with a bookshelf in the Orchard Street location; a hole shot through one of the windows in the Eldridge Street gallery); a mobile made from a bicycle frame; iPhone photos of the projection-booth window at a movie theater; and a video projection on a bucket of yogurt. A "consideration of painting as a spatial practice"? So Rayne claims. Hunter Braithwaite, “Blake Rayne,” Critics’ Picks, Artforum.com, December 2011
1/4/12 artforum.com / critics' picks Blake Rayne FORMALIST SIDEWALK POETRY CLUB 235 12th Street December 1–January 12 As if there wasn’t enough art to buy at Art Basel Miami Beach, this year’s edition marked an unprecedented move into retail. While several artists teamed up with luxury brands for limited edition purses (Anselm Reyle with Dior, Liam Gillick with Pringle of Scotland), Blake Rayne’s understocked exhibition at this gallery, with its three variations on one simple yet declarative sentence, took the whole fiasco to task. The piece, UNTITLED, 2011, features this single line replicated on two canvases displayed in a vertical column, and in an enlarged version projected onto the gallery’s back wall. In a font that brings to mind California (or at least its license plates), they each read: THIS IS NEW YORK CITY. View of “Blake Rayne,” 2011.
Rayne culled the text from New York’s first international advertising campaign, which began in 2007 with the sentence superimposed on stock images of the metropolis. The hurried, handwritten font extends Rayne’s previous work with typescripts, last seen with the giant serif a sliding off the wall at a 2010 show, titled “Folder and Application,” at Miguel Abreu Gallery in New York. By marrying identity to a font, the advertising campaign seems like the corporate shadow of work like Josh Smith’s “Stage Paintings,” 2011, and Joshua Abelow’s “Call Me Abstract,” 2010, both faux-Expressionistic series made up solely of the letters in the artist’s name or phone number. As such, Rayne’s show tries to identify a dividing line between style and brand.
As Rayne’s new paintings were copied from the original advertisement, the projector here serves as an anthropomorphic representation of the artist engaged not in creation but in broadcasting. The projector itself, which remains in its Styrofoam packaging, is also trained on an empty wall. The packaging is a metonymic entrée into the exhibition as a whole. Like the aforementioned font issue, it lampoons a recent trend through reduction: in this case, the packaging versus storage meme set up by Seth Price with his Holes, 2003, and continued by Cory Arcangel’s Volume Management, 2011, both of which feature televisions still in their boxes. It also underscores the exhibition as a waypoint on the larger traffic of commodities, which could be defined as objects that require Styrofoam. Rayne updates David Joselit’s 2009 essay “Painting Beside Itself” for the holiday season; painting has now been put on layaway.
— Hunter Braithwaite
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artforum.com/index.php?pn=picks&id=29892&view=print 1/1 John Beeson, “Mode of Production,” Texte zur Kunst, No. 84, December 2011, pp. 161-164
Blake Rayne, “Shade Subscription”, Capitain Petzel, Berlin, 2011, installation view
Blake Rayne, “Shade Subscription”, Capitain Petzel, Berlin, 2011, installation view
MODE OF PRODUCTION artistic output. If his production is in fact conceiv- John Beeson on Blake Rayne able as a mechanism, or if his process could be at Capitain Petzel, Berlin conceivable as the manipulation of established We sometimes talk about painting being dis- procedures, then what is more present: function- persedMODE OF– of PRODUCTION its logics of production and reception alityartistic in output.producing If his meaning, production functionality is in fact conceivin pro-- enteringJohn Beeson into onthe Blake forms R ofayne installation, sculpture, ducingable as apaintings, mechanism, or style? or if hisThe process bike – acould Raymond be photography,at Capitain Petzel, etc. But Berlin there are still grounds for Poulidor,conceivable a fancy as the racer manipulation named after of establisheda famous Weits criticism sometimes in thesetalk about expanded painting forms. being In Blakedis- Frenchprocedures, rider, then and whatin an isattractive more present: purple function color – - persedRayne’s – recent of its logicsexhibition of production “Shade Subscription”, and reception hasality plenty in producing of style. meaning,So does Rayne. functionality Some of in these pro- enteringhis painting into permeated the forms aof variety installation, of processes sculpture, worksducing exhibit paintings, characteristic or style? The traits; bike “RSVP” – a Raymond (all photography,and products, etc.and But it ranged there arein quality.still grounds Serving for to worksPoulidor, a ),fancy with racer its overlaid named textafter element a famous laser itscomplicate criticism such in these an evaluation expanded wasforms. the Infact Blake that in cutFrench from rider, a large and swath in an ofattractive felt, and purple “Felt Kindcolor of – Rayne’sthe case recentof some exhibition works, the “Shade artist Subscription”,appeared not Fun”,has plenty with ofits style. paint-soaked So does Rayne.towel wrapped Some of aroundthese histo be painting trying, permeatedat least not ain variety earnest. of Inprocesses the case aworks chrome exhibit pole, characteristic recall similarly traits; constructed “RSVP” (allworks andof others, products, he assumed and it ranged a critical in quality. attitude Serving toward to includedworks in), the with artist’s its overlaid exhibitions text element“Folder andlaser complicatecontemporary such painting. an evaluation was the fact that in Application”cut from a large at Miguel swath ofAbreu felt, Galleryand “Felt in KindNew ofYork the caseScattered of some throughout works, the Capitain artist appearedPetzel’s spacious not inFun”, with and its “Coastal paint-soaked Graphics” towel at wrappedSutton Lane around in togallery be trying, were severalat least partsnot in from earnest. a bicycle, In the acase motif Parisa chrome earlier pole, this recall year. similarlyBut do these constructed new works works ofthat others, aptly relateshe assumed to the a mechanism critical attitude of Rayne’s toward includedoffer something in the artist’s unique, exhibitions or uniquely “Folder meaningful? and contemporary painting. Application” at Miguel Abreu Gallery in New York Scattered throughout Capitain Petzel’s spacious in and “Coastal Graphics” at Sutton Lane in gallery were several parts from a bicycle, a motif Paris earlier this year. But do these new works 161that aptly relates to the mechanism of Rayne’s offer something unique, or uniquely meaningful?
161 Blake Rayne, “Blake”, 2011
Blake Rayne, “Blake”, 2011
The works in this exhibition in fact prompted famous study “Canvases and Careers” () by a concern for value, since many of the artist’s Harrison C. White and Cynthia A. White address- canvases contained pages collaged from the ing the relative output of Degas, Pissarro, Sisley, The New York Times featuring ads for such luxury and Manet. What we can glean from these charts commodities as Rolex and Cartier watches is that those painters produced much more work and TheChanel, works Gucci, in this and exhibition Prada accessories. in fact prompted As famousat the heights study “Canvasesof their and- to Careers”-year careers () –by ahighlighted concern for by value, Sam Lewitt’ssince many work of “Templates: the artist’s HarrisonPissarro created C. White andoil paintingsCynthia A. between White address - canvasessequence contained /… /” pages included collaged in his from exhibition the at ingand the relative and output between of Degas, andPissarro, ; Sisley,Manet TheGalerie New YorkDaniel Times Buchholz featuring in ads Berlin for suchlast year, luxury such andpainted Manet. worksWhat webetween can glean from and these and charts commoditiesads recur systematically. as Rolex and In Cartier the case watches of Rayne’s is that between those painters and produced . In such much a way,more Rayne work andworks, Chanel, on top Gucci, of the and pages Prada of newspaperaccessories. and As atcritiques the heights the habit of their of over-production- to -year careers that appar – - highlightedextending onto by Sam other Lewitt’s areas ofwork the “Templates:substrate, the Pissarroently sets created in when anoil artist paintings achieves between widespread sequenceartist silkscreened /… / ”tables included of information in his exhibition from the at andrecognition. and between and ; Manet Galerie Daniel Buchholz in Berlin last year, such painted works between and and ads recur systematically. In the case of Rayne’s between and . In such a way, Rayne works, on top of the pages of newspaper and critiques the habit of over-production that appar- extending162 onto other areas of the substrate, the ently sets in when an artist achieves widespread artist silkscreened tables of information from the recognition.
162 And in one fell swoop, he implicates his peers : Year-by-Year Count of Impressionist Paintings”, in this criticism at the same time that he thus beside it a chrome rod wrapped in a lime-green considers them – himself included – raised to that paint-soaked towel, and the red light cast through level of accomplishment. To pointed effect, the a filter by one of the gallery’s overhead bulbs series “Rest in Shade –” co-opts the signature of onto a white wall. Here, the emphasis is on the R. H. Quaytman, which is collage and printmak- composite aesthetic of the works in installation. ing methods on wood-mounted dibond. By lining They do have a certain intrigue, especially in up five panels that repeat the same construction that Rayne attends relatively subtly to forms that and sometimes reuse the same screens, Rayne are quite distant. As an addition to his palette by invoked seriality, reproductive processes as a means of the gallery’s standard light fixtures, the mode of creation, and the progression moving red light on the wall emphasizes the space’s physi- from panel to panel. Still, from another perspec- cal specificity and the work’s complicity with its tive, having reproduced information that he could context in determining its presence. have supplied on just one panel, Rayne in fact Works that supported a dialogue on view- embodied the very notion of increased produc- ing and on the artist’s act of submitting material tion with its connotation of commercial incen- to be viewed maintained a particular connec- tive. Thus, by comparing the series’ title with the tion to exhibition venue. “Slöt”, which concerns exhibition’s, one could deduce that the “shade” this topic from multiple perspectives, is a series to which the artist alludes is a leisurely, perhaps of canvases wedged lengthwise between two luxurious retreat. parallel, temporary walls. A canvas collaged Distinct because of the idiosyncrasy of its with newspaper sits flush with the walls on one means, “Blake”, an installation comprising the end. Set slightly back from the opposite end is a two wheels of the bicycle, twigs, and leaves canvas, also facing out, but which is blank, white, arranged on the floor, constitutes “a portrait of and wrapped in clear plastic. Raised above the the artist as autumnal still-life” – a mere smiley ground, cordoning off the space behind it, and face. Fragile but unconcerned, the assemblage given its appearance as a door set between the suggests a method of production based on the two walls, the form contributes to the delineation treatment of available elements. These elements of a stall-type space, generally, and, specifically, are categorically readymade, and their facile a stall in a public bathroom. The installation thus arrangement has as little command on aesthetic deridingly implies that either for having sought primacy as did the traditional examples of that this privacy (of contemplating objects in a gal- method, without any of their conceptual primacy. lery) or given the natural inclination to peer into Call it irony or call it abuse, this is a brazen vul- the space hidden within this construction, the garization of the readymade gesture. viewer’s motivation is furtive. This voyeuristic Another field of installation comprises “Unti- narrative was extended as viewers ascended the tled” – the bike’s frame, standing upside-down; staircase to the showroom-style gallery’s upper next to it “Felt Kind of Fun”, a painted-cyan level. No works were displayed here, but the bench shrouded in a felt stencil version of “Table mezzanine offers a view of the top sections of
163 the eleven other canvases wedged inside “Slöt”, taken individually, Rayne’s diverse products did which obscured one another. Up above, at a point not always stand on solid grounds. And their from which one could both see and be seen, one interaction was not harmonious but rather cumu- was drawn into a dialogue with the artist on the lative. As nameable subjects combined with the negotiation between revealing and concealing. artist’s multifarious points of reference as well as What was earlier referred to as Rayne’s critical the particulars of the exhibition space, the works attitude toward painting could also be considered began to address something that was not founded a wayward self-reflection. In this exhibition, on the painter’s interiority (or accessible by an Rayne’s recourse was to enact a scatological inter- analysis of the artist’s activity as earnest expres- pretation of painting that metaphorically engaged sion) or on what was contained on the painted our understanding of the artist’s interiority. The surface. Rayne’s treatment of references and pro- viewer’s space was recurrently bracketed into a cesses spoke distantly but in a way gainfully in an type of stall or stalls – such was the case with artistic language – in fact in several languages – the three painted-white cardboard boxes lined about those traditions that are neither formal, up along the back wall of the gallery space, all of nor conceptual, but which are rather practical or which have two squares of toilet paper draped procedural. over their forms. Naturally, they are titled “Stall , , ”. Beside them hung a canvas that had been Blake Rayne, “Shade Subscription”, Capitain Petzel, Berlin, September – October , . smeared and scratched, daubed and splattered with complementary colors, resulting in a rather energetically treated brown. One of the bicycle’s tire tubes also encircles the canvas, entitled “Goat (Back in the Tube)”. Into this constellation of elements it is difficult not to read a reference to Robert Rauschenberg’s “Monogram” (–), his combine including an Angora goat donning a tire around its middle. This reference teeters so precipitously over the work that Rayne’s activity seems unable to get a word in otherwise, to carve out space for anything like sincere, autonomous meaning. From here, one can justly return to the initial query. To what end does Rayne’s activity in pro- ducing “Shade Subscription” most prominently point? The response: from a starting point of painting, by methods that are tried and true – if abused – and back to production that bears the name Blake Rayne and the current year. When
164 Bruno Macaeb, “Blake Rayne’s ‘Shade Subscription’,” ArtAgenda.com, October 11, 2011
by BRUNO MACAES October 11, 2011 by BRUNO MACAES October 11, 2011 by BRUNO MACAES October 11, 2011
byby BRUNOBRUNO MACAESMACAES OctoberOctober 11,11, 20112011 Blake Rayne’s “Shade Subscription”Blake Rayne’s “Shade Subscription” CAPITAIN PETZELBlakeBlake, Berlin Rayne’sRayne’s “Shade“Shade CAPITAIN PETZEL, Berlin CAPITAIN PETZEL, Berlin September 17–OctoberSubscription”Subscription” 29, 2011 September 17–October 29, 2011 September 17–OctoberCAPITAINCAPITAIN PETZELPETZEL 29, 2011,, BerlinBerlin
ShareShareShareSeptemberSeptemberShare 17–October17–October 29,29, 20112011 ShareShareShareShare by BRUNO MACAES October 11, 2011 ShareShareShareShareShareShareShareShare An autumnal smiley face—made out of two bicycle wheels, some tree twigs, and someAn autumnal dry leaves smiley (freckles face—made from summer?)—is out of two bicycle the first wheels, thing some greeting tree the twigs, viewer and of some dry leaves (freckles from summer?)—is the first thing greeting the viewer of 1 Blake Rayne, Rest in Shade 4, 2011. Blakesome dryRayne’s leavesAnAn autumnalautumnal“Shade (freckles Subscription.” smileysmiley from face—madeface—made summer?)—is Once outout we ofof the go twotwo behindfirst bicyclebicycle thing the wheels,wheels, greeting wall somesome abutting the treetree viewer twigs, twigs,this andandof 1 Blake Rayne, Rest in Shade 4, 2011. Blake Rayne’s “Shade Subscription.” Once we go behind the wall abutting this 1 Blake Rayne, Rest in Shade 4, 2011. Blake Rayne’ssomesome Rayne’s“Shade drydry leavesleaves Subscription.” (freckles(freckles “Shade fromfrom Once summer?)—issummer?)—is we go behind thethe firstfirst the thing thingwall greetingabuttinggreeting thethe this viewerviewer ofof work, named after the artist himself, Blake (2011), it seems only appropriate that 11 BlakeBlake Rayne,Rayne, RestRest inin ShadeShade 44,, 2011.2011. work, namedBlakeBlake after Rayne’sRayne’s the artist “Shade“Shade himself, Subscription.”Subscription.” Blake (2011), OnceOnce wewe it gogoseems behindbehind only thethe appropriate wallwall abuttingabutting that thisthis Subscription”wework, should named now after come the upon artist the himself, hapless Blake bicycle (2011), frame, it seemsturned only upside appropriate down: a truethat we should nowwork,work, come namednamed upon afterafter the thethe hapless artistartist himself,himself, bicycle BlakeBlake frame, (2011),(2011), turned itit seemsseems upside onlyonly down: appropriateappropriate a true thatthat downer,we should a bikenow goingcome nowhere.upon the hapless bicycle frame, turned upside down: a true downer,CAPITAIN a PETZEL bikewewe shouldshould going, Berlin now nownowhere. comecome uponupon thethe haplesshapless bicyclebicycle frame,frame, turnedturned upsideupside down:down: aa truetrue downer, a bike going nowhere. downer,downer, aa bikebike goinggoing nowhere.nowhere. September 17–October 29, 2011 The logic of the readymade dictates as much, as Rayne illustrates with his series The logic of the readymade dictates as much, as Rayne illustrates with his series of paintingsTheThe Rest logiclogic in ofShadeof thethe readymadereadymade (2011). There dictatesdictates are asas literally much,much, as asendless RayneRayne illustratesissuesillustrates of the withwith New hishis seriesseries ofShare paintingsShareShareofShare Rest paintings in Shade Rest (2011).in Shade There (2011). are There literally are literally endless endless issues issues of the of New the New York Timesof that paintings could Rest have in been Shade used (2011). here, There a new are oneliterally being endless produced issues every of the day.New York TimesYorkYork that Times Timescould thatthat have couldcould been havehave used beenbeen here, usedused a here,newhere, one aa newnew being oneone being beingproduced producedproduced every everyevery day. day.day. But Rayne has chosen to show us only the reverse side of the front page, which But Rayne ButhasBut RaynechosenRayne hashas to chosenchosenshow us toto showonlyshow the usus onlyonly reverse thethe reversereverse side of sideside the of offront thethe front frontpage, page,page, which whichwhich has its daily constants: Chanel, for instance, has a monopoly on the upper-left- hasAn autumnal its dailyhashas constants: smiley itsits dailydaily face—made constants:constants: Chanel, for Chanel, Chanel,out instance, of twoforfor instance,instance, bicycle has a monopoly wheels, hashas aa monopolymonopoly some on the tree onon upper-left- thethetwigs, upper-left-upper-left- and hand corner of page two. But by superimposing these newspaper pages with a handsome cornerdry leaveshandhand of page cornercorner(freckles two. ofof page pageButfrom two.bytwo. summer?)—is superimposing ButBut byby superimposingsuperimposing the these first newspaperthing thesethese newspapergreetingnewspaper pages the pagespages with viewer withwith a of aa scholarly graph showing us the number of paintings produced each decade by 1 Blake Rayne, Rest in Shade 4, 2011. Blakescholarly Rayne’s graphscholarlyscholarly “Shade showing graphgraph Subscription.” us showingshowing the number usus thethe Once number numberof paintingswe go ofof behind paintingspaintings produced the producedproduced wall each abutting eacheachdecade decadedecade this by byby somescholarly famous graph Impressionists, showing us the Rayne number wants of paintings to suggest produced that the sameeach decadelogic— by some famoussomesome Impressionists, famousfamous Impressionists,Impressionists, Rayne wants RayneRayne to wantswants suggest toto suggestsuggest that the thatthat same thethe samesame logic— logic—logic— somework, famousnamed afterImpressionists, the artist himself, Rayne wantsBlake to(2011), suggest it seems that the only same appropriate logic— that endless productionendlessendless productionproduction across a spectrum acrossacross aa spectrumspectrum of variations—was ofof variations—wasvariations—was at play atat in playplay their inin theirtheir work. work.work. On OnOn endlesswe should production now come across upon a the spectrum hapless of bicycle variations—was frame, turned at play upside in their down: work. a true On this point thethisthis current pointpoint thethe show currentcurrent adds showshow an addsintriguingadds anan intriguingintriguing suggestion. suggestion.suggestion. Perhaps PerhapsPerhaps there therethere is more isis moremore thisdowner, point a thebike current going nowhere. show adds an intriguing suggestion. Perhaps there is more in commoninin between commoncommon the betweenbetween readymade thethe readymadereadymade and abstraction andand abstractionabstraction than one thanthan might oneone mightmight surmise surmisesurmise at atat in commonfirst: between they arethe both readymade interested and in theabstraction relatively thanformless one space might of surmisepossibility: at the first: they arefirst: both they interested are both interested in the relatively in the relatively formless formless space space of possibility: of possibility: the the first:The logic they of arespacespace the both readymade beforebefore interested realityreality dictates takes takesin the anan asrelatively individualizedindividualized much, asformless Rayne shape.shape. illustratesspace of possibility: with his series the space before reality takes an individualized shape. of paintings Rest in Shade (2011). There are literally endless issues of the New 2 22BlakeBlakeBlake Rayne, Rayne,Rayne, RSVPRSVP,, , 2011. 2011.2011. space before reality takes an individualized shape. 2 Blake Rayne, RSVP, 2011. York TimesThe that main could work have in thisbeen show, used Slöt here, (2011), a new could one be being described produced as a machine every day. for 2 Blake Rayne, RSVP, 2011. The main workThe main in this work show, in this Slöt show, (2011), Slöt could(2011), be could described be described as a machine as a machine for for ButThe Raynemain work artistichasartistic chosen in production.production.this toshow, show WedgedSlötWedged us (2011),only tightlytightly the could reverse betweenbetween be describedside twotwo ofgallerygallery the as front walls,walls, a machine page, RayneRayne which hashasfor alignedaligned artisticThe main production. work in this Wedged show, tightlySlöt (2011), between could two be gallery described walls, as Raynea machine has alignedfor hasartistic its daily production.thirteenthirteen constants: canvasescanvases Wedged Chanel, inin tightly suchsuch for a ainstance, betweenwayway thatthat only onlyhastwo theathegallery monopoly twotwo outside outsidewalls, on Rayne worksworks the upper-left- can canhas bebe aligned seenseen fromfrom thirteenartistic production. canvases in Wedged such a way tightly that between only the two two gallery outside walls, works Rayne can be has seen aligned from thirteen canvasesthethe groundground in such floor,floor, a and andway oneone that ofof only thesethese the outsideoutside two canvasesoutsidecanvases works isis wrappedwrapped can inbein plastic plasticseen from thirteenhand corner canvases of page in two.such Buta way by thatsuperimposing only the two these outside newspaper works can pages be seen with froma the groundpackaging. packaging.floor, and From Fromone of thethe these mezzaninemezzanine outside above,above, canvases thethe impressionimpression is wrapped isis of ofin aa plastic giganticgigantic canvascanvas thescholarly ground graph floor, showing and one us of the these number outside of canvasespaintings is produced wrapped each in plastic decade by packaging. container.container.From the TheThemezzanine smallsmall visiblevisible above, portionportion the impression ofof thethe fifthfifth canvascanvas is of a showsshows gigantic usus whatwhat canvas lookslooks likelike somepackaging. famous From Impressionists, the mezzanine Rayne above, wants the toimpression suggest that is of the a gigantic same logic— canvas container.packaging. The ananFrom organicorganic small the shape,visiblemezzanineshape, part partportion ofof above, aa plant plantof the the oror fifth bird.impressionbird. canvas Indeed,Indeed, shows istwotwo of of ofa theusgiganticthe what partiallypartially lookscanvas hiddenhidden like endlesscontainer. production The small across visible a portionspectrum of ofthe variations—was fifth canvas shows at play us whatin their looks work. like On ancontainer. organic Theworksshape,works small referrefer part visible toto of oldold a plant themes themesportion or ofof bird. of thethe the artist, artist,Indeed, fifth eveneven canvas two ifif thethe of shows visitorthevisitor partially us wouldwould what notnothidden looks necessarilynecessarily like thisan organic point the shape, current part show of a plant adds oran bird.intriguing Indeed, suggestion. two of the Perhaps partially there hidden is more worksan organic refer knowshape,know to old this.this. partthemes WhatWhat of a of do doplant the theythey artist,or matter,matter, bird. even theseIndeed,these if oldtheold twoideas?ideas?visitor of TheyTheythe would partially areare not nownow necessarily ininhidden thethe past,past, inworks common refer tobetween old themes the readymade of the artist, and even abstraction if the visitor than would one might not necessarily surmise at knowworks this. refer Whatreplacedreplaced to old do themes by bythey thethe matter, next nextof the bigbig artist, thesething.thing. oldWhileevenWhile ideas? if dramatizingdramatizing the Theyvisitor are thethewould now slightlyslightly innot the embarrassing embarrassingnecessarily past, first:know they this. are Whatconcept both do ofinterested they an artistic matter, in career, thethese relatively this old piece ideas? formlessis also They a reflection arespace now of on inpossibility: the fallpast, from the grace replacedknow this. by Whatconcept the next do of they bigan artistic thing.matter, career,While these thisdramatizing old piece ideas? is also They the a reflectionslightly are now embarrassing onin thethe fall past, from grace spacereplaced before bywhichwhich the reality next isis anan takes big essentialessential thing. an individualized part partWhile ofof every everydramatizing artwork.artwork. shape. WhattheWhat slightly startedstarted embarrassing asas limitlesslimitless possibilitypossibility conceptreplaced of by an the artistic next big career, thing. this While piece dramatizing is also a reflection the slightly on the embarrassing fall from grace concept of anbecomesbecomes artistic oneone career, workwork among amongthis piece millions,millions, is also andand a fromreflectionfrom thisthis surrendersurrender on the fall toto thethefrom worldworld grace itit cancan 2 Blake Rayne, RSVP, 2011. whichconcept is ofan an essential artistic partcareer, of everythis piece artwork. is also What a reflection started ason limitless the fall from possibility grace which is annever neveressential recover.recover. part ItIt of isis noteverynot aa mechanicalmechanical artwork. What process,process, started ofof course,course, as limitless asas RayneRayne possibility triestries toto showshow byby whichThe main is an work essential in this part show, of every Slöt (2011), artwork. could What be starteddescribed as limitlessas a machine possibility for becomes oneincluding work among and thus millions, depicting and a number from this of accidents surrender along to thethe worldway. it can artisticbecomes production. oneincluding work among Wedgedand thus millions, depictingtightly betweenand a number from two this of accidentsgallery surrender walls, along to Rayne the way.world has italigned can neverbecomes recover. one work It is amongnot a mechanical millions, and process, from ofthis course, surrender as Rayne to the tries world to showit can by thirteennever recover. canvases It is in not such a mechanical a way that onlyprocess, the twoof course, outside as works Rayne can tries be to seen show from by includingnever recover. andBlakeBlake thusIt RayneRayneis notdepicting grapplesgrapplesa mechanical a herenumberhere withwith process, of importantimportant accidents of course, questions,questions, along as theRayne thoughtfulthoughtful way. tries questions.questions. to show by HeHe isis theincluding ground and floor, thus and depicting one of these a number outside of accidentscanvases isalong wrapped the way. in plastic including andstill,still, thus asas inin depicting previousprevious shows showsa number inin NewNew of York Yorkaccidents andand Bergen,Bergen, along deeplydeeplythe way. concernedconcerned withwith thethe 33 BlakeBlake Rayne,Rayne, SlötSlöt,, 2011.2011. packaging. statusstatusFrom ofofthe paintingpainting mezzanine inin thethe above, ageage ofof mechanical mechanicalthe impression reproduction,reproduction, is of a gigantic butbut hehe seemsseems canvas toto havehave Blake Rayne grapples here with important questions, thoughtful questions. He is Blakecontainer. Rayne Thereconceivedreconceived grapples small visible herewhatwhat withthethe portion mainmain important challengechallengeof the fifthquestions, toto paintingcanvaspainting thoughtful shows reallyreally is. is.us RatherRather what questions. looks thanthan reducingreducing likeHe is 3 Blake Rayne, Slöt, 2011. still, as in previous shows in New York and Bergen, deeply concerned with the 3 Blake Rayne, Slöt, 2011. anstill, organic as in previous shape,painting part showsto its of material a in plant New medium,or York bird. and Indeed,Rayne Bergen, has two reduced deeply of the itconcerned partially to its immaterial hidden with the statusstill, as of in painting previouspainting in toshows the its materialage in ofNew mechanical medium, York and Rayne reproduction, Bergen, has reduced deeply but itconcerned to he its seems immaterial with to have the 3 Blake Rayne, Slöt, 2011. worksstatus ofrefer paintingbeginnings:beginnings: to old inthemes the hishis age work workof ofthe makesmakesmechanical artist, explicitexplicit even reproduction, andandif the visiblevisible visitor thethe wouldbut momentmoment he not seems whenwhen necessarily toaa paintingpainting have reconceivedstatus of painting what thein the main age challenge of mechanical to painting reproduction, really is. but Rather he seems than reducingto have knowreconceived this. 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AndAnd perhaps perhapsBy moving possibilitypossibility in this isis direction, notnot formlessformless Rayne afterafter all—orisall—or forced thethe to artistartist couldwhich haveis an becomeessential anything. part of every By moving artwork. in Whatthis direction, started as Rayne limitless is forced possibility to move furtherwouldwould away notnot from havehave painting succeededsucceeded than inin includingincluding he was eversoso manymany willing alternativesalternatives to before. withinwithin He ahasa singlesingle not work,work, movebecomes further onelike workaway a garden amongfrom of painting forking millions, paths. than and he from was thisever surrender willing to tobefore. the world He has it can not abandonedlike it: hisa garden installations of forking are paths. still largely composed around the theme of abandonednever recover. it: hisIt is installations not a mechanical are still process, largely of composed course, as around Rayne thetries theme to show of by painting itself. And perhaps possibility is not formless after all—or the artist paintingincluding itself. and thus And depictingperhaps possibility a number isof notaccidents formless along after the all—or way. the artist would not have succeeded in including so many alternatives within a single work, would not haveBrunoBruno succeeded MacaesMacaes isis anan inadviseradviser including toto thethe PortuguesePortuguese so many PrimePrime alternatives Minister.Minister. HeHe within isis onon leaveleave a single fromfrom thethe work, like a garden of forking paths. likeBlake a gardenRayneEuropeanEuropean grapplesof forking CollegeCollege here paths. ofof withLiberalLiberal important ArtsArts inin Berlin.Berlin. questions, HeHe hashas previouslypreviously thoughtful publishedpublished questions. artart reviewsreviews inin He TexteTexte is zurzur still, as in previousKunst.Kunst. shows in New York and Bergen, deeply concerned with the 3 44BlakeBlakeBlake Rayne, Rayne,Rayne, StallSlötStall , 1, 1,2011. 2,2, 33,, 2011.2011. status of painting in the age of mechanical reproduction, but he seems to have Bruno Macaes is an adviser to the Portuguese Prime Minister. He is on leave from the reconceivedBruno Macaes whatis an adviserthe main to the challenge Portuguese to Primepainting Minister. really He is. is Ratheron leave than from thereducing EuropeanBruno Macaes CollegeLEAVELEAVE is an of AAadviser Liberal COMMENTCOMMENT toArts the in Portuguese Berlin. He has Prime previously Minister. published He is on leaveart reviews from thein Texte zur paintingEuropean Collegeto its material of Liberal medium, Arts in Berlin. Rayne He hashas previously reduced publishedit to its immaterial art reviews in Texte zur Kunst.European College of Liberal Arts in Berlin. He has previously published art reviews in Texte zur 4 Blake Rayne, Stall 1, 2, 3, 2011. Kunst. 4 Blake Rayne, Stall 1, 2, 3, 2011. Kunst.beginnings: his work makes explicit and visible theNameName moment when a painting 4 Blake Rayne, Stall 1, 2, 3, 2011. could have become anything. By moving in this direction, Rayne is forced to move further away from painting than he was ever willing to before. He has not LEAVE A COMMENT LEAVE A COMMENT LEAVEabandoned A COMMENT it: his installations are still largely composed around the theme of painting itself. And perhaps possibility is not formless after all—or the artist Name would not have succeeded in including soName many alternatives within a single work, like a garden of forking paths.
Bruno Macaes is an adviser to the Portuguese Prime Minister. He is on leave from the European College of Liberal Arts in Berlin. He has previously published art reviews in Texte zur Kunst. 4 Blake Rayne, Stall 1, 2, 3, 2011.
LEAVE A COMMENT
Name miguel abreu gallery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Exhibition: Blake Rayne Folder and Application
Dates: May 9 – June 26, 2010
Reception: Sunday, May 9, 6 – 8PM
Miguel Abreu Gallery is pleased to present Blake Rayne’s Folder and Application, the artist’s third solo exhibition at the gallery. On view are a new series of paintings and floor works that are collectively structured by the protocols of application writing. Rayne’s work deftly traverses this organizing principle with its inherent semantic play. The “application folder” is modulated and distorted throughout the exhibition in a variety of slips and puns that signal broader contexts of material production, word processing, and employment. Indeed, one imagines that the figure who circulates throughout this exhibition (perhaps named “the folder”) is an artist in the situation of either only being precariously capable of applying his or herself to the vagaries of artistic self-representation, or one who is nimbly able to dodge its mandates. Out of this ambiguity, Rayne re-programs the application of the painter’s resources – computer, canvas, paint – as they are scripted within the social domain of artistic production.
The paintings in Folder and Application oscillate between strict chromatic reduction and the decorative logic of the applied arts. In much of this work, the activities of folding, spraying and stitching that have featured as dominant components in the construction of Rayne’s work for the past several years reappear in this exhibit as codified and elastic terms. These productive procedures surface here in a strangely distanced guise; as if to offer confirmation of a subject as much enveloped in a field of painting’s historical forms as he is preoccupied with applying himself to the task of employing them for use.
Rayne engages painting’s history as a field of tensions that compose the practice of painting as cultural sign. He attempts to work through the need for historical competence in understanding the possible relevance of painting for both the painter’s level of self-consciousness and for forces of legitimation within a corporate culture of information. This suggests that the sign “painting” is on the one hand always compensatory for other cultural interests. Nevertheless it also suggests a field of evasions and deflections, a material practice in which the artist is constantly displaced by language while being administered by institutional demands for certain types of artistic subjects: whether the latter be the hack enfant-terrible or the artist intent on legitimizing his/her endeavors with a trove of cultural reference. To some degree, Rayne attempts to organize a recognition of this dislocation by focusing on its more mundane and marginalized aspects: the laborious task of arranging one’s self-presentation for the filing of an application. Yet Rayne explodes the fixity of the terms of this arrangement in an attempt to open the possibility for examining the conditions of artistic self-enablement and perhaps, for agency.
For more information or for visuals, please contact the gallery:
36 Orchard Street (between Canal & Hester), New York, NY 10002 Tel 212.995.1774 • Fax 646.688.2302 • [email protected]
Gallery hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00 AM to 6:30 PM Subway: F to East Broadway; B, D to Grand Street or J, M, Z to Delancey / Essex Street
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Blake Rayne, "Folder & Application" Howard Halle, “Blake Rayne, ‘Folder & Application’,” Time Out New York, March 27-June 2, 2010, p. 48 Things To Do Food & Drink Arts & Culture Film Music & Nightlife Shopping & Style City Guide Tickets & Offers Blog ByThings Howard To HalleDo Food & Drink Arts & Culture Film Music & Nightlife ShoppingMon May 24 & 2010Style City Guide Tickets & Offers Blog
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Things to do or see in New York All dates All areas Search Blake Rayne, "Folder & Application" Blake Rayne, "Folder & Application" By Howard Halle Mon May 24 2010 By Howard Halle Mon May 24 2010
Installation view
Painting is enjoying something of a revival lately, especially in Lower East Side galleries. Although I’ve mentioned this trend in past reviews, it’s worth adding that this is only the latest in a series of periodic resuscitations the medium has experienced since Minimalism and Conceptual Art supposedly threw the last shovelful of dirt on its coffin in the late 1960s. To begin with, Minimal Art had its own coterie of painters, but over the decades, the craft has waxed and waned in various forms. The 1970s, for example, saw something called New Image painting, briefly entertained in a survey of the same name Installation view at the Whitney Museum. In the ’80s, members of the so-called Pictures generation turned to painting, launching Neo- ExpressionismInstallation view as an international vogue. The ’90s gave rise to the schools of Luc Tuymans and Neo Rauch in Europe, to Peter Doig in the U.K., and in New York, to the figurative weirdness of John Currin and Lisa Yuskavage, along with a ragtag bunch—the late Steven Parrino, Steve DiBenedetto, Fred Tomaselli and Bill Komoski, among others—who kept plugging away on canvas, or something like it, in idiosyncratic fashion. For a corpse, then, painting has been exquisitely reanimated—and rereanimated—time and again (and I haven’t even botheredPainting isto enjoying mention somethingthe painting of stars a revival coming lately, out especially of China, Indiain Lower and East elsewhere). Side galleries. Still, if theAlthough medium I’ve wasn’t mentioned killed offthis by trend Conceptualism,in past reviews, it’s beenworth forced adding into that a thisdefensive is only crouch.the latest Although in a series many of periodicof the younger resuscitations artists picking the medium up the has brush experien today ceddo sosincePainting intuitively, Minimalism is enjoying or with and somethingan Conceptual anything-goes of aArt revival supposedly attitude, lately, there especiallythrew are the others, lastin Lower shovelfulnotably East a of Sidesmall dirt galleries. ongroup its coffin around Although in Miguelthe lateI’ve Abreu 1960s.mentioned Gallery this on trend OrchardToin past begin reviews, Street, with, Minimal whoit’s worth employ Art adding had elaborate, its that own this coterieconceptual is only of painters,the stratagems latest but in a over toseries justify the of decades, theirperiodic work. theresuscitations Blake craft Raynehas waxed the is onemedium and of wanedthem, has and experienin various his ced currentforms.since Minimalism Theouting 1970s, showcases and for example,Conceptual both the saw Artstrengths something supposedly and called weaknesses threw New the Imagelast of shovelful their painting, approach. of brieflydirt on entertained its coffin in inthe a latesurvey 1960s. of the same name Rayne,atTo the begin Whitney who’s with, been MinimalMuseum. on theArt In circuithad the its’80s, since own members coteriethe mid-’90s, of of painters, the isn’tso-called a but painter over Pictures sothe much decades, generation as he the is turned crafta “painter,” has to painting, waxed whose and launching bag waned of tricks Neo-in various has includedExpressionismforms. The film 1970s, and as installation. anfor international example, In hissaw vogue. previous something The exhibit, ’90s called gave he New presented rise Image to the woodenpainting, schools shipping brieflyof Luc entertainedTuymans crates alongside and in aNeo survey a Rauch series of thein of Europe, same name to compositions—sportingPeterat the DoigWhitney in the Museum. U.K., and a In geometric thein New ’80s, York, patternmembers to thecreated offigurative the by so-called successively weirdness Pictures offolding John generation andCurrin spray-painting andturned Lisa to Yuskavage,painting, canvas—for launching along which with Neo- they a ragtag were presumablybunch—theExpressionism made.late as Steven anOr internationalwas Parrino, it the otherSteve vogue. way DiBenedetto, The around? ’90s gaveChicken-or-egg Fred rise Tomaselli to the schoolsconundrums, and Bill of Komoski, Luc couched Tuymans among as and doubleothers—who Neo orRauch even kept intriple Europe, plugging to entendres,awayPeter onDoig canvas, arein the something orU.K., something and of in a Newstaple like York,it, forin idiosyncraticthe to theartist, figurative and fashion. they weirdness are deployed of John here Currin as meditations and Lisa Yuskavage, on the notion along of workwith ain ragtagits differentForbunch—the a corpse, manifestations—not late then, Steven painting Parrino, has just been Steveas artistic exquisitely DiBenedetto, oeuvre, reanimated—and but Fred in theTomaselli more rereanimated—timemundane and Bill Komoski, senses of among busyingand again others—who oneself, (and I orhaven’t keptemployment. pluggingeven Morebotheredaway importantly,on canvas,to mention orperhaps, something the painting the objectslike stars it, in comingin idiosyncratic this show out of also China,fashion. pivot India on the and differences elsewhere). between Still, if the“fine” medium and “applied” wasn’t killedart, as off well by as onConceptualism,For the a corpse, historical then, placeit’s beenpainting of theforced hasmonochrome intobeen a exquisitelydefensive in modern crouch. reanimated—and art. Although many rereanimated—time of the younger artistsand again picking (and up I haven’tthe brush even today do Ifsobothered that intuitively, sounds to mention orlike with a lot thean to anything-goespainting masticate, stars it is: comingattitude, As this out there exhibit’s of China,are titleothers, India suggests, notably and elsewhere). the a small items group here Still, ataroundif thefirst medium blush Miguel play wasn’tAbreu on the killedGallery word off son byfolder andOrchardConceptualism, application Street, inwhoit’s their been employ varying forced elaborate, noun into aand defensive conceptual verb forms. crouch. stratagems All-white Although versions to justify many of their of his the work.folded younger Blake paintings artists Rayne reprisepicking is one his up of previous thethem, brush and show, today his do whilecurrentso intuitively, other outing pieces—like or showcases with an anything-goesCover both Letterthe strengths, another attitude, and all-white there weaknesses are number others, of draped notablytheir approach. with a small a giant group letter around a cut outMiguel of black Abreu felt—pun Gallery on the ritualsRayne,Orchard of who’s Street,the job been whosearch. on employ the As circuit an elaborate, added since jolt, theconceptual Rayne mid-’90s, has stratagems isn’tincluded a painter imagesto justify so muchof their bright as work. tropicalhe isBlake a “painter,”flora Rayne appropriated whoseis one ofbag fromthem, of trickstextiles, and hashis and aincludedcurrent sort of outing lo-fifilm takeand showcases installation.on Barnett both Newman’s In the his strengthsprevious Who’s exhibit,and Afraid weaknesses he of presentedRed, Yellow of their wooden and approach. Blue shipping done withcrates paint-soaked alongside a towels. series ofThe overall effectcompositions—sportingRayne, is who’sboth maddeningly been on the a geometricconvolutedcircuit since pattern and the endearinglymid-’90s, created byisn’t dopey.successively a painter so folding much andas he spray-painting is a “painter,” canvas—for whose bag ofwhich tricks they has were Clearly,presumablyincluded Rayne’s film made. and aim installation. Or is was to revisit it the In hisreductiveother previous way painting, around? exhibit, howeverChicken-or-egg he presented roundaboutly, wooden conundrums, andshipping in thiscouched crates respect alongsideas hisdouble methodology aor series even tripleof is like the oneentendres,compositions—sporting laid out are in the something fall 2009 a geometricof issue a staple of October pattern for the ,createdartist, the art and journalby theysuccessively forare hundred-pound deployed folding here and asheads. spray-painting meditations In an essay on canvas—for the called notion “Painting ofwhich work theyBesides in its were Itself,”differentpresumably Yale manifestations—not professor made. Or David was it Joselit the just other as argues artistic way foraround? oeuvre, something Chicken-or-eggbut in called the more “transitive mundaneconundrums, painting,” senses couched in of which busying as the double oneself,canvas or evenor or panel employment. triple or whateverMoreentendres, importantly, is aremerely something perhaps, one node of the ain staple objectsa network for in the thisof artist,associations show and also they pivot or arevisualizations on deployed the differences here that asexist between meditations outside “fine” the on andobject the “applied” notion itself—and of art, work as without inwell its as whichdifferent the manifestations—not work can’t really function just as as artistic art. Beyond oeuvre, rehearsing but in the amore catchphrase mundane to senses replace of relational busying oneself,aesthetics or employment.as the critical chewMore toyimportantly, du jour, Joselit perhaps, seems the objectsto be making in this anothershow also in apivot long on and the somewhat differences repetitive between line “fine” of having-your-cake-and- and “applied” art, as well as eating-it-too arguments for painting. As we all know, it’s the most comestible of art-market commodities, and therefore the serious artist must always carry the silver crucifix of difficulty to ward off the dark bite of easy money. Never mind that this is done precisely to sustain the puncture marks of success. Rayne, interestingly, is not mentioned in Joselit’s piece, but he’s following the transitive recipe to a tee. He whips up a metaphorical souffl—enforced leisure as a blank-slate state—but what you’re really left with is an elegant tableau in crisp white, punctuated with color. The creamy formalist center may be covered with a thin theoretical shell, but it’s still eye candy. See more Art reviews Miguel Abreu Gallery, through June 26 Like Be the first of your friends to like this. Tweet 0 0
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It does not approach me. There are other variants? 4/10/2014 Frieze Magazine | Shows | Blake Rayne
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Blake Rayne About this review
Published on 06/10/08 SUTTON LANE - PARIS, PARIS, FRANCE by David Lewis
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Previous Shows in this city There are four paintings on display at Blake Rayne’s new Sutton Lane exhibition: three on the left wall, one on the right. At first In Perceptions glance these appear to be rather similar - blandly decorative, even. Les amis de mes amis sont mes amis, hommage à Ján Man uška Each is made from three panels of canvas and each panel has been Liz Cohen pleated and spray-painted, forming geometric bands that have Another Point of View been sewn together to make the painting. The upper and lower Anonymes: Unnamed America in panels are not completely primed along their horizontal edges, so Photography and Film each painting is bracketed by a small stretch of raw canvas. The Swagger, Drag, Fit Together works are also framed, however, and one notices that not all of the Jack Pierson frames are the same: the three paintings on the left wall are Beat Takeshi Kitano framed in white while that on the right is in red. One notices, too, Carsten Nicolai that this highlighted painting is hung much higher than the Brendan Fowler others. This has the effect not only of again singling it out but also of activating the space between the walls, so that one’s attention moves within each painting as well as between them, looking Other Articles by David Lewis around the gallery to where — if one hadn’t already noticed — Ida Ekblad Shows shipping crates are displayed. These block much of the room and Frédéric Moser and Philippe Schwinger mask, or mark, the fourth corner of the gallery. Shows R.H. Quaytman Shows Reto Pulfer Shows
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http://www.frieze.com/shows/review/blake_rayne/ 1/3 miguel abreu gallery
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Exhibition: BLAKE RAYNE
Opening Reception, March 23, 6 pm Gallery Closed, April 13, 6:30 pm Reopen, April 19, 11 am Closed, May 18, 6:30 pm
Dates: March 23 – May 18, 2008
Blake Rayne’s second exhibition at Miguel Abreu Gallery revolves around a number of paintings, each of which results from a standard operation of construction. Rayne unfolds, primes, folds and directs an aerosol spray of pigment onto a roll of linen from which sections are then chosen, sewn and cropped into a consistent scale. Rayne’s paintings, which situate themselves between a history of reflexive material procedures and structures of linguistic description, produce the canvas as a site of conflict between an impossible autonomy and a dispersed referentiality. If Rayne doubles the readymade weave of his canvas in a textile patterning, one whose folding and merging he chromatically designates, then these paintings are also textualized as scripts of production: displacing the material process into the flat, graphic space of linguistic signs. (Indeed, one might be forgiven for perceiving the spatial structure of distorted majuscules as a result of the folding process through which the paintings are produced.)
Displayed alongside these canvases are the crates in which they were shipped. The latter, hung on the walls along side their supposed content, are cast as the gestural co-presence of painting’s movement from studio, to display, to storage. During the exhibition Rayne will extend the weft which binds his particular type of textile/textual processes, reaching from the material sign of “painting” to yet another container: the gallery will be closed for a set duration of the exhibition, to be re-opened for its final four weeks.
The logic of painterly abstraction which Rayne deploys, thus extended into a gesture of folding – of closing and re-opening – the gallery, weaves container and contained in an imbricated and inextricable relationship: one structuring the other according to the un-sutured fabric of cultural abstraction. Neighborhood gentrification, that which envelopes the gallery as a specific sort of place in a specific time, could be a potentially enfolded element, its cycles and un-even developments closing and opening to certain classes of people and certain types of investment. Far from neutrally designating these cycles, Rayne claims the title of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s first novel, This Side of Paradise, as an emblematic textual element, inscribing a stance onto canvas positioned to one side of the line demarcated by his folds. Rayne describes the novel as illustrating “a moment at which a certain class reflexively discovers the hollowness of the conventions and means of self-representation upon which it is founded, just at the moment before the depression,” and this seems topical enough with Bear Sterns throwing-in the devalued chips that they had so recklessly invested in the sub-prime mortgage debacle. It is that other side, relative to but definitely not paradise, which appears in Rayne’s work as the breakdown of historical projects of painterly abstraction. But this reiteration of breakdown comes latent with new conditions for work to be done, ones which Rayne suggests urgently need to be unfolded.
For more information or for visuals, please contact the gallery:
36 Orchard Street (between Canal & Hester), New York, NY 10002 Tel 212.995.1774 • Fax 646.688.2302 • [email protected]
Gallery hours: Wednesday – Sunday, 11:00 AM to 6:30 PM Subway: F to East Broadway; B, D to Grand Street or J, M, Z to Delancey / Essex Street
Kyle Bentley, “Blake Rayne,” Artforum, Summer 2008, pp. 242-243 J. Piper Marshall, “Blake Rayne,” Art Papers, July-August 2008, p. 125 Tyler Coburn, “Blake Rayne: Dust of Suns,” ArtReview, Summer 2008, p. 125 Sarina Basta, “Cut Pieces,” TextezurKunst.de, No. 70, June 2008
CUT PIECES Sarina Basta on Blake Rayne at Miguel Abreu Gallery, New York
One way to approach Blake Rayne’s second solo exhibition at Miguel Abreu Gallery is to unpack two concepts which have long dominated his thinking about art and culture in general: cultural abstraction and scripts. He himself offered what must be considered his most explicit description of the latter term in a press release that was available only for “Sew. Stretch. Mark again. Crate. Ship. Place in the gallery. Unpack it or not … Hang it or not … Sell it or not …”. Seven large-scale paintings are a result of these series of operations. On their surfaces, lightly applied shapes, tones, complementary colors. They are all numbered “Untitled 2 through 8 (Dust of Suns)”, 2008. - tal strips, mounted, stretched, and framed. The number of paintings multiplies when considering the crates also present in the gallery. Made from mahogany - - ings, emulating their proportions, a blown-up version of an A4 page. Lids and containers are hung side by side, above or below the canvases, and form a free-standing wall to the right of the gallery. Behind them a canvas is effectively the center of the room – on its surface is mounted a small image of Bernard Tchumi's latest architectural addition to The building in proximity of the gallery is impossible to miss on the journey between the artist’s studio and the spatiality that goes beyond the walls of the gallery and the space of the frame in the paintings. A script, considered as a noun, is familiar enough as a stage in cultural production underlying the realization of a performative event, theatrical, or cinematic, or a set of formalized instructions in the realm of conceptual art. The neighborhood – previously a retail, garment district -- and the acts of folding, shipping, cutting, and selling that might have taken place there. Creating such a homology is an attempt at connecting this particular set of paintings with a certain historic fantasy of what might have been. But it also serves in pointing out the connection between the gallery and the retail space. one support to the next, or as a series of scripts. Script is also used in the parlance of software programmers – in which the relation between script and content is undone in the script-as-algorithm form. The script-as-algorithm is a While the paintings that Rayne has produced for this exhibition are clearly the most abstract to date, the elements - of extracting the stages of production of an image through transferences – and capturing these relations, of which the actual end image is only one manifestation. The second press release puts it like this: “these paintings are textualized as visual organization. One of Rayne’s paintings in particular frame the words “This Side of Paradise” in reference to the novel of the same title by F. Scott Fitzgerald, dated in the early Twenties. To Rayne, the novel describes “a moment at - The inclusion of the Megan Frazer piece “Tour d’ombres, Tower of Shadows” (2007) beyond the closing of the with the general run of the present exhibition, announced as a series of operations – or non-operations: Opening The real emblematic element of the show resides in the black and white photograph of the knife sharpener, probably disappear, at the wake of a potential economic crisis. Rayne uses the idea of the knife sharpener as a metaphor for the intentions of the exhibition: refraining from an overtly articulated critical discourse, the attempt is rather to “sharpen As the exhibition unfolds, the most decisive elements of the show are the paintings themselves and the will to further an expansive practice. Blake Rayne's new series of works present multiple entranceways to understanding the ongoing shifting, and rising complexity in the current agenda of critical abstraction.
NOTES
once experienced as a lived relation.
moving tense unheeded to gong clangs siren howls and wheels rumbling through the dark city. William Carlos Williams, Sour Grapes: A Book of Poems, Four Seas Company,
Jerry Saltz, “Blake Rayne,” Critic’s Picks, New York Magazine, May 2008
Blake Rayne’s looming new show is very full and very good. Te large-scale paintings look like Pattern & Decoration crossed with fabric design, geometric abstraction, and Russian folk art. Near the paintings—which are hung cheek-by-jowl, salon style—are dark-brown wooden rectangles. At frst these come of as com- ments on the wood-paneled rooms of the gilded age and seem to echo the rampant gentrifcation of the Lower East Side. Tey turn out to be packing crates for the paintings. Tis turns the actual artworks into something like transient or displaced visitors—per- sonalities that you connect to. Tis is Rayne’s clearest, most opti- cally satisfying show in some time.
— Jerry Saltz Anne Doran, “Blake Rayne,” Time Out New York, May 8-14, 2008, p. 62 Holland Cotter, “Blake Rayne,“The New York Times, April 24, 2008
04/24/2008
★ BLAKE RAYNE The abstract paintings in this show, an important one for this impressive New York artist, were made with aerosol spray directed at folded, cut and stitched-together canvas. And the pictures are only part of a larger conceptual package that includes the display of the paintings’ shipping containers and has involved closing the gallery for a week. Mr. Rayne’s taking apart of art conventions is erudite, visually effective and of a piece: the installation looks like a cross between a paneled library and a spreading bruise. Miguel Abreu Gallery, 36 Orchard Street, Lower East Side, (212) 995-1774, miguelabreugallery.com, through May 18. (Cotter)
” Artforum,
Gean Moreno, “Blake Rayne,” Art Papers, May-June 2006
Jackie McAllister, “Blake Rayne, ‘August Evening Walkout‘,” Art in Review, The New York Times, May 2003 4/10/2014 Blake Rayne - ARTFORUM
4/10/2014 Blake Rayne - ARTFORUM MutualArt.Com MutualArt.Com
Book Reviews: John Kelsey / ARTFJohnORUM Kelsey, “Blake Rayne,Sep” 2 Artforum,003 September 2003 Boolka Rkeveiew Rs: Jaohyn nKeelsey / ARTFORUM Sep 2003 Blake Rayne Passionate about art? Click here to get our newsletter and follow your favorite artists Passionate about art? Click here to get our newsletter and follow your favorite artists Kelsey reviews "August Evening Walk Out," an exhibition of the works of Blake Rayne at Greene NKealfstaelyi irne Nview sY "oAruk gCuistyt .Evening Walk Out," an exhibition of the works of Blake Rayne at Greene Naftali in New York City.
BLAKE RAYNE GREENE NAFTALI "August Evening Walk Out," an exhibition of new paintings by BlLaAkKe ER RayAnYeN, Ew aGsR tEheE NfinEa Nl iAnFstTaAllmLIe "nAtu ignu hsits Ethvemninagtic W saelrkie Os u"Tt,"h raene e oxfh Fiboituior nS eoaf snoenws "p a(fionltlionwgisn gby "BAlauktuem Rna yDnreiv,e w,"a 1s9 t9h7e, fainnadl i"nTshtael lWmienntet rin L hinise ,t"h 2e0m0a0t)ic. Sskeirpiepsin "gT shprerien go fa Fnodu dri vSinega ssotrnasi"g h(fto ilnlotowing s"Auumtummenr` sD reivxetr,e" m19e9 t7a,n agnedri n"eTsh,e g Wraipnetesr, Lainnde ,l"e m20o0n0-)li.m Seksip, pRinagyn sep`rsin fgla vaonrd- ednivhianngc setdra, ight into sautmmomseprh`esr eicx struermfaec etasn tgeemrpinte uss, gwriathp ebso,r eadnodm le (mthoen -bliemaecsh,y R kainydn)e, `esm flpatvinoer-sesn (hoarn tcheed i,nfinite), and athtme otesrprohresr iac nsdu rjofaycse osf tienmtopxti cuast iownit.h T bhoer e"Adoumgu (stth,"e " Ebeveanchinyg k,"i nadn)d, e"Fmrpidtianyess"s o (fo trh teh ep aininfitninitges)`, atitnleds athre nte`tr rteomrsp aonrda lijtoieys yoof uin ctoaxnic baatinokn .o Tnh oer "cAaulcguulast,e", "tEhveeyn ainreg ,e" vaenndt s"-Fmriodraey sli"k eo fh tohle sp aoirn gtilnitgcsh`e tsit liens tahree nc`ot ntetrmolpleodr atilmities o yf opuro cdaunc tbioann.k " oWna olkr Ocaulct"u mlaitgeh, tt hbeey a a fraec etovreyn wtso-mrkoere`s l iakcet hoof ldeiss oobr egdliitecnhcees, ina thraen csocnetnrdoellendta tli mpielg roimf pargoed uac ltaio Tn.h "oWreaalku ,O au St"i tmuaigtihotn biset dae fraivceto, royr w aollr tkherre`es .act of disobedience, a transcendental pilgrimage a la Thoreau, a Situationist derive, or all three. Bain de Sans Soleil I and II (all works 2003) are semiconscious glimpses of a lit-up car stereo, fBoagigni ndge tShaen csa Snovalesil wI iathn dg hIIo (satlyl wgroereksn s2 0a0n3d) g alorew isnegm riecdo-nosrcainogues sg. liAm dpaszezsl ionfg aly lvita-ucpa ncta sr ksytsecreaop,e, Rfoagdgiicnagll yth Cea csaunavl aFsr iwdaithys g mhoasrtkys goruete an sv oaindd o gf laozwuinreg arend- ao rtaonxgice csl.o Au dd aozf zfulincghlsyi av abceatwnte seknyscape, Rfluatdteicrainllgy pClastuica lc Fari-dloaty pse mnnaarknst so. uOt tah evro ipda oinf tainzgusr es uapnedr iam tpooxsice ccloudn toryf fauncdh sciiaty b veietwwese onnto more fhluotrtiezroingle spsla ssktiice sc,a wr-alotet rp,e annnda ncltoss. eO-tuhpe rn aptauinreti nsgtusd sieusp.e Criommppoosese cdo uonf tmryu altinpdle c pitey rvsipeewcst ivoensto w mithoirne hao sriinzgolnel efrsasm sek,ie tsh,e wy aetleurd, ea nstda bcliolitsye a-unpd ncaotnufroeu nstdu dthies v. iCewomerp`so sheadb iot fo mf luolctiaptlien gp ehrimsp-e ocrt ivhesrs weiltfh inin rae slaintigolne tfora wmhea,t `tsh esyh oewlund.e I nsstatebaildity, farangdm ceontfeodu nadn dth gel ivdiienwge mr`esn htalb sitt aotfe lso-csautcinhg a hsi msu- rofirn hge, rdsreulnf kin drerilvaitniogn, dtoa ywdhraeta`sm sinhgo,w onr. rIenmsteemadb,e frriangm-aeren tevdo akned .g Rlidaiynnge m`se snutaml msteart elisg-hstu, cdhe raivse sdu rfrfionmg, ndorunk dsirnivginleg p, idcatoyrdiarel asomuinrcge, ,o isr ruesmede masb emriuncgh-a argea einvsotk tehde. oRbajyencets` sin s huims mpaeirn tlignhgts, adse riinv ethde firro sme rnvoice, stainkginleg poinc tao rciaolr sroosuirvcee f,o isrc ues tehda ta esx mceuecdhs a agnadin isgtn tohree so bthjeec itnst eing hriitsy poaf iwnthinagtesv aesr iitn e txhpeoirs seesr.vice, Mtaekianngw ohnil ea, cwoarnrodseivrien gfo lrinces t haantd e sxtcreeadks oafn pdi gigmneonret sa rthee a icnttiveagtreitdy aotf dwihffaetrevnet rs ipt eeexdpso saecsro. ss the cMaenavnaws,h cilaeu, swinagn ddeisritnogrt iloinness o af nndo ts torenalyk rse opfr epsigemnteendt saprea caec tbivuat taelds oa tr edpifrfesrentt esdp etiemdes. aLcorooksisn gthe caanndv wasa,l kcinagu soinugt bdeisctoomrtieo nbso totof mnolet sosn,l yu nrefoplrdeesde netveedn tssp-aocve rbduots aelss o fr eligphret,s teimnteesd wtiem leo.s Leooking aonudrs welavleksin ign oauntd b tehcaot mbuer nb ootutorm blreasinss, .u Rnfaoyldned`s e pvaeintsin-gosv erredtroieseves oufn rliegchot,g tnimizeasb lwe,e c lroyssetalline poeurcseplvteiosn isn faronmd tthhaets beu ernxp oeurrie bnrcaeinss. . Rayne`s paintings retrieve unrecognizable, crystalline perceptions from these experiences. The numbers in the titles of some paintings (e.g., S.P.F. 1-5) play on both sequence and degree oTfh ien tneunmsitbye. rTsh ine yt hined tiictlaetse othf rseosmheo ldpas inatnindg vsa (reia.gtio.,n Ss.,P s.uFg. g1e-5s)ti npgla ay ogna yb socthie snecqeu oefn aclete arendd adnedgree of intensity. They indicate thresholds and variations, suggesting a gay science of altered and altering states. The numbers we should see in the car-radio paintings, on the other hand, are baluterriendg osutat,t eres.m Tinhdei nngu musb ethras tw thee s mhoouvledm seen tisn uthned ecratar-kreand ihoe praei nctainngnso,t obne tmhea poptheedr whiathn dra, taiorenal 4/10/2014 Blake Rayne - ARTFORUM bcoluorrrdeidn aotuets, .r eLmikein tdhineg I musp rtehsast iothneis mtso avnedm Teunrtns eurn bdeefrotarek ethne hme,r eb ucta rnencoatl lbeed mhearpep veiad awnith rational http://www.mutualart.com/OpenArticle/Blake-Rayne/33F2DD0C27471A52 1/3 cuonosrednintimatens.t aLliizkien gth, ep oImstp-Aredsosbioen sisetnss aibnidlit yT,u Rrnaeyrn eb epfuosreh ethse pmic,t obruiat lr etimcaell eadn dh esrpea vciea taonward the http://www.mutualart.com/OpenArticle/Blake-Rayne/33F2DD0C27471A52 1/3 unpresentable. Nature becomes a crazy screen for tracing out conceptual moves and mental detours. His dynamic, supersaturated surfaces, which never completely cohere as pictures of something, insist that painting, today as much as ever, is a material to see and think the world with. "Three of Four Seasons" presents a cycle that refuses to complete itself. It is a calendar with pages missing, or a modern Book of Hours that doubles as a user`s guide for bailing out of regulated and regulating time.
-John Kelsey
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Comment http://www.mutualart.com/OpenArticle/Blake-Rayne/33F2DD0C27471A52 2/3 MIGUEL ABREU GALLERY
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88 Eldridge Street / 36 Orchard Street, New York, NY 10002 • 212.995.1774 • fax 646.688.2302 [email protected] • www.miguelabreugallery.com