Rodney Dickson : Paintings
Nunu Fine Art New York is pleased to present Paintings, a solo exhibition by Rodney Dickson, a New York-based artist born in Northern Ireland. The show comprises 15 abstract oil paintings in the main gallery, along with more than 100 portraits in the newly established lower-level exhibition space.
Dickson’s large- and medium-sized abstractions are characterized by extremely thick paint and rich color. Fundamentally influenced by the Troubles, the civil strife that desolated Northern Ireland in his youth, the artist explores the human condition with a bitter yet aesthetically ravishing emotional intensity.
Dickson reflects with deep empathy on socio-political conflicts, inviting viewers to unravel the intricate nature of our moral selfhood. The artist’s expressionistic approach reflects his inner turmoil, ranging from political grievances to personal obsessions.
Dickson has said that the more psychologically threatening a subject is, the more exhilarating and necessary it is to explore. This selection of built-up gestural works, created post-pandemic, traces his multiple psychic changes.
Many of the works on view depart from Dickson’s early aggressive somberness. The brighter, more colorful composition suggests a more serene state of mind. In 13, for example, a soft cream-colored surface and gentle painterly touch signal Dickson’s deeper comprehension—and greater acceptance—of himself and his past experiences.
Dickson’s portraits memorialize his travels. During a 2018 residency in the mountains of China, where art materials were scarce, he began to paint on white bed sheets purchased from his landlady. The way the thin bed sheets moved in the gentle breeze, animating the figures, inspired Dickson to create more likenesses of friends he has made across the world. In these works, Dickson also aims to blur the line between figurative and non-figurative paintings. He claims, “Painting is painting. If it is successful, it should affect the human spirit and one gets there in any way one can.”
Paintings is accompanied by an unconventional, biographically based catalog that explores Dickson’s complex psychology and myriad of painterly motifs. The volume combines Dickson’s life stories with his personal beliefs regarding war, artistic craft, and interpersonal relations.
Artist
Rodney Dickson