New York Exhibitions November/December 2021 From Jasper Johns To Alex Katz – Ilka Scobie

Installation view of Rene Ricard, Growing Up in America, Presented by Vito Schnabel

Rene Ricard at Vito Schnabel – Growing Up in America

I was always honoured to read poetry w. Rene Ricard, a seminal and transgressive figure in the New York art and literary world. Poetry imbues this sampling of Ricard’s distinctive image and text works. These “poem paintings” might have windswept landscapes, romanticized figures or thrifted prints or photographs, then heavily transfigured with paints and pigments. Gems like “(Untitled)Elizabeth Barrett Browning” shows a child in full communion drag, replicating an old Portuguese communion photo. The wistful boy in “Eros” garbed in innocent white, holds a weapon, creating the possibility of love portrayed as incipient violence.
Also on view are hand-knotted rugs that are a collaboration between Rene and Madeline Weinrib. These originated as poems Rene playfully scrawled in a catalogue of Weinrib’s textile work. These woollen and silk treasures were completed just weeks after Rene’s death.

Vito Schnabel – Until 18 December