Silverman Gallery is pleased to present “The fountain of giant teardrops”, new work by Neil Ledoux, on view from January 23 until February 28, 2009
Opening reception: January 23, 7-10 PM.
Conversation between Larry Rinder and Neil Ledoux: February 12, 7PM
For “The fountain of giant teardrops” Neil LeDoux will present new paintings and drawings that continue exploration into the artist’s past experiences, recounting memories and historical guides that help us piece the puzzle back together. The series is based on a hallucinatory memory LeDoux imagined during his childhood. He recounted the story of seeing a fountain in the thick Louisiana forests. Its beauty was so astonishing that he immediately wanted to share it with his friends and family, but when he took them back to see the fountain it was nowhere to be found.
Sometimes even the fuzziest of memories haunt us and in this case, for LeDoux it’s this vagueness that inspired him to research images throughout history that could help trigger what he remembered: “I knew it looked like a loose pyramid; organic and man-made at the same time. There was an atmospheric quality to the fountain. The water flowed from the top center and this gave it a waterfall-like quality.”
LeDoux surfaces are as dry as parchment and worked to the bone reminding us of New York based painter Bill Jensen. The work is reminiscent of HR Geiger in its attention to detail and Arthur Dove in the way LeDoux is comfortable leaving areas worked but without detail. Often working in sculpture, LeDoux transitions this way of working to painting as he gently layers the canvas and builds up an environment.
LeDoux searched for fountains that reminded him of the one he saw years ago. He came upon Duchamp, Tibetan wall reliefs, Jan van Eyck and more. With these more universal iconographies, LeDoux attempted to reconstruct and capture a memory that now seems more mystical than actual experience. The paintings use history and various techniques as a way to create something that may or may not have happened. It is this space between the real and imagined that LeDoux and the work are best viewed.
Neil LeDoux was born in 1976 in Louisiana. He is currently a BFA candidate at the California College of the Arts. His work has been included in group exhibitions at the California College of the Arts, in San Francisco and Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. This is his first solo exhibition with Silverman Gallery