Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis & Recent Sculptures by Bruno David Gallery

CHAR L ES P. R EAY Metamorphosis and Recent Sculptures

bruno david gallery

CHARLES P. REAY

Metamorphosis and Recent Sculptures May 20 - August 20, 2011 Bruno David Gallery 3721 Washington Boulevard Saint Louis, 63108 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis and Recent Sculptures Editor: Bruno L. David Catalog Designer: Meagan A. Ramsey Design Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Charles P. Reay Cover image: Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis and Recent Sculptures, 2011 (Installation view - detail)

CONTENTS

METAMORPHOSIS AND RECENT SCULPTURES: AN APPRECIATION by Mark Weil CHIP REAY by Robert W. Duffy AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY

METAMORPHOSIS AND RECENT SCULPTURES: AN APPRECIATION

“That’s a funny guy.” -Bruno David’s response when asked about his reaction upon entering Chip’s studio for the first time.

“I know how to do that.” -Chip’s response when asked if he could solve a problem that required the knowledge of a complex mathematical formula.

Chip’s art reflects his sense of humor, his love of visual culture, and his knowledge of the history of creativity. Chip’s humor is visual as well as verbal. His studio is chock-a-block with objects that he has collected on his travels. He picks up or purchases things that capture his imagination or which simply makes him laugh. He often combines them in imaginary ways in the mode of the surrealist artists of the twentieth century, images of whose works appear almost haphazardly on his walls. For example, his studio contains two life-size, adjustable drawing manikins standing together (From Little Acorns, 2010). One holds a miniature manikin of the same type in the palm of its hand. The other holds a paper sheet of instructions for the assembly of the miniature manikin. My favorite amongst Chip’s toys is a plastic model of a portly woman reclining, as if sunbathing, in a bikini. Press a button and she exercises to music. The walls and work tables of Chip’s studio are covered with reproductions of works of art, chip’s drawings of past and present architectural design projects, and building models related to those projects. The models often relate to innovative structural solutions (‘I know how to do that.”). One also finds combines of found objects that Chip has turned into witty comments on whatever. On the worktable in the exhibition one finds an open box containing piece of green material on which a herd of toy cows gaze, while grazing, at a tasseled rug containing an image of Mona Lisa that lies on their pasture. Chip has christened the object, Moona Lisa (2010). A similar work, Red Carpet (2011), features a red carpet on which a miniature autograph seeker accompanies a cluster of paparazzi who photograph a large rat standing in front of a miniature Marilyn Monroe; seemingly a comment on Hollywood’s transformation from a world of stars to a world of animated characters. The exhibition, Metamorphoses and Recent Sculptures, filled with similar objects of various sizes, all of which relate to Chip’s life and career as a bon vivant, a promoter of the arts, and an architectural designer of entertainment venues such as museums, exhibition spaces, aquaria, casinos, play grounds, and parks, which in which traditional spaces are enlivened with contemporary technology. One object, Inverted Windows I (Inverted Windows series), is a four-foot high box lined with mirrors and containing a hard drive video

with LCD monitor. The view into the box is kaleidoscopic with endless views of the abstractly entertaining videos Among my other favorite works are a set of Cornell-like boxes containing thoughtful dichotomies such as Snow white looking at the advertisement of a dominatrix, Art (Expulsion Series) an illusionistic, minimalistic work consisting of a series of blank white panels on which gallery lights cast shadows of carefully chosen words, and an homage to Salvador Dali, Persistence of Memory, an assemblage of a clock face on which is placed a piece of coral from which a branch, the remains of a plant emanates. The branch supports a limp mouse. The ensemble is placed inside of a glass bell jar. There is much more to see. All the objects reflect Chip as an endlessly curious collector and inventor. His exhibition is a cabinet of wonders and an extension in miniature of his career as a designer of places of entertainment and education. It also reflects Chip as a wonderful host, who generously shares his discoveries and joie de vivre with his guests. — Mark Weil

Mark Steinberg Weil received his BA from Washington University in St. Louis (1961); and his PhD from Columbia University (1968). Weil’s publications include The History and Decoration of the Ponte S. Angelo (The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1974) and several major articles. In 1993 he collaborated with Barbara Butts and Thomas Rassieur in the mounting of an exhibition, Men, Women, & God: German Renaissance Prints from St. Louis Collections at the St. Louis Art Museum. Weil served as Art Historian in Residence at the American Academy in Rome in the fall of 1985. He is a member of the Collections Committee of the Harvard University Art Museums and the Visiting Committee of the Department of Art History and Archaeology of Columbia University in New York. He retired in 2006 as E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts, Director of the Washington University Gallery of Art (now the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum), and Director of the Sam Fox Visual Arts and Design Center, now the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts. Mark Weil is devoting his retirement to two hobbies. He is a collector of sixteenth and seventeenth-century small sculpture and prints and is an amateur photographer currently spending a good deal of time hunting birds with his camera. This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

CHIP REAY Last winter, I was invited out to Chip and May Reay’s fascinating house in St. Louis County. Their house, as it has evolved, is the antithesis of “decorated.” It reveals the outpouring and synchrony of the taste of two very visual and innovative people, both of whom understand that dwellings should not be arranged for the inhabitants by others, but by the inhabitants themselves. In the right hands -- in hands that instinctively, intuitively choose objects infused with beauty and meaning -- a house can become a quite personal and most expressive work of art. While personal and liveable, it is also a place to share with family and friends, and to delight them. May and Chip have taste and style and also panache. Their house is wondrous, a dwelling so individualistic and comfortable it struck me as being like nothing I’d ever seen before. The Reay’s is one of those houses where it is difficult -- for me at least -- to carry on a conversation, simply because the exuberant variety of objects produce infinite distraction. But there was more to come on my visit there. After a while in the house, I followed the winding stone path to Chip’s studio-sanctuary in the treetops. The experience I had had in the house was duplicated times ten: a bowl of marbles; collages, clippings; an auto-violin; a stuffed raccoon; a face-off between Mickey and a real mouse; books and books and more books; a boy’s letter to Santa Claus proclaiming his goodness; mannequins; maquettes; a red nap-size sofa; and so forth, on and on and on and on. I don’t know what I expected, except perhaps the sort of obsessive order many designers establish for themselves. There is none of that in Chip’s studio, or at least not any order of the ordinary sort, where pens and pencils are lined up and books are shelved meticulously and so on and on. I have described the studio as chaotic, and to an observer, that is an apt description. For those of us who’re eluded by it, order is quicksilver, and the apparent disarray is not only forgiven but also embraced. We messy people make a fuss about desiring order, but in fact we don’t really like it much, and find chaos much more interesting. As far as the disorder is concerned, we function within it, and know not only the lay of the document covered desk but also the composition of those bizarre piles forming personal stalagmites that to us are, at least consciously, a rebuke to a desired sense of order. Unconsciously, however, these piles and arrangements have special, personal, secret meanings. As a description, the word dynamic has many applications. In Chip’s studio, dynamism has to do with the aesthetical force that twists JeanBaptiste Alphonse Karr’s epigram, “Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose.” It really doesn’t obtain chez Reay, because although the place itself is the same, it is never, ever the same at all. The form is the same; its contents are mysteriously different, changing by association, placement, addition and subtraction. There is another aspect applicable to Reay’s studio and that is Wunderkammer. The Wunderkammer (chamber or room of wonders) or Kunstkammer (chamber of art) has origins in the late 16th century in Europe, and it can be considered the granddaddy of what we have come to know as the museum.

These rooms of wonder or rooms of works of art were very personal expressions of a person’s taste, and certainly, that is true of Chip’s studio. The contents of these rooms varied from person to person – or perhaps one should say from one nobleman, aristocrat or royal personage to another. Some of these grand acquisitors focused on science, so you might find displays of rocks alongside the skeleton of an exotic animal and a jar filled with bird feathers of rarity or great beauty. Others featured works of art. Some featured works of art and rocks and skeletons and bird feathers as an ensemble. What is marvelous about the Wunderkammer is that the only rule is the absence of rules. Personal taste, eclecticism, making connections that never existed before – all are aspects of this marvelous and refined conglomeration of stuff. And so, while I was standing in the midst of Chip’s Wunderkammer/studio, I began to think what a shame it is something this stimulating, this beautiful, this bizarre and this evocative has to be, by its residential nature, a rather private grand-scale assemblage. A light bulb illuminated itself in a bubble over my head. What if we moved the contents of the studio off the Reays’ property and into an art gallery? We discussed the potential, and I talked to Bruno David whose gallery is a half a block away from the office of the St. Louis Beacon. He was quizzical but said yes, and off Chip went. We decided to make Chip’s exhibition part of the second annual Beacon Festival. That is the purpose of The Beacon Festival after all, providing opportunities for journeys of all sorts to all sorts of different places. And Reay’s place, reinstalled in part here, is a place you’ve never been before, even if you think you have. What you are fortunate to be able to experience at the Bruno David Gallery is a tantalizing droplet of the visual liquor concocted by Chip Reay in his chamber of wonders. Look closely, then shut your eyes for a moment, and let your unconscious kick in. As recreated in the gallery, as a whole or in its tiny parts, the material has the power to transport you places perhaps you’ve never been before. In addition to the studio’s odyssey to the Front Room of the gallery, there is the Project Room, in which singular sculptures (some of which spend most of their lives in the studio) are given a more traditional installation. Or what passes for traditional. What a viewer truly can expect to find in this gallery of “Recent Sculptures” is extraordinary unpredictability and a flaunting of tradition. In this assembly, a violin plays itself, mice take on monumental characteristics and the word (and notion) of art is challenged. As individual works stand-alone or are presented in series, the issue of Charles P. Reay’s imagination is enticing. So ironic, so lyrical, so elusive, so clever and absorbing it is, you might feel, as I did, that you’d wandered into a dream. — Robert W. Duffy

Robert W. Duffy is the associate editor of the St. Louis Beacon and former cultural news editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David

I am pleased to present a solo-exhibition by Charles P. Reay entitled “Recent Sculptures and Metamorphosis” in the gallery’s Front Room and Project Room. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding in 2005. Charles P. Reay’s remarkable and compelling sculptures and installations make him one the most impressive artists of the gallery. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Bob Duffy for introducing Chip to me and to all of us. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Robert W. Duffy and Mark Weil for their thoughtful essays. I am deeply grateful to Meagan Ramsey, who lent much time, talent, and expertise to the design and production of this catalogue. Charles (Chip) Reay’s studio is an intensely personal space, a space removed from the routines of everyday life, where he can indulge his imagination. It is a space, where free association, experimentation, trials and errors, encourages the outpouring of his creative mind. In his studio, there are no rules or standards of taste or beauty. It is a space for pure expression. In this current exhibition, Chip shares his studio space with the public, transporting an abbreviation of his treetop studio-sanctuary at his home in St. Louis County to the gallery. Viewers can walk into Chip’s world and stand amongst the exuberant variety of objects and ideas that fuel his practice: collections, collages, toys, sketches, clippings, an auto violin, a boy’s letter to Santa Claus proclaiming his goodness, a faceoff between Mickey and a real mouse, mannequins, maquettes, photographs, gatherings of memory infused eye candy. The mysterious arrangements and surprising juxtapositions installed in the two gallery spaces encourage the unconscious mind to kick in and transport viewers to exciting new realms of the imagination. This first-hand glimpse into Chip’s creative mind is a unique opportunity to learn about wellsprings and the artistic process. Following the studio experience in the Front Room of the gallery, viewers can walk to the Project Room where Chip’s sculptures are displayed. A dramatic contrast to the chaos of the studio space, this room represents the result of his artistic process. Here, viewers can appreciate each sculpture with the added understanding of the infinite web of ideas beneath the surface. This show engages viewers with works of art from the perspective of the artist, an experience that no lovers of art should miss. -Bruno L. David

CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis and Recent Sculptures, (Installation view - detail) 10

Object Destroyed (After Man Ray) , 2011 Mixed media 8 x 14 x 2-1/2 inches

Madam is Waiting, 2011 Mixed media 8 x 14 x 2-1/2 inches 11

The Complexity of Deformed Amphibians, 2011 Mixed media 8 x 14 x 2-1/2 inches

Mrs. Emma Cole, 2011 Mixed media 8 x 14 x 2-1/2 inches

Beauty and the Beast, 2011 Mixed media 8 x 14 x 2-1/2 inches 13

Frederigo da Montefeltro and Battista Sforza, 2011 Aluminum foam 67 1/2 x 47 inches

Family Tree: Woods, McCann, Fish, 2011 Mixed media 56 x 104x 4-1/2 inches

Family Tree: Woods, McCann, Fish (detail), 2011 Mixed media 56 x 104x 4-1/2 inches 17

Man Ray - Lee Miller - Kiki de Montparnasse - Marcel Duchamp (Profile Series) - detail, 2011 Mixed media 96 x 12x 3/4 inches (Edition of 5 +1 A.P.)

Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis and Recent Sculptures, (Installation view - detail) 19

Expulsion Series, 2011 Mixed media Each: 30 x 30 x 9-1/2 inches (Edition of 5)

GOD (Expulsion series), 2011 Mixed media 30 x 30 x 9-1/2 inches (Edition of 5)

SEX (Expulsion series), 2011 Mixed media 30 x 30 x 9-1/2 inches (Edition of 5)

EGO (Expulsion series), 2011

Mixed media 30 x 30 x 9-1/2 inches (Edition of 5)

WAR (Expulsion series), 2011 Mixed media 30 x 30 x 9-1/2 inches (Edition of 5)

ART (Expulsion series), 2011 Mixed media 30 x 30 x 9-1/2 inches (Edition of 5)

Three Pieces of Art, 2011 Mixed media 41 x 24 x 2-1/4 inches

Charles P. Reay: Metamorphosis and Recent Sculptures, (Installation view - detail) 25

Art, 2011 Bronze 7-3/4 x 9 x 11 inches (Edition of 5 + 1 A.P.) 26

Persistance of Memory (detail), 2011 Mixed media 22-1/2 x 11 x 11 inches

Persistance of Memory ,2011 Mixed media 22-1/2 x 11 x 11 inches

SPARTLE, 2011 Mixed media 9 x 12 x 12 inches

Art Under Glass , 2011 Mixed media 18 x 12 x 12 inches

Auto Violin, 2011 Mixed media 26-1/2 x 10 x 5-1/2 inches (Edition of 2 + 1 A.P.)

From Little Acorns, 2011 Mixed media 73 x 43 x 24 inches (Size Variable) 31

Red Carpet, 2011 Mixed media on board 24 x 8 x 4 inches

Red Carpet (detail), 2011 Mixed media on board 24 x 8 x 4 inches

Ready Made DADA, 2011 Mixed media 8-1/2 x 10 x 8 inches 34

Moona Lisa, 2011 Mixed media on board 14 x 7-3/4 x 2-1/2 inches

Inverted Window I (Inverted Window Series), 2011 Mixed media and one-channel color HD video with LCD monitor 48 x 43-1/2 x 43-1/2 (20 minutes loop) (Edition of 2)

Inverted Window I (Inverted Window Series) (detail), 2011

Inverted Window I (details), 2011

Charles P. Reay: Recent Sculptures and Metamorphosis at Bruno David Gallery (Installation view, detail), 2011

ARTISTS Margaret Adams Dickson Beall Laura Beard Elaine Blatt Martin Brief Lisa K. Blatt Shawn Burkard Bunny Burson Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Corey Escoto Beverly Fishman

Damon Freed William Griffin Joan Hall Takashi Horisaki Kim Humphries Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey Sandra Marchewa Peter Marcus Genell Miller

Patricia Olynyk Robert Pettus Daniel Raedeke Charles P. Reay Chris Rubin de la Borbolla Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Buzz Spector Lindsey Stouffer Cindy Tower Mario Trejo Ken Worley

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