Ray Sell Stand Yer Ground May 13th - June 13th Leo Kesting Gallery
2010
Free Admission/Open to the Public
Info From its origins as Capla Kesting Fine Art in Brooklyn, the Leo Kesting Gallery launched in 2003 and developed an aggressive campaign to introduce new figurative artists to collectors and art supporters. Leo Kesting offers the art viewing public an opportunity to see forthcoming talents in an intimate setting where undiscovered, cutting-edge artists are presented to the contemporary art scene.
Leo Kesting Gallery opening hours: Tuesday - Sunday 11am until 7pm 812 Washington St (corner of Gansevoort St) New York 10014 A, C, E & L train to 8th Ave 1, 2, 3 to 14th Street 917- 650 - 3760 / 917- 292 - 8865 http://www.leokesting.com
Leo Kesting Gallery Presents
Ray Sell Stand Yer Ground May 13th - June 13th
2010
Opening Night Reception: Thurs May 13th, 7pm - 10pm Drawing back the curtain on the American male psyche, Ray Sell explores identity through both possessions and professions. Status-perception is everything; and from guns, to breasts, to jack-hammers, size matters here. It’s a man’s world at Leo Kesting Gallery as Ray Sell returns with Stand Yer Ground, his latest collection of vintage collages, running through June 13. Drawing back the curtain on the American male psyche, Ray explores identity through both possessions and professions.
“Constant consumption and masculine wiles continue to play well in this world where consumer confidence rides on the edge of a razor,” states gallery director John Leo, “Ray offers us a reminder of the better days in times when the economic rebound is within reach.” Leo Kesting invites you to join us as we unveil Stand Yer Ground with an opening night reception for the artist on Thursday, May 13th from 7:00 – 10:00pm. The work will be on display daily until June 13th.
In The Gunman (11” x 14”, mixed media, 2010), Ray explores man’s deep desire for authority as a figure dreams about being the maverick gun-toting hero, on the prowl and ready to shoot. Classic themes of exploration and loss of innocence abound as Ray Sell’s boys make the sometimes perilous and always exhilarating journey into manhood.
Ray received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration from the School of Visual Arts in New York. His artwork has been displayed in New York, Asbury Park, Miami and Ireland. has received critical acclaim from New York Magazine’s July 2009 issue, the July issue of L Magazine, June 2008 issue of ArtCards, the 2008 preview for the Miami Basel shows in Forbes Magazine and the Dec 2007 Art Basel Review in the Economist.
In Baggage (9” x 12”, mixed media, 2010), a young boy marches toward adulthood pulling a wagon filled with all its trappings, including booze, tools and cigarettes, all under the watchful eyes of a rugged cowboy.
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Busted, Mixed Media, 8” x 10” Nice Kitty, Mixed Media, 6” x 4” Bull Run, Mixed Media, 6” x 6” Lookin’ Back, Mixed Media, 8” x 8” Middle of the Road, Mixed Media, 6” x 8”
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Boys Toys, Mixed Media, 12” x 9” Bedroom Buckaneer, Mixed Media, 10” x 10” Catch The Scent, Mixed Media, 10” x 10” Big Jump, Mixed Media, 20” x 10”
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Launchin’ Rockets, Mixed Media, 12” x 16” Close Encounter, Mixed Media, 6” x 6” To The Moon, Mixed Media, 4” x 4” Super Pill, Mixed Media, 9” x 12”
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High Stakes, Mixed Media, 12” x 9” Hot Tea, Mixed Media, 8” x 8” Business, Mixed Media, 7” x 5” Gamblin’ Man, Mixed Media, 16” x 12”
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The Gallery, Mixed Media, 16” x 12” Watchin’ the Clock, Mixed Media, 10” x 8” Workin’ Class, Mixed Media, 10” x 8”
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Artist Biography
Ray Sell
Brooklyn, New York “Television is not the truth. Television is a goddamned amusement park.” Howard Beale, Film Network, 1976 If you’re of an age that can remember a time before the constant bombardment of news and celebrity culture, this quote attacking the role of media may hold a palpable significance. In only the last few years with the rise of gossip rags and television shows dedicated to Tinseltown’s elite, high-speed internet updates every few seconds gathering news from the far reaches of the world, and the truly metaphysical: blogs about blogging; a constant stream of information, at the same time relevant and grossly redundant, is suffocating our society under the pillow of subliminal messaging and “organic” advertising.
By capturing and re-appropriating images of motorcycles and muscle cars, nude women and fierce beasts, cowboys and Indians - Mr. Sell has created a different message with his assemblage of fantastic collage arrangement, vivid colors and these poignant relics from media of days past. By removing the images from their original environs, he has striped them of their intended meaning and given them his own voice. Often whimsical and rarely intended to elicit political response, Mr. Sell’s electric, colorful work provides its viewers with an opportunity to really look at what’s being transmitted through imagery and decide how they themselves will respond.
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The work of Ray Sell attempts to simultaneously dissect the messaging and provide commentary on this phenomenon, particularly focusing on its impact on the development of the male archetype. Taking images and magazine clippings from a vast swath of media over the last 60 years, Mr. Sell is determined to create a forum for self-reflection and debate, and question the very ethos by which our culture rears its male brood.
(Front) The Gunman, mixed media, 14” x 11” (Back) Baggage, mixed media, 9” x 12”
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Lincoln Capla 1969 - 2006
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