ROBERT LADUKE |
Recollection
ROBERT LADUKE Recollection
September 28- October 4, 2018
detail on the cover:
Shiprock acrylic 15x20
225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico | 505.983.1434 | www.meyergalleries.com | meyersfnm@aol.com
Robert LaDuke’s narrative paintings are a combination of memories, dreams and everyday life. Based on America in the 1930-40s, his art usually includes some form of transportation and features the toys which were popular during that era. He is a painter who uses playful images inspired from childhood memories or dreams to create humorous metaphorical paintings. LaDuke explains, “Although realism often dominates my work visually, it is in fact, merely providing a means - a frame of reference - to a metaphoric end.” With his use of often absurd and exaggerated scale relationships of cars or trains, he revives our own vividly playful memories as children but invents enough oddities to amuse us today. Robert La Duke has a BFA from Art Institute of Chicago and currently resides in Huntington Beach, CA.
Robert LaDuke’s illustrative paintings have a nostalgic quality as his subject matter consists of vehicles, homes and fashions that reference earlier eras. His vintage portraits of idyllic, Rockwell-esque American lifestyles stem from personal memories and experiences, but are often layered with surreal visions. Metaphors and narratives exist beneath LaDuke’s cartoon-like surfaces, which are painted with defined lines and candy-like color palettes. For this year’s solo show, however, LaDuke’s graphic painting process has loosened slightly to reveal softer, somewhat painterly edges. “The experimentation process through which my work evolves is highly intuitive,” explains LaDuke. “I arrive at a new approach with very little sense of conscious intention. The process feels organic to me.”
Blueberry acrylic 15x20
Hideaway acrylic 9.5x32
Robert LaDuke’s latest work for “Recollection” still maintains the illustrative quality that has long characterized his style, just through a somewhat blurred lens. “The soft focus on some of the paintings gives the pieces a slight dreamlike quality in my eyes,” he says. “I base the paintings on reality or memory but almost never try to create realistic images as an end product.”
Formation acrylic 14x13
Diner acrylic 12x16
The dreamy aspect of Robert LaDuke’s work draws us into mysterious narratives that are often left open-ended. In “Shiprock” for example, a cowboy on horseback waves his hat stopping an old green truck, leaving the viewer to wonder about the interaction that follows. Shiprock, a New Mexico landmark, towers in the background and gives the painting a sense of scale while setting an enchanting stage for the scene.
Shiprock acrylic 15x20
Primaries acrylic 12x32
Duel acrylic 11x11
Ansel Takes a Break acrylic 14x21
Final Bow acrylic 11x11
Avalon acrylic 14x14
Rocket Motel acrylic 13x12
Rocket Cafe acrylic 13x12
Creamsicle acrylic 9.5x22.5
Other narrative pieces in “Recollection” are more defined, at least for the artist, and reference memories from LaDuke’s past. “Blueberry” is a tribute to the artist’s grandparents; the central focus of the painting is a deep blue 1950s Pontiac inspired by the one LaDuke’s grandfather drove - the artist even referenced a personal photograph when painting it. One of LaDuke’s few memories of his grandmother is that she baked delicious pies, so a cooling blueberry pie rests in a nearby window. Family memories also inspire “Creamsicle,” in which an orange vintage car with an orange and white trailer steams across a stark bridge. The creamsicle palette reminds LaDuke of his mother, who bought them as special summer treats when LaDuke was a boy and whose birthday is signified through the number “27” adorning the bridge. The trailer and 1970s-era roadster is a common recurrence in LaDuke’s work, as the pair is stamped in the artist’s memory from summers spent traveling the country with his family.
Winter acrylic 13x13
Starlite acrylic 13x13
While the symbols in Robert LaDuke’s work often carry sentimental value, each piece can be interpreted freely. “I enjoy creating narratives with multiple meanings in my work,” says the artist, who ultimately aims to stimulate the memory and emotion of the viewer. His softened hand and loosened brushwork in his latest body of work encourages this visceral response and free interpretation.
Gee Bee Diner acrylic 13x13
Empire acrylic 15x10
Red Rock acrylic 12x12
ROBERT LADUKE |
Recollection
Ansel Takes a Break
14x21
$4800
Avalon
14x14
$3200
Blueberry
12x12
$2200
Creamsicle
9.5x 22.5
$3400
Diner
12x16
$3000
Duel
11x11
$2000
Empire
15x10
$2400
Final Bow
11x11
$2000
Formation
14x13
$3000
Gee Bee Diner
13x13
$2700
Hideaway
9.5x32
$4900
Primaries
12x32
$6200
Red Rock
12x12
$2300
Rocket Café
13x12
$2400
Rocket Motel
13x12
$2400
Shiprock
15x20
$4800
Starlite
13x13
$2800
Winter
13x13
$2800
Witness
9x14
$2000
ROBERT LADUKE BORN 1961 Holyoke, MA EDUCATION 1994 B.F.A., The School of the Art Institute of Chicago SELECTED AWARDS 1995 The Torana Art League, All Media 1995 Peter Frank - Juror, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA 1992 Presidential Scholarship, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 2008 “Meet The Artists VIII” Pacific Art Foundation, Newport Beach, CA 2007 Sue Greenwood Fine Art, Laguna Beach, CA Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ Mendenhall-Sobieski Gallery, Pasadena, CA 2006 Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ Mendenhall-Sobieski Gallery, Pasadena, CA 2005 Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ Mendenhall-Sobieski Gallery, Pasadena, CA 2004 Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ Mendenhall-Sobieski Gallery, Pasadena, CA Kidder Smith Gallery, Boston, MA 2003 Leslie Levy Fine Arts, Scottsdale, AZ 2002 Arcadia Gallery, New York, NY Diane Nelson Fine Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2001 Arcadia Gallery, New York, NY Diane Nelson Fine Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
1999 Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA 1998 Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA 1997 Mendenhall Gallery, Pasadena, CA Griffin Linton Contemporary Exhibitions, Venice, CA 1996 Griffin Linton Contemporary Exhibitions, Venice, CA 1995 Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA 1994 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL SELECTED PUBLICATIONS & MEDIA 2008 American Art Collector, April. “Toying with Time” by Joshua Rose 2006 Southwest Art, November. “Road Trip” by Bonnie Gangelhoff American Art Collector, March. “LaDuke’s playful images appeal“ by Joshua Rose Juxtapoz, February. “Dreaming with Cars” by Susan Montana 2005 Southwest Art, July. “Art Events” by Bonnie Gangelhoff Hot Chicks and Cool Rides, MSG Gallery 2004 Southwest Art, July. “Pool Party” by Richard Mahler 2002 New American Paintings, Volume 30, March. 2001 Communication Arts Magazine, July. 1999 New American Paintings, Volume 25, December. Artweek, Volume 30, June. LA Weekly, July.
ROBERT LADUKE
Witness acrylic 9x14
Recollection September 28- October 4, 2018 Artist Reception: Friday, September 28, 2018 | 5-7pm
225 Canyon Road, Santa Fe, New Mexico | 505.983.1434 | www.meyergalleries.com | meyersfnm@aol.com