Lance Letscher by Maya Frodeman Gallery

L ANCE LE TSCHER

ADRIAN NIVOLA

08 FEBRUARY — 24 MARCH 2024

L ANCE LE TSCHER AS SEEN IN A DRE AM

MAYA FRODEMAN GALLERY

AS SEEN IN A DREAM

Lance Letscher’s collages are accumulations of tiny bits of paper taken from a myriad of sources. His compositions, driven by a piecemeal aesthetic with a meticulously obsessive sensitivity to color and content, evoke both the expansiveness of the cosmos and the complex detail of microcellular life forms. Crafted with a rich and vibrant vocabulary eliciting discovery by his viewers, Letscher’s works engage us with their poetry and intricacy. Since the late 1980’s, Letscher has used the raw materials of wood, marble, old books and paper in such a manner as to remove them from their original context. As a youth, he cleaned out vacated rental properties owned by his grandparents and developed a curious habit of imagining other people’s lives from the traces left behind. Trained as a printmaker, Letscher’s early career focused on intensely conceptual sculptures of marble or wood: a doll-sized marble wheelchair, a dwarfed piano of wood, a rumpled child’s pillow in marble. In the mid-1990s Letscher shifted from his conceptual sculptures towards paper and collage but took away from his experience as a sculptor incredible patience and ability to focus on labor-intensive compositions. He began to collect antique paper, ledgers, old notebooks, diaries, letters, record covers, magazines and books from thrift stores, junk-shops, used-booksellers, and even dumpsters. He meticulously organizes and stores these weathered materials, which he later surgically deconstructs and deploys, creating new narratives from shards of a memory. Letscher’s geometric and contemplative juxtapositions of color and pattern call to mind the classic craft of quilt making, which he has cited as an influence. Other frequent comparisons are to a wide and varied roster of other artists: Josef Albers, Piet Mondrian, James Castle, and Martín Ramírez, among others. Letscher’s most recent works explore notions of locomotion, technology, and the creative impulse at the heart of human nature. Letscher re-visits his sculptural roots as his collages leap into three dimensions, using vibrant colors and letters to cover the surfaces of such varied subjects as guns, motorcycles, rockets, tools and toy planes. A diligent and nearly constant worker, Letscher follows, with enthusiasm and gratitude, wherever his source materials lead him. 3

Lance Letscher attended the University of Texas where he received both his Bachelor of Fine Arts and his Master of Fine Arts. He later apprenticed for Amado Peña, an artist known for his Southwestern-style prints. He currently lives and works in Austin, Texas. His work is held in public and private collections around the country and has been reviewed in Art in America, The New York Observer, and Harper’s Magazine, among other publications.

A full-length monograph of his work, Lance Letscher:

Collage, was published in 2009.

AS SEEN IN A DREAM, 2023 Collage on board 32 x 65 inches

AS SEEN IN A DREAM II, 2023 Collage on board 11 3/4 x 8 1/4 inches

TWO OWLS, 2023 Collage on board 11 x 27 inches

NIGHT BIRD, 2023 Collage on board 14 x 20 1/2 inches

THE MYSTERY, 2023 Collage on board 17 1/2 x 12 inches

ORANGE STAR, 2023 Collage on board 23 3/4 x 16 inches

SECRET REPORT, 2023 Collage on board 9 1/4 x 6 inches

TWO BOOKS, 2023 Collage on board 12 x 9 inches

RINGS OF SATURN, 2023 Collage on board 12 x 9 inches

METEOR, 2023 Collage on board 7 3/4 x 5 3/4 inches

JUNIPER GARDEN, 2023 Collage on board 14 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches

PINK PARK WITH A BRIDGE, 2023 Collage on board 32 x 43 inches

PINK GLADE, 2023 Collage on board 20 x 17 inches

BLUEJAY WITH AN ACORN, 2023 Collage on board 12 3/4 x 14 inches

BARNSWALLOWS, 2023 Collage on board 12 3/4 x 12 inches

NIGHT BIRDS, 2023 Collage on board 10 x 18 1/2 inches

RED DRAGONFLY, 2023 Collage on board 9 x 12 inches

F & F, 2020 Collage on board 27 x 23 inches

THE LETTER ‘S’, 2023 Graphite on paper 20 1/4 x 15 3/4 inches

FOO, 2023 Graphite on paper 20 x 15 1/2 inches

FIN, 2023 Graphite on paper 15 1/2 x 20 inches

THOUGHT BUBBLE, 2023 Graphite on paper 30 x 20 inches

MONEY BAGS, 2022 Graphite on paper 20 x 15 inches

LANCE LETSCHER American, born in 1962 Lives and works in Austin, Texas

EDUCATION BFA MFA

University of Texas, Austin, Texas University of Texas, Austin, Texas

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2024 2023

2022

2021 2020

2019 2017

2016 2014 2013

2012 2011

As Seen in a Dream, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson Hole ,WY Sail to the Moon, Stephen Clark Gallery, Austin, TX Figure 8, Taimodern gallery, Santa Fe, NM Koelsch Gallery, Houston TX The Art of the Painterly Collage, Conduit Gallery, Dallas TX Intaglio, Flatbed Press , Austin TX Birds and Fishes, Stephen Clark Gallery, Austin TX Tenuous Logic, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson Hole WY Lance Letscher, Collage, the Wright gallery, Texas A&M university, College Station,TX A Bird Flew in Through My Window, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX, Catalog Tai Modern, Santa Fe, NM Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX The Miraculous Staircase, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY Cut & Staple: New Work by Lance Letscher, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY Untroubled Mind, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY Lance Letscher, Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX Parallel Universe, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX Secret File, TAI Modern, Santa Fe, NM Lance Letscher: New Collages, Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX Real Life Drama, Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, NY Galerie Vidal Saint Phalle, Paris, France Majority Rules: A Decade of Contemporary Art Acquisitions. McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, TX Pregunta Numero Uno, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson, WY Eight Modern, Santa Fe, NM D Berman Gallery, Austin, TX The Ghost in the Machine, Galerie Vidal Saint Phalle, Paris, France Needle in the Hay, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas 64

2010

2009 2008 2007

2006

2005

2004

2003

Further Work From The Middle Ages, D. Berman Gallery, Austin, Texas Lance Letscher, collage, Galerie Peter Vann, St. Moritz, Switzerland Hard Eye, Tayloe Piggott Gallery, Jackson Hole, Wyoming Galeria Miguel Alzueta, Madrid, Spain The Perfect Machine, David Berman Gallery, Austin Texas The Perfect Machine #2, Eight Modern Gallery, Santa Fe, NM Lance Letscher, collage, Pascal Polar Galerie Brussels, Belgium New Work From the Middle Ages, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX Thinking Machines, Galerie Vidal St. Phalle, Paris, France Nervous System, Howard Scott Gallery, New York, NY Faktura/Tektonika, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX Lance Letscher, Cottage Industry, Grover Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA Galeria Miguel Alzueta, Barcelona, Spain Industry and Design, David Bernam Gallery, Austin, TX Machines, Buildings, and Books, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX Lance Letscher, Comedy/Tragedy, Galerie Vidal St. Phalle, Paris, France Furthermore, New Work by Lance Letscher, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX Lance Letscher – Collage, Armarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, TX Lance Letscher: Index, David Berman Gallery, Austin, TX Lists and Poems, Gallery 68, Austin, TX Lance Letscher, Photographs, Stephen L. Clark Gallery, Austin, TX Lance Letscher, Recent Collages, Galeria Miguel Alzueta, Barcelona, Spain Here and There, New Work by Lance Letscher, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX Windows and Curtains, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA Lance Letscher, Howard Scott Gallery, New York, NY Lance Letscher: Current Work, The Beeville Art Museum, Beeville, TX Lance Letscher, Drawing with Scissors, Richard Levy Gallery, Albuquerque, NM Lance Letscher, Plan B, Steven Wolf Gallery, San Francisco, CA Lance Letscher, Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA Lance Letscher: New Work, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX Lance Letscher, Art Gaspar, Barcelona, Spain, catalog Books or parts of books, The Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, Texas, Travels to: The Austin Museum of Art, Austin TX, The Arlington Art Center, Arlington, TX The Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, TX, catalog Lance Letscher: Provisional Beauty, D. Berman Gallery, Austin, TX Lance Letscher, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, TX Old Jail Art Center, Albany, TX Lance Letscher, Collage – Arbeiten/Collage – Works, Galerie Renate Bender, Munich, Germany Lance Letscher, New Work, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX, catalog Lance Letscher, New work in Cut Paper, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX 65

2002

2001 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1991 1990

1989

1988 1987

Lance Letscher, Someone’s Life, Collages and Drawings, Howard Scott Gallery, New York, NY, catalog Lance Letscher, Collage & Drawings, McMurtrey Gallery, Houston, TX Lance Letscher, D. Berman Gallery, Austin, TX New Work, Lance Letscher, Slugfest Gallery, Austin, TX Fall, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX Games and Puzzles, Gallery Lombardi, Austin, TX Paper Work, Slugfest Gallery, Austin, TX Lance Letscher: Drawings, Gallery Lombardi, Austin, TX Lance Letscher, James Gallery, Houston, TX The Small Island, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, TX Lance Letscher, James Gallery, Houston, TX The Tree, Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, TX White, N.NO.O. Gallery, Dallas, TX The Angel of Gravity, James Gallery, Houston, TX Lance Letscher and David Mackie — New Work, James Gallery, Houston, TX Lance Letscher: Sculpture, Prints, Painting, Richard/Bennett Gallery, Los Angeles, CA Home, N.NO.O. Gallery, Dallas, TX Lance Letscher, Trans Avant-Garde Gallery, Austin, TX Lance Letscher, James/Schubert Gallery, Houston, TX Galeria “ON,” Poznan, Poland Lance Letscher, Galeria “ON”, Poznan, Poland Lance Letscher, James/Schubert Gallery, Houston, TX Lance Letscher, R.G.K. Foundation, Austin, TX

SELECTED COLLECTIONS Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX The McNay Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX The Austin Museum of Art, Austin, TX Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, TX Archer M. Huntington Gallery, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, TX Museum of Art, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX Texas State University Permanent Collection, San Marcos, TX Libres Del Trapez, S.A., Barcelona, Spain Temple Emanu El, Houston, TX Andrews & Kurth, Dallas/Fort Worth, TX BHP Petroleum, Houston, TX Bell & Murphy, Houston, TX California State University Print Collection, Long Beach, CA 66

Cox & Smith, San Antonio, TX Dean Witter Reynolds, Houston, TX Dell Childrens Medical Center, Austin TX HMSS, Houston, TX Leigh, Smitherman, Edwards, Houston, TX Memorial Hospital System, Houston, TX North American Mortgage, Houston, TX Pan Energy, Houston, TX St. Maximillian Kolbe Catholic Church, Houston, TX Texas Bank, McAllen, TX USAA, Reston, VA; Sacramento, CA, and San Antonio, TX Woodard, Hall & Primm, Houston, TX American Airlines Admirals Club, Austin, TX SAFECO, Seattle, WA Open Diagnostic Imaging Center, Dallas, TX The Progressive Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio The May and Samuel Rudin Foundation, New York City Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS AND PRESS 2021 2020 2017

2010

2009

“Lance Letscher - How do you collage a motorcycle?” The Red Wizard, September. John Zotos, “Lance Letscher’s collages compel us to ponder our place within the natural world,“ Dallas Morning News, July 9. Sean L. Malin, “Eye Wide Open on Lance Letscher,” The Austin Chronicle. March 3. Kerry Levielle, “‘The Secret Life of Lance Letscher’ Clip: SXSW Doc Shows the Painfully Beautiful Chaos of An Artist’s Mind,” IndieWire, March 16. Steve Greene, “SXSW 2017: The Best Films and Performances — Critics Survey,” IndieWire, March 20. “‘The Secret Life of Lance Letscher’: Film Review,” The Hollywood Reporter, April 20. Cynthia Rubin, “Lance Letscher Dishes on “The Secret Life of Lance Letscher”,” Austin Monthly, Spring. Dave McNary, “Film News Roundup: Netflix to Release Lady Gaga Documentary in September,” Variety, August 24. Lybi Ma, “Inside the Mind of Lance Letscher,” Psychology Today, November. “The Perfect Machine,” Lance Letscher, The University of Texas Press The Magazine, “Lance Letscher: The Perfect Machine,” Richard Tobin, May 2010 Pasatiempo, The New Mexican Arts, Entertainment and Culture, “Paintings and Throwaways,” Rob Dewalt, April 2-8, 2010 The Santa Fe Reporter, “Another Man’s Treasure,” John Photos, April 7-13, 2010 The Daily Texan, “Collage Artist Displays Perfect Machine,” Julie Rene Tran, April 19. Cindy Widner, “Book Review: Lance Letscher: Collage,” Austin Chronicle, 24 April. 67

2008

2007

2006 2005

2004

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2002

Albert Mobilio, “Book Review: Lance Letscher: Collage,” BookForum, April/May. Charles Dee Mitchell, “Lance Letscher at d berman gallery”, Art in America, December. Nikki Moore, “Lance Letscher: Industry and Design,” The Austin Chronicle, 13 June. Madeline Irvine, “Lance Letscher: Newly Industrious,” The Austin Chronicle, 30 May. Andres Schiffrin,” a l’emprise des conglomerates”, Le Monde diplomatique, October. Lance Letscher, Comedy/Tragedy, La Gazette de l’hotel Drouot, 21 September. Le Monde, October. Charles Dee Mitchell. “Current Shows at Conduit Gallery,” Glasstire, April. Nikki Moore. “Northward Exposure,” Tribeza Magazine, November. Houchin, Cynthia. “Austin’s Artists,” Longhorn Living, Daily Texan, 1 November. Maureen Mullarkey, “Lance Letscher: Recent Work,” The New York Sun, December 8. Rebecca Cohen, “Object, d berman gallery,” ArtLies Magazine, Summer 2005 …might be good, Issue # 48, July 8, “Five Artists Show “OBJECTS” at d berman gallery” Lance Letscher: New Work at Conduit Gallery, Exhibition Catalog with essay by Madeline Irvin, Conduit Gallery, Dallas, Texas Madeline Irvin, “The Book on Lance Letscher: Behind the Buzz of One of Austin’s Hottest Artists,” The Austin Chronicle, June 25, 2004 Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, “Collages Mesmerize a Devoted Following,” The Austin AmericanStatesman, June 12, 2004 Molly Beth Brenner, “Books and Parts of Books: 1996-2004,” The Austin Chronicle, June 24, 2004 Lance Letscher: Books and Parts of Books, Exhibition Catalog with essay by Dee Mitchell and Dana Friis-Hansen,Galveston Arts Center, Galveston, Texas Pam Scheinman, “Lance Letscher, Quiltlike Collages,” Fiberarts, Summer 2004 Mario Naves, “Currently Hanging: Odds and Ends,” The New York Observer, January 5 John Kain, “The Beautiful Trap,” Tricycle Magazine, Spring 2004 Kim Alexander, “Compilations: The Art of Lance Letscher,” Image Magazine. Jacqueline May, “Summer Light”, Austin Chronicle, 1 August. Rachel Koper, “Summer Light”, Glasstire, July & August. Jeanne Claire Van Ryzin, “Don’t Hate This Exhibit Because It’s Beautiful”, Austin AmericanStatesman, 24 July. Janet Kutner, “For Austin Artist, the Sum is Greater than the Parts,” The Dallas Morning News, February 12, 2003 Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, “A Poet in Scrap Paper,” The Austin American- Statesman, November 2002 Melissa Kuntz, “Lance Letscher at Howard Scott,” Art in America, October. Andrew Long, “Lance Letscher: Howard Scott Gallery, McMurtrey Gallery,” ArtLies, Summer Ed. Harpers Magazine, photograph, April. Edith Newhall, “The Mind Reels,” New York Magazine, April 22. Mario Naves, “A Texas Treasure Hunt: Letscher’s Stunning Chelsea Debut,” New York 68

2001

2000

1998 1997

1996

1992

1990

Observer, April 17. Wayne Alan Brenner, “Anatomy of a Print: Artist Lance Letscher and Slugfest Team up to Produce a Labor of Something Like Love,” The Austin Chronicle, April 5. Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, review, Austin American-Statesman, December 20. Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, “Letscher Builds Small Pieces into Abstract, Beautiful Whole,” Austin American-Statesman, June 10. Jeanne Claire van Ryzin, “A Clear Vision Emerges in Letscher’s Little Pieces of Paper,” Austin American-Statesman, November 18. Mike Daniels, “Collage Artist Perfects His Balancing Act,” The Dallas Morning News, February 11. Cari Marshall, “Lance Letscher: Sublime, Quiet Beauty,” The Austin Chronicle, October 16. Christina Rees, The Met, December 24. “Mike Daniels, Lance Letscher at Conduit Gallery,” The Dallas Morning News. Catherine D. Anspon, “A Cohesive ‘Reunion’,” Public News, Photo, January 29. Patricia C. Johnson, “Exhibits Draw Contrasting Styles, Moods,” Houston Chronicle, January 18. Valerie Loupe Olsen, Administrative Dean. “SCHEMATA: Drawings by Sculptors,” Exhibition Catalogue, Glassell School of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas. Charles Dee Mitchell, “Houston: Lance Letscher: James Gallery,” Art in America, November; photo. LeAnn Davis Aispaugh, “Empty Walls,” Museum and Arts Magazine, December. Gerald Burns, “Brave New Works,” The Austin Chronicle, October 9. Pete Szilagy, “New Strokes are Brilliant,” The Austin American Statesman. Erni Ramirez, “New Works Featuring Austin and Central Texas Artists,” Entertainment, September 16. Gulf Coast: A Journal of Literature and Fine Arts, Summer. Susan Chadwick, Review, The Houston Post, December 16. Janet Kutner, “Impressions From the Edge,” Dallas Morning News, December 13. Susan Chadwick, “Turning plain into profound in Galveston,” The Houston Post, September 23. “Artists remake ordinary objects,” The Galveston Daily News, September 7; photo. Karen Emenhiser, “Lance Letscher and David Mackie,” Detour Magazine, July/August. Pamela Lewis, “Haul Officing” (1990 Economic Summit), The Houston Post, July 26. Patricia Johnson, “Art of Melancholy,” Houston Chronicle, May 21; photo. Susan Chadwick, “City Galleries Shine with Texans’ Art,” The Houston Post, May 5. The Austin American Statesman, April 22; photo. Jane Kutner, “Exhibits Keep Houston’s Artistic Reputation Intact,” The Dallas Morning News, April 8; photo. Mark Smith, “Two Exhibitions Derived from Conscience of the Artist,” The Austin American Statesman, April 6. William Torphy, “Objects of Veneration,” Artweek, January 28. “Swan Geer,” LA Times, January 20. 69

1989

1988

1987

1983

Don Bacigalupe, “Houston,” Contemporanea International, December. Charles Dee Mitchell, “Lance Letscher, N.NO.O. Gallery,” Artforum, October; photo. Karen Emenhiser, “Immaculate Conceptions,” Detour Magazine, September. Mark Smith, “Letscher Involves Viewer in Exhibit of Hope and Sadness,” The Austin American Statesman, July 27; photo. “Lance Letscher: New Three-Dimensional Work, and Nina Bealle: Paintings,” The Houston Post, Arts Section, July 9. Janet Kutner, “Preview,” Dallas Morning News, June 30. Ann Jarmusch, “Critic’s Choice: Lance Letscher,” The Dallas Times Herald, June 11. Janet Tyson, “It’s Installations vs. Art in Three Dallas Exhibitions,” Fort Worth Star Telegram, June 11;photo. Susan Chadwick, “Tacky Packaging Spoils Works in Reality,” The Houston Post, June . The Dallas Downtown News, June 5. Charles Dee Mitchell, “Greater than Zero,” Dallas Observer, June 1. Karen Emenhiser, “Art Look,” Deep End Voice, June. Mark Smith, “Graduate Students’ Works Make up Laudable Exhibition,” The Austin American Statesman, May 4; photo. Susan Chadwick, “Lance Letscher, Etchings and Sculpture at James/Schubert Gallery,” The Houston Post, October 9; photo. Dan Goddard, “Austin Artists See Apocalypse Now,” The Sunday Express News, S eptember 25. Marcia Goren Weser, “Like Gilbert, Some Art in Chaotic Show Packs Punch,” San Antonio Light, September 25. Marina LaPalma, “The Gaze Examined,” Artweek, July 23. Christopher Knight, “Trademarks for New Traditionals,” Los Angeles Herald Examiner, July 8; photo. Marcia Goren Solon, “UT Student Artists Display Ability to Tap Primitive Instincts of Man,” San Antonio Light, January 31; photos. Mell McCombie, “Seline Gallery Shows Refreshing Christmas Exhibit,” The Austin American Statesman, December 17. Susan Chadwick, “Metaphorical Letscher May be Metaphysical,” The Houston Post, July 26; photos. Susan Chadwick, “Artists Turn Something Old into Something New,” The Houston Post, July 14. Marcia Goren Solon, “Two Exhibitions Illustrate Relationship Between Religious Symbols and Art,” San Antonio Light, May 31. Mell McCombie, “Consistent Quality,” The Austin American Statesman, March 13. Stephen Bonin, “The Last Supper – Christianity of Renaissance Revived in Student Art,” Images/The Daily Texan Features Magazine, November 21; photos.

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