"Intimate in scale, Rickert’s plein air paintings function in opposition to the
domineering, masculine ethos of traditional notions of landscape painting. Though the work has echoes of Winslow Homer’s awe of the natural world, particularly the gesture and turmoil of his Maine seascapes, Rickert’s work does not place humanity in opposition to nature’s forces. Rather than seeking to control, categorize, or tame the untamable wilderness, Rickert’s paintings serve as portals into time and weather. The work is made in all climates: a hundred-and-five degree afternoon in Florence; a snowy, low-visibility morning in Chamonix; a sunny day in Joshua Tree, the clarity of the sky blindingly blue. Rather than attempt to contain the infinite, Rickert’s paintings coalesce around moments of character and color: the headlights of oncoming traffic; the nearly fleshy, thumblike mound of a rock formation; the alien, haloed silhouette of a cholla cactus, vibrating with pinks and yellows. They are discrete intervals of seeing on a human, personal scope." - Larissa Pham, from the exhibition catalogue
Alice Gauvin Gallery is pleased to present Rachel Rickert: Close Range, a solo exhibition of new paintings by Rachel Rickert, on view from September 15 to October 22, 2022.
After 10 years in New York, Rickert gave up her permanent residence to paint plein air across the US and Europe. In lieu of a studio, she now works amongst her impermanent surroundings, responding with immediacy to the wild, often remote, terrain. Close Range showcases these endeavors, including works painted in California, Nevada, Utah, Wyoming, Upstate New York, France, and Italy in 2022.
In addition to showing with Alice Gauvin Gallery, Rickert has recently shown with Auxier Kline, New York, NY; Capsule Shanghai, Shanghai, China; Jill Newhouse Gallery, New York, NY; The Painting Center, New York, NY; Danese/Corey, New York, NY; and John Davis Gallery, Hudson, NY. Recent Artist Residencies include the Vermont Studio Center, the James Castle House, Boise, ID, and she will be attending a residency at the Jentel Artist Residency, Banner, WY, this winter. Rickert (b. 1990, Bethesda, MD) received her MFA from the New York Studio School (2015), and her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis (2012).