Conduit Gallery presents Lance Letscher: "The Art of the Painterly Collage" opening reception

eventdetail
Photo courtesy of Lance Letscher

For his elaborately detailed collages, Lance Letscher mines materials from the ephemera and commercial reproductions of used book shops, antique stores and dealers in vintage periodicals. He is drawn to the visuals of an era when illustration dominated over photography. The ink used in the printing of the 1950s and '60s imbues a particular patina and palette to the work.

Imagery from the likes of seed catalogues and magazines is venerated and reinterpreted through the artist’s meticulous placement and use of varnish, preserving the mid-century Americana time stamp. With the precision of a surgeon and the inspiration of an alchemist, Letscher uses an X-acto blade to transmute the raw materials causing these to transcend into “the art of the painterly collage.”

His richly layered, complex compositions create a kaleidoscope of shape and color. The various illustrated materials, objects and fauna dance across a background saturated in flora while improvisational color fields carry movement to the foreground. In certain works, Letscher uses a garden strategy, layering paper images as he would design a private landscape.

Other works are informed by dreams such as Tattoo Idea where a meticulously cut cache of crossed out lists joins a multitude of machined elements. These fragments compose the undulating currents that carry a family of carp. In the artist’s hands, a 2-D picture plane becomes unapologetically Romantic - a sky of roses, a meadow of birds. Gazing upon the saturated field of shapes and colors one is called to dive into the mysterious font of creative production.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on view through October 15.

For his elaborately detailed collages, Lance Letscher mines materials from the ephemera and commercial reproductions of used book shops, antique stores and dealers in vintage periodicals. He is drawn to the visuals of an era when illustration dominated over photography. The ink used in the printing of the 1950s and '60s imbues a particular patina and palette to the work.

Imagery from the likes of seed catalogues and magazines is venerated and reinterpreted through the artist’s meticulous placement and use of varnish, preserving the mid-century Americana time stamp. With the precision of a surgeon and the inspiration of an alchemist, Letscher uses an X-acto blade to transmute the raw materials causing these to transcend into “the art of the painterly collage.”

His richly layered, complex compositions create a kaleidoscope of shape and color. The various illustrated materials, objects and fauna dance across a background saturated in flora while improvisational color fields carry movement to the foreground. In certain works, Letscher uses a garden strategy, layering paper images as he would design a private landscape.

Other works are informed by dreams such as Tattoo Idea where a meticulously cut cache of crossed out lists joins a multitude of machined elements. These fragments compose the undulating currents that carry a family of carp. In the artist’s hands, a 2-D picture plane becomes unapologetically Romantic - a sky of roses, a meadow of birds. Gazing upon the saturated field of shapes and colors one is called to dive into the mysterious font of creative production.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on view through October 15.

For his elaborately detailed collages, Lance Letscher mines materials from the ephemera and commercial reproductions of used book shops, antique stores and dealers in vintage periodicals. He is drawn to the visuals of an era when illustration dominated over photography. The ink used in the printing of the 1950s and '60s imbues a particular patina and palette to the work.

Imagery from the likes of seed catalogues and magazines is venerated and reinterpreted through the artist’s meticulous placement and use of varnish, preserving the mid-century Americana time stamp. With the precision of a surgeon and the inspiration of an alchemist, Letscher uses an X-acto blade to transmute the raw materials causing these to transcend into “the art of the painterly collage.”

His richly layered, complex compositions create a kaleidoscope of shape and color. The various illustrated materials, objects and fauna dance across a background saturated in flora while improvisational color fields carry movement to the foreground. In certain works, Letscher uses a garden strategy, layering paper images as he would design a private landscape.

Other works are informed by dreams such as Tattoo Idea where a meticulously cut cache of crossed out lists joins a multitude of machined elements. These fragments compose the undulating currents that carry a family of carp. In the artist’s hands, a 2-D picture plane becomes unapologetically Romantic - a sky of roses, a meadow of birds. Gazing upon the saturated field of shapes and colors one is called to dive into the mysterious font of creative production.

Following the opening reception, the exhibit will be on view through October 15.

WHEN

WHERE

Conduit Gallery
1636 Hi Line Dr.
#C
Dallas, TX 75207
https://www.conduitgallery.com/

TICKET INFO

Admission is free.
All events are subject to change due to weather or other concerns. Please check with the venue or organization to ensure an event is taking place as scheduled.
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