ART CITIES:L.A.-Roland Reiss

Roland Reiss has a long and influential history in the L.A. and Southern California Art Scene. His’ early work owed a lot to Abstract Expressionism, however, the Conceptualist movement of the 70s opened up a new world to Reiss where content mattered. He began to explore human drama in narrative miniature tableaus filled with clues and encased in Plexiglas.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Diane Rosenstein Gallery Archive

Since the 1960s, Roland Reiss’ interest in the German philosopher Conrad Fiedler has led him to a more conceptual approach to the exploration of different perceptions of space and to an understanding of the way meaning is achieved visually as “Perceptual cognition”. In his exhibition “Je T’aime: Recent Paintings + Drawings From The 1960’s” at Diane Rosenstein Gallery in Los Angeles presents his recent intimate floral still-lifes, and also a selection of rarely seen drawings and collages from the ‘60s. Using the exact same subject, each painting in the “Je T’aime” series is different in detail and color, and deals with the confluence of abstraction and figuration. In the process the artist is able to make some of the elements in floral images become free of their object nature and be experienced as color sequences and activities in their own right.  The title, “Je T’aime”, refers to a gift that that the artist received during a recent illness, but he first encountered this title in a series of paintings by Robert Motherwell, especially, “Je T’aime No. 2”, (1955).  It occurred to him that such a title would apply to these paintings, which affect love in much the same spirit. The paintings essay a series of color possibilities.  In the exhibition is also a collection of early oil-pastel drawings on colored construction paper, from the ‘60s. These compositions were mostly created at UCLA during the summer of 1966. During this period, Reiss was drawing “from the model” with Richard Diebenkorn and William Brice, when they were both teaching at UCLA that summer. The drawings involve a group of figures set in invented domestic settings, in highly stylized renderings that involve exuberant patterns. This is the first time these drawings have been shown for nearly 50 years.

Info: Diane Rosenstein Gallery, 831 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, Duration: 24/6-12/8/16, Days & Hours: Mon-Fri 10:000-18:00, www.dianerosenstein.com