ART CITIES: Los Angeles-Gregory Siff

Painting in a purposeful yet playful manner, Gregory Siff’ work exhibits meaning
that is literal yet open for interpretation of nostalgia and childhood. Capturing happy moments while also tackling more serious topics, like the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign, Gregory Siff does not shy away from using his art to initiate a conversation.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Praz Delavallade Gallery Archive

Using inks, oils and acrylic paint, Gregory Siff creates his iconic ‘storyboards’ with each image representing an emotional or creative state of mind the artist considers to be a meaningful fragment of life. “To Understand Time” is an exhibition of new paintings, works on paper and sculptures by Gregory Siff. Gregory Siff’s emotive artistry is fueled by his desire to connect with people. He communicates through a language of iconography that he’s created over the past two decades from personal experiences, consumer culture, and history. Using acrylic, oil, pencil, spray and markers, Siff’s work reflects the objects, brands, and characters that have compelled him to create; incorporating image fragments from reference material, memory, and from all things that have had an impact on him throughout his journey. For him, these kinds of images are what connects intimate objects to memories of the past, and dreams of the future. The mixed-media works of art in “To Understand Time” see Siff pursuing strategies that combine aspects of painting and sculpture that resonate with the work of Robert Rauschenberg. Coining the term Survival Markers, Siff draws on materials from his everyday life; like reclaimed wood crates and old floor boards from his studio that create alternating visions, like a sign with multiple meanings. Within “To Understand Time” is Siff’s profound interconnectedness to his past, present, and what he sees as his future. He navigates themes ranging from the delicate balance between innocence and predation to the boundaries between existence and the afterlife. Through vivid recollections and poignant reflections, Siff’s works are portals into the enigmatic landscapes of the human psyche, where emotions intertwine, memories resonate, and dreams converge with reality. As he says “I wanted you to look me in the eyes, I tried to tell you everything that was going on since you left here. The living room looked as it did when you were last in it. I sat on the white leather couch beside you, patiently repeating for you to look at me in the eyes so I can know it’s really you. You turned your head to the left and finally looked at me. I looked into your eyes, and I saw my blue eyes in your eye sockets. I knew at that moment you saw it all. I was no longer afraid of anything. You grabbed my knee with your grip like you always did and with the voice of a force in the world, you said powerfully, now you’re cooking with GAS.!”

Photo: Gregory Siff, Rebel Without, 2024, acrylic, ink, crayon and oil on canvas, 40 x 60 in / 101.6 x 152.4 cm, © Gregory Siff, Courtesy the artist and Praz Delavallade Gallery

Info: Praz Delavallade Gallery, 6150 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, USA, Duration: 30/3-2/5/2024, Days & Hours: Tue-Sat 11:00-17:00, www.praz-delavallade.com/