Duane Reed Gallery Presents Nancy Newman Rice

Nancy Newman Rice

Duane Reed Gallery Duane Reed Gallery 4729 McPherson Ave. St. Louis, MO 63108 duanereedgallery.com

front cover: “Covid Chaos”, 2020, oil on canvas on sintra, 32” x 32”

“Covid Isolation I”, 2020, oil on canvas on sintra, 32” x 32”

“Covid Isolation II”, 2020, oil on canvas on gatorboard, 32” x 32”

left: “Rapid Exit”, 2021, oil on canvas on panel, 16” x 16” right: “Finding My Way Out”, 2021, oil on canvas on panel, 24” x 24”

In my paintings, the viewer observes but does not enter as the confusion of space is meant for contemplation rather than adventure.

The work of the Portuguese artist Maria Helena da Silva, 1908-1992, has always intrigued me. Her invented spatial environments have influenced my work, as my paintings also define space in which events occur. The floating geometric shapes have been distilled from my previous paintings where identifiable architectural elements predominated. I continue to layer a compilation of drawings, which I use repeatedly throughout my work. They are meant to produce a sense of continuous spatial reconfiguration, shapes that move imperceptibly as if by the passage of time.

Prior to my most recent paintings, I painted a series entitled “Afterwards”, referring to what is left after an event that may have been unpreventable or predictable. These segued into my recent work, which was produced during the pandemic, these images seem to have disassembled as the weeks dragged on. As a formalist, the psychological inference was unexpected.

There has always been an isolated light in my paintings, which not only casts shadows that briefly prove corporeality, but also illuminates a destination defined by those who recognize and ultimately, search for it.

Artist Statement

“After the Party 2”, 2021, oil on canvas on board, 36” x 24”

“After the Party is Over”, 2021, oil on canvas on board, 37” x 31”

“City of Reflections and Structures”, 2020, oil on canvas on sintra, 32” x 32”

left: “Savoy 1”, 2020, oil on canvas, 30” x 30” right: “Directed Light”, 2020, oil on canvas on wood panel, 24” x 24”

“Infinite Space”, 2020, oil on canvas on panel, 25” x 25” back cover: “Crane”, 2019, oil on canvas on sintra, 30” x 30”

DUANE REED GALLERY info@duanereedgallery.com www.duanereedgallery.com

4729 McPherson Ave. St. Louis, MO 63108 P: 314.361.4100