Edward del Rosario catalogue | Legend

E DWA R D D E L R O S A R I O

EDWARD DEL ROSARIO Legend October 19 - December 2, 2017

I have been using painting to explore a narrative that deals with power struggles in the aftermath of a post post-colonial world. My paintings, oil on linen, consist of finely detailed figures in colorful costumes staged on flat color or minimalist backgrounds. The paintings are either miniature portraits or characters engaged in larger dramatic scenes drawn from the narrative. The characters exist in an austere, allegorical world where identity, tradition, belief, and myth all intersect to redefine and recreate meaning. — Edward del Rosario

Edward del Rosario’s Complicated Charm Ryan Steadman People have always wanted to get inside the inscrutable minds of animals through art. We use animal hybrids in our stories, from the Egyptian god Anubis (the god of the afterlife who was half dog-half man) to The Little Mermaid, not just to imagine animal existence, but also to further understand the many facets of our own humanity.

church by blending those images with ones from alternative narratives, most notably with del Rosario’s own Asian heritage. The art of southeast Asia, from pictures of beautifully rendered beasts (both real and imaginary) to the brilliantly-hued traditional dress, would soon become another important foundation in del Rosario’s character portraits.

This hybridity is where painter Edward del Rosario finds his artistic inspiration. Raised by immigrants from the Philippines with a combined Spanish, Dutch, Chinese and Filipino ancestry, del Rosario was exposed to a melange of cultural traditions from an early age. He grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, a city with a tradition of promoting the arts that—fittingly enough—is also a transitional place by nature; a self-proclaimed ”Gateway to the West” that’s neither east nor the alternative.

After earning his Master’s degree in painting from the Rhode Island School of Design, del Rosario moved to New York City where he would slowly develop his unique style of tightly-rendered and imaginative paintings and drawings. With a delicate touch and a knack for vivid storytelling, del Rosario helped redefine a genre of magical painting in the early aughts, just as contemporary art critics had begun to take the medium of painting seriously again. His theatrical style, which was distinguished by detailed actors on immaculate monochrome backgrounds, took the idea of hybridity further than any of his contemporaries by creating subjects with a dizzying range of cultural and animalian references, often blending archetypes that are seemingly at odds with one another.

It is there that del Rosario first practiced and learned about art at an all-boys Jesuit school where he was inspired by the ornament and pageantry of church rituals. Later on, he would introduce this imagery in ways that subverted the official narrative of the Catholic

In a recent painting titled, Dominion I, for instance, mostly nude adolescents wearing animal skulls prepare to throw a dead bird into a cauldron—either as an offering or as dinner. Yet del Rosario achieves an odd harmony in the painting, thanks to a series of subtle visual relationships, like the way the flames that lick the underside of the antiquated iron pot look identical to the graphic flames on one of the boy’s surf shorts.

Meanwhile, a group of school children are wearing animal costumes while receiving lessons from animals wearing people costumes (more specifically, traditional English riding outfits). In fact, the entire scene—which is made up of 77 creatures in total—consists of figures that are either part animal, dressed as animals, or are, in one way or another, using animal parts.

Del Rosario also implies an undercurrent of transition within his fables, with many of the figures changing state in a multitude of ways. They can be seen travelling by boat from a distant land outside the frame, marching in a defiant group across the picture plane, or simply in the midst of changing their attire. The artist has even stated that he tends to create adolescent figures because that’s when people “first start adapting to cultural mores.” Yet it is with remarkable care and study that del Rosario

envelopes these complicated characters, seamlessly fusing elaborate details such as traditional filipino tattoos, Halloween costumes, 15th century armor, private school uniforms, and a veritable zoo of fur, feathers and scales into one amalgamated person.

The sum of these efforts is an obsessive inclusiveness that oddly feels more utopian than dystopian. In del Rosario’s universe, the extraordinary is ordinary, reminding us that we’re all complicated and in the middle of one journey or another. It’s a simple message made all the more powerful via this artist’s painstakingly embellished fictions. _____ Independent writer, curator, and artist Ryan Steadman has written about art for artforum.com, Cultured Magazine, Modern Painters Magazine, and The New York Observer and observer.com, among other publications.

Steadman has also organized a series of acclaimed gallery exhibitions, including his 2014 exhibition Ain’tings at the Robert Blumenthal Gallery, Save It For Later at the Sotheby’s S|2 gallery and a Bob Nickas-tribute show at the Nathalie Karg Gallery titled RE(a)D.

Monument I 2016 Oil on canvas/panel 30 x 24 inches

Deities I (Traveller) 2017 Oil on linen/panel 24 x 12 inches

Deities II (Empress) 2017 Oil on linen/panel 24 x 12 inches

Deities III (BeastMaster) 2016 Oil on linen/panel 24 x 12 inches

Deities IV (Charleton) 2016 Oil on linen/panel 24 x 12 inches

Young Titans I 2017 Oil on canvas/panel 16 x 12 inches

Young Titans II 2017 Oil on linen/panel 16 x 12 inches

Young Titans III 2017 Oil on linen/panel 16 x 12 inches

Young Titans IV 2017 Oil on linen/panel 16 x 12 inches

Leyendas I

2017 Oil on linen/panel 24 x 30 inches

Leyendas II 2017 Oil on canvas 24 x 32 inches

Titans I 2017 Oil on canvas/panel 24 x 24 inches

Titans II 2017 Oil on canvas/panel 24 x 24 inches

Titans III 2017 Oil on canvas/panel 24 x 24 inches

Titans IV 2017 Oil on canvas/panel 24 x 24 inches

Dominion I 2017 Oil on linen 48 x 72 inches

Paradise I 2017 Oil on linen 40 x 32 inches

EDWARD DEL ROSARIO

Born in 1970 in St. Louis, Missouri Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York EDUCATION 1998 M.F.A., Painting/Printmaking, RISD, Providence, RI 1993 B.F.A., Painting, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS SOLO 2017 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2007 2005 2004

EXHIBITIONS “Legend,” Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY “It’s All Fun and Games,” The Flat-Massimo Carasi, Milan, Italy “Dramas,” Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY “Farble,” Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA “Empire,” The Flat-Massimo Carasi, Milan, Italy “Exquisite,” Rice Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA “Bread and Circus,” Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY “New Paintings & Drawings,” Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA “Precipice,” Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA “New Work,” Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA “Paintings & Drawings,” Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2017 “Melted City 4,” Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines “Group Show,” Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA 2016 “Gallery Artists: Pre-Christmas Exhibition,” Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY “Small Works: More or Less,” Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY “Melted City 3,” Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines 2015 Scope Miami, Miami, FL “Melted City 2,” Blanc Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines 2014 Miami Project, Miami, FL 2013 The Armory Show, New York, NY 2012 “Tell Me A Story Now,” Rockland Center for the Arts, West Nyack, NY The Armory Show, New York, NY 2011 “Tributes I,” Irvine Contemporary, Washington DC 2010 “New Narrative,” Heskin Contemporary, New York, NY The Armory Show, New York, NY 2009 “The Speakeasy Show,” The Flat-Massimo Carasi, Milano, Italy “New Realism,” Irvine Contemporary, Washington DC “Group Show,” Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA

2008 “The Other Mainstream II: Selections from the Mikki and Stanley Weithorn Collection,” ASU Art Museum, Tempe, AZ “Aspect:Ratio 1,” Irvine Contemporary, Washington DC “Tenderly,” Sunday, New York, NY “Narrations,” Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York, NY “The Dog Came Out of the Woods,” Stonefox Artspace, New York “The Future Must Be Sweet,” ICPNY, New York, NY 2007 “Disarticulated Speech,” The Flat, Milan, Itlay “Group Show,” Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA “Deep End,” Aidan Savoy Gallery, New York, NY LA ART, New York, NY 2006 “Subjective Reality,” Judy Ann Goldman Fine Art, Boston, MA “Redefined,” Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collection, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC “Sci-Fi Lullabies: The Fireplace Project,” East Hampton, NY “Bestiary,” Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica, CA “Group Show,” Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA “Animalia,” Irvine Contemporary, Washington DC “Alimatuan,” The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI Scope NY, New York, NY LA ART, New York, NY 2005 “I Woke Up In a Strange Place...” Moti Hasson Gallery, New York, NY “Along the Way: MTA Arts for Transit,” Celebrating 20 Years of Public Art, the UBS Art Gallery, New York, NY “Works on Paper,” Future Prospects Gallery, Quezon City, Philippines “Group Show,” Rice/Polak Gallery, Provincetown, MA The Armory Show, New York, NY “New Work,” RISD Works, Providence, RI 2004 NADA Art Fair, Miami, FL “Neverland,” audioEngine, New York, NY “Works on Paper,” Stewart Gallery, Boise, ID “She’s Come Undone,” Greenberg Van Doren, New York, NY Scope Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA The Armory Show, New York, NY 2003 Scope Miami, Miami, FL “Assembly,” The Front Room, Brooklyn, NY

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS CONTINUED 2002 “Dime Bag,” New Image Art, West Hollywood, CA “The Panorama Project,” Gallery 69a, San Francisco, CA and the Front Room, Brooklyn, NY 2001 “Exquisite Day,” Pulse Ultra Gallery, Brooklyn, NY “Move 6: The Text Show,” Group Exhibition, Artworks/Bookarts, Santa Monica, CA 1999 “The Drawing Game, an Experimental Drawing Project, Directive Arts Day,” P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY “Flat Files,” Pierogi 2000, Brooklyn, NY “Paper Work,” Group Exhibition, The American Gallery, New York, NY

2009

Cliff Kuang, “The Year’s Best Magazine Design,” Fast Company, fastcompany.com, April 28 LoDown Magazine, Issue 65 Silver Medal, The Art Director’s Club 88th Annual Awards Illustration Gold Medal, The Society of Publication Designers

2008

Courduroy Four Al 28 Selection, American Illustration & American Photography MacDowell Fellowship Jeffery Cudlin, “Animalia,” Washington City Paper, June 23-29 Ken Johnson, Art Listings, The New York Times, Jan. 13 Holly Myers, “Enigmatic works go beyond comic book images,” Los Angeles Times, Dec. 2

2007 2006 2005

PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS 2004 MTA Arts for Transit: 1200’ frieze in the Price Street R/W New York City station, with Janet Zweig 2003 MTA Arts for Transit Subway Artcard PERMANENT COLLECTIONS Mount Holyoke College Art Museum The Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn Collection, New York, NY The West Collection, Oaks, PA Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC The Mikki and Stanley Weithorn Collection, Scottsdale, AZ The Blake Byrne Collection, Los Angeles, CA REVIEWS, PUBLICATIONS, FELLOWSHIPS & AWARDS 2014 Greta Scarpa, “Asuka Ohsawa/Edward del Rosario | It’s all fun and games,” Exibart.com, Jan 13 Redazione, “Asuka Ohsawa e Edward del Rosario | It’s all fun and games,” lovo Arte e Cultura Contemporanea, lovo.it, Jan. 17 Francesco Sala, “Per una nuova estetica del gioco,” Artribune.com Jan. 19 2011 Bryan Thao Worra, “Edward del Rosario,” Asian American Press, Oct. 1 2010 Nicola Cechelli, “Edward del Rosario/Patte Loper,” Flash Art, Italian Edition, April

2005

Marina Veronica, “Provincetown’s Big Art,” ArtsMedia, July-August Special Editions Fellowship, Lower East Side Printshop, New York, NY 2004 “Creativity in the Balance,” Los Angeles Times, Weekend Calendar, May 6 1998 “Sneak Preview,” The Providence Journal Bulletin, May 22 1997-98 T.F. Collie Scholarship, Rhode Island School of Design 1996-98 Award of Excellence, Rhose Island School of Design

Please contact the gallery for more information: margolis@nancymargolisgallery.com 212 242 3013 523 West 25 Street New York NY 10001 www.nancymargolisgallery.com

Catalog © 2017 NANCY MARGOLIS GALLERY Courtesy of Nancy Margolis Gallery, New York and Edward del Rosario © Edward del Rosario Photography © Edward del Rosario All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic or mechanical now known or hereafter invented, without written permission of publisher.