“Over the past year, walking into my studio, creating and being surrounded by these new paintings, I could feel a tremendous sense of lightness,” says artist Gay Summer Rick of her latest body of work. Raised in New York and now living in Los Angeles, Rick creates atmospheric landscapes—coastal and urban—that seem to radiate emotion. Using palette knives to apply layers of oil paint onto the canvas, Rick draws viewers in with her glowy, luminous scenes.
Luminance, oil on canvas, 30 x 48"
“I kept thinking that no matter where we stand in the world, we have all lived through several really challenging years, and we can all benefit from a bit of a lift,” she continues. “Building the current series of paintings, I wanted to include moments that inspire awe and a sense of wonder. The ideas just kept flowing.”
Lustre, oil on canvas, 40 x 30"
Rick’s dreamlike scenes often capture a world in which the city meets the sea. Inspiration is found wherever the saltwater lingers—along beaches, on boardwalks and piers. “Often in the morning or evening as the fog begins to lift or is just rolling in, I walk out on the pier to watch the dance,” she says. “Surfers catching and riding waves, or in calm water, the slow dance of surfers at rest. I began to feel a sense of lightness when studying surfers at rest and knew I had to describe that through my paintings.” See works like Luminance and Lustre, in which glowing, golden-bodied surfers glide along the surface of the water. In Lustre, the ocean water is a shade of hot pink in the foreground, diffusing into gentler hues as it reaches the sky.
Adagio, oil on canvas, 60 x 48"
“When you stand back and look at the work you may notice this atmospheric, misty quality, the subtle colors receding in space,” Rick adds. “The surfers with their boards may not even be recognizable as figures. Then, as you move closer to the paintings you begin to see the surfers at rest on and about their boards. Their shapes and gentle movement floating on the water create this peaceful sense of calm.”
Lately, the artist has also been captivated by the seemingly weightless acrobatics of trapeze artists, which can be seen in works like Adagio. “I kept noticing trapeze schools popping up on the piers in New York and then in Los Angeles. Trapeze artists flying through the air, and for a weightless second, suspended above our heads. Absolutely awe-inspiring!” says Rick.
Cadence, oil on canvas, 20 x 48"
Soaring acrobats, floating surfers and flying kites—they’re all core elements of this new body of work. “These are the kinds of things that I felt would lift people up.” A solo exhibition titled Gay Summer Rick: Lighter Than Air is being held at bG Gallery in Santa Monica, California, from October 7 through November 6. An opening reception takes place Saturday, October 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. —
bG Gallery 2525 Michigan Ave #A2 Santa Monica, CA 90404 • (310) 906-4211 www.santamonica.bgartdealings.com
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