For Timothy Rees’ newest solo show at Bonner David Galleries in Scottsdale, Arizona, the painter says that his work is evolving in exciting ways, including in the areas of paint, subject, composition and also in an unlikely direction as he adds gold leaf to his paintings.
The glimmering medium is famously fussy: even an imperceptible breeze can make it impossible to handle, moisture and skin oils can gum it up, static can tear it, special tools are needed just to work with it and, because it’s gold, the thin sheets (estimated at 300 atoms thick) ain’t cheap. These are all flashing warning signs, but Rees plowed through them. In other professions this is called recklessness, but in art it’s called exploration.
Atlas, oil and 18K gold on linen, 48 x 36 in.“I actually started working with gold a long time ago, around 2010. I was building my own frames for my shows in Chicago at the Palette & Chisel. I learned leafing there so that I could gold leaf some of my frames. Then, flash forward to maybe six or seven years ago, I was gold leafing in the studio and I also went to a competition at the Academy of Realist Art in Boston. It was a one week figure-painting competition. And so I painted the model and then I incorporated gold leafing into that painting. And that painting itself has become a major influence on the work for this show,” Rees says. “I see this show as an evolution. I’m combining that heavy abstraction and a variety of paint applications, but then also the gold leafing that adds another layer of interest.”
Creation, oil and 24K gold on linen panel, 32 x 18 in.
The title of the show, Gilded Souls, which opens December 4, even refers to the gold elements in the new works. New pieces include Apprehension, in which the gold leaf dances at the edge of the figure. In other works, such as Cocoon, the gold leaf is applied in layers that mimic large brushstrokes, each one catching the light from a different angle.
The artist is also challenging himself by creating new kinds of texture on the surface of his paintings. “I’ve always tried to push texture as far as I can go with it and not let my OCD want to smooth it out. And so this show has been a good chance for me to push myself in that direction even further and experiment with just how far I can go,” he says.
Apprehension, oil and 24K gold on linen panel, 24 x 16 in.
Cocoon, oil and 18K, 22K and 24K gold on linen panel, 24 x 40 in.
The show will feature around 20 new works, including several large paintings. A reception will be held on opening day from 6 to 9 p.m. and will remain on view through December 31 in Scottsdale. —
Bonner David Galleries 7040 E. Main Street • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 • (480) 941-8500 • www.bonnerdavid.com
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