McKenzie Fine Art: James Lecce Exhibition 2008

55 Orchard Street, New York, New York 10002 212 989 5467 fax 212 989 5642


	James Lecce May 1 - May 31, 2008
	In this exhibition James Lecce expands upon his long-held interest in the power of pure visual pleasure. His vibrant and fluid biomorphic paintings emphasize the seductive and sensual possibilities of adornment, color, surface finish, and extravagance of form. The inspirations for Lecce’s current work include Rococo excess, the sinuous lines and stylized depictions of the natural world in Art Nouveau, as well as the entrancing ebb and flow of music. The voluptuous surfaces and bulging curvilinear elements of his poured acrylic paintings suggest indulgence and provide an alternative to the spare and functional designs of contemporary life. Lecce’s painting process begins with the choice of a color palette. The starting point for the current work was a brief description of Marie Antoinette’s favorite hues for her personal wardrobe: rich silvery and pearl gray shades, deep sea greens, burnished burgundies and puce. Once the colors are selected, Lecce mixes pigments with acrylic emulsion and starts a complex and multi-layered pouring process. The physicality, urgency and improvisation of this process are reflected in the buoyant, swirling compositions of the completed paintings. Pools of iridescent bronze, silver and gold flow among bands of striated color gradations. Pearlescent streaks and bulbous white nodes push and pull throughout the more densely colored areas. All are unified under a luscious, glossy surface.