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James Lecce
May 1 - June 5, 2016



Lecce’s process-driven paintings are created through careful control of his materials and his technique, resulting in paintings that seem to be created all at once with nearly flawless surfaces. He begins by pre-selecting his palette, mixing his own paints by adding pigments to acrylic polymers in order to control the opacity, luminosity, and translucency of each color. Through various pooling and pouring techniques executed in multiple layers, he creates the foundation for his tight, linear compositions. Lecce works additional paint into and against these dense linear patterns. In the resulting works, whorls of color swoop and swirl, bulge and pulsate across glossy surfaces, flowing like fast-moving lava fields. Streams of color constrict and expand, moving past one another with an enhanced sense of speed and intensity. Pronounced elements of depth, volume and vibrancy emerge and give a sense of expansive fluid growth and dimension.
 
In this new body of work, Lecce has pushed the limits of his process to create paintings of heightened visual energy and density. The compositions are more linear and have greater movement and surface activity than in previous bodies of work. Color palettes range from icy and vaporous to bold and bright with strong contrasts. In several paintings Lecce restricts his palette to two or three colors, placing greater emphasis on the compositional energy, linearity and movement. Iridescent and metallic colors are a constant in his work and for him are evocative of the alchemical process that painting can be. Crescendos and lulls in the flow of paint create rhythms reminiscent of musical compositions. Additionally, recent travels to southern France and the colors and effulgence of flowers in the landscapes and monastery gardens there, as well as his own rooftop garden in Manhattan, have influenced the compositional density and palette choices. For this artist, both travel and horticulture provide invigorating creative resources of exploration and discovery, freedom and escape, and it is his goal to have these same sensibilities conveyed through his work.
 
  James Lecce, Empire
Empire, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
65 x 49 inches
James Lecce, Fade-In, Fade-Out
Fade-In, Fade-Out, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
45 x 84 inches
James Lecce, Close-Up
Close-Up, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
65 x 49 inches
  James Lecce, Swarm
Swarm, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
Diptych, each panel 24 x 20 inches
James Lecce, Sabre
Sabre, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
49 x 36 inches
James Lecce, Tusk
Tusk, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
Diptych, each panel 24 x 18 inches
  James Lecce, Spinner
Spinner, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
32 x 24 inches
James Lecce, Lifeline
Lifeline, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
32 x 42 inches
James Lecce, Foxy
Foxy, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
16 x 12 inches
  James Lecce, Trident
Trident, 2016
Acrylic polymer emulsion
on canvas on panel
12 x 12 inches
  James Lecce, installation 1
Installation view
James Lecce,installation 2
Installation view
James Lecce, installation 3
Installation view
  James Lecce, installation 4
Installation view
James Lecce, installation 5
Installation view
James Lecce, installation 7
Installation view
  James Lecce, installation 8
Installation view
James Lecce, installation 9
Installation view
James Lecce, installation 10
Installation view
  James Lecce, installation 11
Installation view
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55 Orchard Street, New York, New York 10002 212 989 5467 fax 212 989 5642
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