Richard Rezac , Untitled (07-10) , 2007, Painted cherry and aluminum, 20" x 32 1/2" x 1”

James Harris Gallery is pleased to present its third solo exhibition by Richard Rezac. Using a vocabulary related to geometric abstraction, Rezac creates subtle compositions that are imbued with dynamic tension. He sensitively juxtaposes both materials, such as painted wood with aluminum or cast bronze, and color, making his practice a reductive one that brings together a minimal number of elements within any one work.

Untitled (07-10), represented in the show along with a preparatory drawing, provides insight into the artist’s working process—one that is both deeply analytical and intuitive. In this work, four horizontal bands are positioned in an even step formation. Rezac’s choice of color, mixing two similar hues, and meticulous patterning of diamond-shaped holes, used as contradistinction, makes for a slowed rhythm as one considers the piece. While still sculptural, it is significant that Untitled (07-10) and other recent works are attached especially close and parallel to the wall. Departing from the conventions of relief sculpture, which relies on projected form and shadow for effect, these works hover ambiguously between painting and sculpture.

Richard Rezac’s sculpture has been shown nationally and internationally, most notably in a 2006 survey of his work at the Portland Art Museum. Other venues include Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, IL; Artgarden, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. In 2004, Rezac received a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant and, in 2006, the coveted Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome. He lives and works in Chicago.