Fri, Sep 19 - Sat, Dec 6  2014

RH Contemporary Art will present four one-person exhibitions of work from international artists Refik Anadol, Jason Gringler, Bas van den Hurk and Gijs van Lith from September 19 to December 6, 2014. The exhibition, which include painting, sculpture and video, are the artists’ first solo gallery shows in New York City. An opening reception with the artists will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, September 19.

In addition to that, on Thursday November 6 from 6.30 to 8 pm, curator Alex Bacon will go in conversation with Bas van den Hurk, to celebrate the launch of RH Contemporary Art’s Print Editions, featuring new prints by Bas van den Hurk and Tom Owen. The conversation will be moderated by Carol Kino, contributor to WSJ magazine and The New York Times.

RH Contemporary Art introduces new print editions as well, featuring limited edition prints by international artists Bas van den Hurk and Tom Owen. Crated while in residency with master printmakers, the works offer a new way to experience the artists of RH Contemporary Art. More info can be found here.

Bas van den Hurk

Ghosts and Spectres, the title of Bas van den Hurk’s exhibition at RH Contemporary Art, was inspired by Living with Ghosts, an essay by the Berlin-based art critic and curator Jan Verwoert. Verwoert’s essay discusses artists’ use of appropriation amid the changing political landscape of the Cold War and its aftermath. He argues that, in the contemporary moment, appropriated imagery is dynamic, both referring to its original historical moment and taking on new meanings in the present.

Van den Hurk’s work in this exhibition speaks to these ideas. His paintings, on glossy or matte fabrics, present the viewer with a combination of painterly gestures and fragmented silkscreens, subtly referencing Pop Art, Abstract Expressionism and 1970s-era feminism. A number of the works in the exhibition were created by van den Hurk during his RH Contemporary Art residency in Brooklyn this year.

In addition to paintings, van den Hurk has collaborated with Dutch fashion designer Sanne Jansen to create clothes, which will be displayed in the center of the gallery. These assemblagesof construction and fashion, of human presence and absence, will offer another perspective on phantoms and apparitions.

Van den Hurk’s work has been seen in solo and group exhibitions in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Berlin and Cologne, Germany; Brussels, Belgium, and London, United Kingdom. He lives and works in Tilburg, the Netherlands

Gijs van Lith

Gijs van Lith savors the process of creation, a focus and priority that is reflected in his heavily process-based works. “I think with my hands, and in the process of making I learn and have a better understanding of the themes I’m concerned with,”, he says. With an intense, intuitive and high-energy manner, van Lith creates many paintings at the same time, all in a constant state of revision. The canvases are painted countless times, as he applies layers of paint and then sands them down. “Each idea and gesture is applied with the intent of being the final and definitive one. But by sanding it again, I leave the painting open. I’m fascinated by the process of things,” he explains.

Van Lith’s exhibition, entitled Like my first love I can’t get you outta my head, presents eight paintings from his series The Mister Miyagi Paintings, made between 2011 and 2014. They reference the lead character from the Karate Kid films who invented unusual assignments to help his pupil master the art of karate. One of the tasks was to “needlessly” wax, buff and remove wax from a car, a random project that resembled one of the crucial defense techniques used in a karate fight. Van Lith recognizes the importance of performing these seemingly useless acts and the intrinsic sense of peace or bliss one can attain from them.

In addition to the Miyagi paintings, van Lith was on view in a solo exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum, in the Netherlands. His work has been on view in solo and group exhibitions in Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Beringen, Belgium; Berlin and Cologne, Germany, and Portland, Oregon. He lives and works in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands.