RODEO London

October 1 – 29, 2016

Leidy Churchman

LOST HORIZONS

“One day passes and another day comes along, and everything happens the same. But basically, we are so afraid of the brilliance coming at us, and the sharp experience of our life, that we can’t even focus our eyes.”  –– Chögyam Trungpa

Leidy Churchman combines different styles and experiences in order to explore the complexity of an image and its visibility.  Lost Horizons presents a series of new works whose subjects are not immediately discernible despite their familiar appearance and construction. The pictures are rich in detail and color, as if to emphasize a moderated, delusional experience, a veil over your eyes. Yet, the clarity in this portrayed moment can open the door for a ‘brilliance coming at us’, bold energized visions, and a spiritual truth. By revealing the transformative properties of representation and perception, Churchman gives art making and painting contemplative agency.

Leidy Churchman (b. 1979) lives and works in New York. His work is currently on view in Painting 2.0: Expression in the Information Age, Museum Moderner Kunst Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna and Human Interest: Portraits from the Whitney’s Collection, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. He has participated in group exhibitions at LAXART, Los Angeles; Kunsthalle Bern; Highline, New York; Yale Union, Portland; Museum Brandhorst, Munich; The National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen; ICA, Philadelphia; Contemporary Arts Museum Houston; Human Resources, Los Angeles; Stroom Den Haag; Museum of Art at Rhode Island School of Design; and MoMA PS1, NY. In 2013, Churchman had a solo exhibition at Boston University Gallery on the occasion of which the book Emergency was published by Dancing Foxes Press. Churchman received his MFA from Columbia University in 2010, and his BA from Hampshire College in 2002. From 2011-12, he was a resident artist at Rijksakademie in Amsterdam.

Installation view, Leidy Churchman, Lost Horizons, Rodeo, London, 2016

Installation view, Leidy Churchman, Lost Horizons, Rodeo, London, 2016

Installation view, Leidy Churchman, Lost Horizons, Rodeo, London, 2016

Installation view, Leidy Churchman, Lost Horizons, Rodeo, London, 2016

Leidy Churchman, Squirrel Minded, oil on linen, 51 x 61 cm (20 1/8 x 24 in), 2016

Leidy Churchman, Squirrel Minded, oil on linen, 51 x 61 cm (20 1/8 x 24 in), 2016

Installation view, Leidy Churchman, Lost Horizons, Rodeo, London, 2016

Installation view, Leidy Churchman, Lost Horizons, Rodeo, London, 2016