Rex Lau: Acqua Pazza

From February 6 through March 30, 2009, The Drawing Room in East Hampton is pleased to present the concurrent exhibitions "Rex Lau: Acqua Pazza."

In his new series of small oil paintings on panel, Rex Lau, who lives and works in Montauk, distills his observations of the relationship between landforms and the ocean’s powerful currents in seemingly fanciful abstractions. In compositions of concentric patterned brushstrokes radiating around island outcroppings of solid color, Lau imposes a systematic order to evoke both the currents and the effect of light flickering on the water’s undulating surface.

Lau’s new paintings are constructed with a palette restricted to hues very close in value, a limitation that contributes to their woven effect without diminishing the tactile richness of his oil medium. In some works, contrasting serpentine lines drawn with pastel enhance the arrangements of stitch-like brushstrokes.

Lau attended The School of Visual Arts in New York City from 1966 to 1969. Since the late 1970s, he has had 24 solo exhibitions. His work is included in numerous museum collections, among them The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, the Whitney Museum of Art, the Yale University Art Gallery and The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

See below for full press release and selected works.