artist statement - Derek Reist
Derek Reist paints what the eye habitually takes in of the urban everyday. As he says, “Mostly we see through a screen of things we have seen before.” Reist breaks through this screen to give us a renewed glimpse of our surroundings.
He chose a subject that fascinated him: “the look of narrow swaths of golden light on otherwise mundane facades,” in an effort to “alter conventional perceptions of reality.”
Reist usually paints in series taken from his sketches and photographs; those in this show are from the upper east side of Manhattan. The pieces are worked simultaneously, building the first layer out of blocks of color, then adding more and more detail. During the final stages of refining this detail, he goes to the sky as an escape -- for it allows him to paint in a looser manner.
In the end, Reist strives to recreate his original psychological response toward the scene as he remembers it. Thus, each piece carries its own emotional impact -- depicting the unique and penetrating imagery of New York City.
EDUCATION:
1969-1973 Art Students League
1967-1969 Harvard University MBA 1969
1963-1967 Harvard University, BA 1967
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
Gallery Madison 90, New York City, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1981, 1983 Spring, 1983 Fall, 1992
Allen Sheppard Gallery, 530 W. 25th St., New York, 2002
Michael Ingbar Gallery, 568 Broadway, New York, 1997, 1999, 2003, 2005
GROUP SHOWS
New England Exhibition of Painting & Sculpture, 1976, 1997, 1998
Josef Gallery, New Jersey, 1976, 1977, 1978
Audubon Artists, NYC, 1978
National Academy, NYC, 1978
Winthrop Gallery, Washington, D.C., 1982
Jean Lumbard Fine Arts, NYC, 1983
Museum of Contemporary Hispanic Art, NYC, 1987
Gallery Madison 90 Inc., NYC, 1991
Americas Gallery, NYC, 1993
Red Windows, Christie’s, NYC, 1994
“NYC Bridges,” Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 1996
“Four Artists Take on New York,”
Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 1997
“Drawing the Lines: New York City Subways,”
Group Show to Benefit The New York Transit Museum,
Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 1997
“1898 Is Still Standing,” Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 1998
“Splendor in the Grass: Central Park,” Michael Ingbar, 1999
“New York at Large,” Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 1999
Phyllis Lucas Gallery, NYC, 2000
“Building Against the Sky,” Michael Ingbar Gallery, 2001
“Manhattan Paintings,” Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 2002
Phyllis Lucas Gallery, NYC, 2002
“Views of Manhattan,” Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 2003
Phyllis Lucas Gallery, NYC, 2004
“Color in New York,” Michael Ingbar Gallery, NYC, 2004
“Urban Affair,” Allen Sheppard Gallery, 2005
Group Show, Michael Ingbar Gallery, 2006
COLLECTIONS AND GALLERIES
In addition to private collections, Derek Reist’s paintings are owned by Paine Webber, General Mills Corporation, Howrey LLP at Citigroup Center, Cravath Swaine and Moore, Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer Associates, Pfizer Corporation and UBS. He is represented by Allen Sheppard Gallery in Chelsea, Michael Ingbar Gallery in SoHo, Michael Lucas Gallery in Midtown, and Studio 25N in Peekskill, New York.