Tony Lewis, Total, 2018, Graphite, pencil and colored pencil on paper, 72 x 96 in. Image courtesy of the artist and Massimo De Carlo Gallery; Photo: Andrea Rossetti.
Joe Reihsen, Tributaries I, 2023, Oil and acrylic on canvas. Courtesy of the artist.
Jan. 30, 2024
Artist Talk: Tony Lewis and Joe Reihsen
Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art auditorium
Friday, February 16, 2024
6 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Meet two artists who are working at the forefront of contemporary painting and drawing. Tony Lewis and Joe Reihsen will be joining us to talk about their innovative use of mediums “stretched, smudged, rubbed, spliced, and folded“ or allowed “to splash and pool according to the forces of gravity and the tension between liquid and fiber.” Freelance art critic Janelle Zara (Artforum, The Guardian, T: The New York Times Style Magazine) lends her voice to the discussion as our moderator.
This artist talk was developed in partnership with Erik Beehn and Test Site Projects, with funding from the UNLV Department of Art. It will take place in the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art auditorium on Friday, February 16, 2024, from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. All are welcome and entry is free.
About the Artists
Tony Lewis
Tony Lewis was born in 1986 in Los Angeles and currently lives and works in Chicago. In an ever-expanding engagement with drawing, he harnesses the medium of graphite powder to confront such social and political topics as race, power, communication, and labor. The material provides a literal and conceptual foundation for the artist's work, as it is stretched, smudged, rubbed, spliced, and folded across a variety of handmade and found surfaces.
In his latest series, he collages together altered cells from the beloved comic Calvin and Hobbes. In a process of erasing, editing, and reassembling words from their source, he continues to push the boundaries of drawing, and expand upon the use of another medium central to his practice, the "material" of language.
His work has been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC (2018); Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA (2017); and Museo Marino Marini, Florence, Italy (2016). He participated in the 2014 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, NY and was the recipient of the 2017-2018 Ruth Ann and Nathan Perlmutter Artist-in-Residence Award at the Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University, Waltham, MA. His work is held in notable permanent collections including the Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.; The Philadelphia Museum of Art; Philadelphia; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and The Museum of Modern Art, NY, among others.
Joe Reihsen
Joe Reihsen was born in Minnesota in 1979 and currently lives and work in Los Angeles. In his most recent works, he uses water-based pigments to embed the physical properties of nature into the surface of the canvas, allowing the water to splash and pool according to the forces of gravity and the tension between liquid and fiber. The deposits of color form a topography of islands, fault lines and other abstracted landmasses for the artist to either follow or traverse with his brush.
He has had solo exhibitions at The Hole, Praz-Delavallade in Paris, LA and in partnership with Vedovi in Brussels; Brand New Gallery in Milan; and Anat Ebgi in Los Angeles. Past group shows include NEXT at Arsenal in Montreal, What's Up with Lawrence van Hagen in London and Face to Face, Palazzo Fruscione, Salerno, IT. Additionally, his work has been exhibited at art fairs around the world. All have established Reihsen as an important new voice in abstract painting.
Reihsen holds a BFA in painting and New Genres from San Francisco Art Institute (2005) and an MFA from UC Santa Barbara.
All of the museum’s galleries are accessible to wheelchair users and other visitors who cannot use stairs. Services such as sign language interpretation can be arranged. Please contact the museum to discuss your needs: barrick.museum@unlv.edu, 702-895-3381.
About Test Site Projects
Located in Las Vegas, Nevada, Test Site Projects opened in 2018 as an artist-run fine art publishing house producing unique limited edition collaborative prints with locally and nationally recognized artists. With the goal of connecting artists to a new collector base, producing unique edition projects, and hosting public programs, Test Site Projects began a mission to enrich the vibrant Las Vegas art community by creating a platform for contemporary printmaking. Over the years, Test Site Projects has created an environment for artists to investigate ideas through processes such as lithography, etching, screen and woodblock printing. Test Site Projects seeks to expand the boundaries of printmaking in both materiality and approach. In its commitment to the Las Vegas community, Test Site Projects expanded its space and offerings to include museum-quality custom framing, commissioned printing, artwork installation, and crating services. Find out more about Test Site Projects and its founder, Erik Beehn, at www.testsiteprojects.com
About the Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art
The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art believes everyone deserves access to art that challenges our understanding of the present and inspires us to create a future that holds space for us all. Located on the campus of one of the most racially diverse universities in the U.S., we strive to create a nourishing environment for those who continue to be neglected by contemporary art museums. As the only art museum in the city of Las Vegas, we commit ourselves to leveling barriers that limit access to the arts. Our collection of artworks offers an opportunity for everyone to develop a deeper knowledge of contemporary art in Southern Nevada. The Barrick Museum is part of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Find Us
The Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art is located in the heart of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus. The museum is easily accessed from the west side of campus at the intersection of Harmon Avenue and University Center Drive. Drive east on East Harmon Ave until the road enters the campus and terminates in a parking lot. The Museum will be on your right, next to a desert landscape garden. Directions here.
Parking
Visitors may park in metered, staff, and student spots free of charge after 7 pm on weekdays, 1 pm on Fridays, and all day Saturday.
Daily, weekly, or monthly permits can be purchased from Parking and Transportation Services.
Metered parking spaces for visitors can be found in the parking lot outside the Barrick’s entrance, along East Harmon Ave, and in the lot behind the Lied Library. Other metered green zones are available in the Cottage Grove Avenue Parking Garage and parking areas throughout campus. Download the “PayByPhone Parking” app from Google Play or the iTunes app store.
Contact
702-895-3381