Wes Lang’s Existential “Pink and Blue” Exhibition Paints a Vivid Afterlife
On view at Almine Rech New York through February 5.
Wes Lang’s new exhibition, “Pink and Blue,” may seem solemn by nature, but Lang reveals the prismatic beauty of life and death through ten canvasses, currently on view at the Almine Rech New York gallery.
“Pink and Blue” was born from a period of existential introspection. In the span of a year, the Los Angeles-based artist battled a severe bout of COVID months after his wedding and relocated to Brooklyn, New York. “Pink and Blue,” inspired by Picasso’s Blue and Rose Period paintings, explores his tumultuous year through an existential lens, crafting ten canvasses dedicated to the temporal nature of life and love. Lang approaches these paintings with a confident hand: thin brushstrokes are haphazardly applied to a white canvas, a technique Lang attributes to the anxiety and psychosis guiding his application of color.
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The Native American skull is a reoccurring figure through Lang’s prolific oeuvre, an icon of spiritual reverence that lives in the past, present and future. Lang pays homage to the Native American Reservation he visited in Long Island as a young boy. The works allude to maranasati meditation, a practice of “death awareness” that deepens one’s connection and appreciation of mortality—Lang harnesses this philosophy throughout his collection, delving into the childhood pastimes that have informed his creative practice.
Death is one of the most pervasive themes explored in art and literature, and “Pink and Blue” reaffirms the human spirit in the face of death as both corporeal and immaterial:
Wes Lang: Pink and Blue
“I’m always thinking about death and trying to be accepting of it. I don’t want to paint myself, the skull is a stand-in for that. I’ve got a skull, I just can’t see it…[It’s] a constant reminder to myself and the viewers to stay present and to do everything you possibly can to move your life forward in a positive direction while you’ve got the chance to do it. It’s gone before you know it. It really is.”
View the collection through February 5 at the Almine Rech New York gallery.
In other art news, photographer Hugo Comte presents “Testament” at Galerie Hussenot.
