Tomio Koyama Gallery | David Ratcliff

David Ratcliff composes collages of various images using stencils on large canvases. Many of his motifs are derived from images found on the Internet. Using a single color of acrylic paint, photographs of people, cartoon or graffiti-like characters, and various phrases, along with various shapes, are compiled to form a complex amalgamation.
While reminiscent of Warhol's silk screens, these spray paintings almost resemble large, strange, and stretched film negatives. Preparing the works takes an inordinate amount of time, however, once the preparation is completed, the template is sprayed the work is done almost instantaneously. Rather than a canvas inspired by street graffiti, Ratcliff's work is more conceptual artistic action.

This exhibition features 6 new paintings by Ratcliff.
"Pure Pigs" depicts the silhouetted pig among a geometric pattern of ruin. The partially obscured word in the upper half also jumps out to project a strong visual image.

David Ratcliff was born in Los Angeles in 1970. He graduated from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn in 1992, and he is currently based in Los Angeles.
After his work was shown at the Team Gallery in 2005, he went on to high praise in 2006 at the Turin Triennial. His highly acclaimed works are already in the collections of Frank Cohen MOCA (Manchester, UK) and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.