Pello Irazu | Home
February 21- March 29, 2008

Gallery hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10 - 6 p.m.
Reception for the artist: Thursday, February 21, 6-8 p.m.

The Yancey Richardson Gallery is pleased to present Home, an exhibition of photographs, painting and sculpture by Spanish artist Pello Irazu. Joining aspects of conceptualism, minimalism and constructivism, Irazu combines and alters objects and images drawn from his studio to explore the tensions between two dimensions and three, between surface and image and between photographic representation, painting and sculpture. As the artist states, " I like the in-between area between disciplines, the fluid dialogue between my studio space, the sculptures, the photographs and the installation."

Known predominately for his sculpture and wall drawings, Irazu has recently begun using photography as a support for his paintings and he relates the idea of casting familiar items to photography's ability to reproduce reality. Objects from his studio such as a simple chair, boxes, a stepladder, and a cardboard folder are combined, cast in aluminum and painted with colors drawn from the artist's lexicon of rich reds and ochres. The objects appear as sculptures in the gallery and reappear in the artist's photographs. The photographs are then painted over with rectangular shapes, which emphasize the surface of the photograph while dialoguing with the elements in the image. The clean-edged shapes of paint appear to be pieces of paper or tape collaged to the surface of the prints while simultaneously reading as physical objects in the image such as pieces of actual wood attached to a sculpted chair or a wall in the studio.

Born in 1963 in Andoain, Spain, Irazu currently lives and works in Bilbao He has exhibited internationally including at the Venice Biennale, the Reina Sofia and the Guggenheim Museum. Irazu's work is held in the collections of major institutions including The Guggenheim, Bilbao, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Barcelona, The Reina Sofia, Madrid, the Yves Klein Foundation, Arizona and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego. A recipient of many European awards, Irazu received the Icaro Prize for the best young Spanish artist and a Fulbright Grant to live and work in New York.

This exhibition is made possible in part with the support of The Consulate General of Spain in New York.

For visuals, please contact Tracey Norman, [email protected]