www.lisabeck.net

Lisa Beck

Born in New York City in 1958; Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York

Education

Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; BFA 1980

Solo Exhibitions

2015
The Middle of Everywhere, Circuit, Lausanne, Switzerland, curated by Caroline Soyez-Petithomme
2014

You Are Here, 33 Orchard, New York
Observatory, Galerie Samy Abrahahm, Paris
2012
Endless, Fort du Bruissin - Centre d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, France
Looking Through, Galerie Lisa Ruyter, Vienna
To Here Knows When, Feature, New York
2011

Between Days, Feature Inc., New York
2009

To Everything, Feature Inc., New York
2006

superpositioning, Feature Inc., New York
2002

Feature Inc., New York
1997
Feature Inc., New York
1993

Never Say Never to Always, Stephanie Theodore Gallery, New York
1992

To Here Knows When, Feature, New York
1985

White Room, White Columns, New York

Selected Group Exhibitions

2015

The Painter of Modern Life, Anton Kern Gallery, New York, curated by Bob Nickas >link
Fertility, 33 Orchard, New York >link
Iterations, Theodore:Art, Bushwick >link
Improvised Showboat, 55 Washington St, Brooklyn
Choices Paris, with Galerie Samy Abraham, curated by Alfred Pacquement, Paris >link
Unexpected Pieces, Galerie Samy Abraham, Paris
Deep End, The Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY
2014

Real Estate, Ventana 244, Brooklyn, NY

No Ground But Say Ground, Halsey McKay Gallery, East Hampton, NY
The Last Brucennial, 837 Washington St, New York

Inhabiting Ten Eyck, Storefront Ten Eyck, Bushwick Brooklyn, curated by Karin Bravin
Das Optische Unbewusste / The Optical Unconscious, Kunst(zeug)haus, Rapperswil, Switzerland 
curated by Fred Fischli and Niels Olsen, in collaboration with Bob Nickas
This One's Optimistic: Pincushion, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, CT , curated by Cary Smith
Another, Once Again, Many Times, More, Martos Gallery, East Marion, NY
Let's Go Let Go - In Memoriam Hudson, 33 Orchard, New York 

Dark Map, Lesley Heller Workspace, New York
The Egg, LABspace, Great Barrington, MA 

2013

X-tra, Lesley Heller Workspace, NY
Diamonds, Diamonds, Gallery Diet, Miami

Swing State, Jane Kim Gallery, NY
The Shining Path, Galerie Samy Abraham, Paris 

LAT. 41° 7' N., LONG. 72° 19' W, Martos Gallery, East Marion, New York
2012
THING, group exhibition curated by Susan Jennings, West Cornwall, CT

Creature from the Blue Lagoon, Martos Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
Exposition d'artistes né(e)s entre le 22 juin et le 22 juillet, Galerie de Multiples, Paris
Tell the Children, La Salle des Bains, Lyon, France
2011
bodybraingame, Rhona Hoffman Gallery, Chicago, curated by Hudson

The 2011 Bridgehampton Biennial, Martos Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY; organized by Bob Nickas
We Regret To Inform You There Is Currently No Space or Place for Abstract Painting, Martos Gallery, New York

Lisa Beck / Philippe Richard, Theodore: Art, New York
2010

Pull My Daisy, Galerie Lisa Ruyter, Vienna
Black Is the Color of My True Love's Hair, NP Contemporary Art Center, New York

Daniel Hesidence Curates, Tracy Williams, Ltd., New York
Lisa Beck / Olivier Mosset, Bell Street Project Space, Vienna
Wall-to-Wall, Daniel Weinberg Gallery, Los Angeles
Skulture, Feature Inc., New York

Townie, Foley Gallery, New York

Portrait de l'artiste en motocycliste, Le Musee des Beaux Artes, Chaux les Fonds, Switzerland
2009

Portrait de l'artiste en motocycliste, Le Magasin, Grenoble

Cave Painting: Installment #1, Gresham's Ghost (third location), New York; organized by Bob Nickas

Populate This Form, Feature Inc., New York

Group exhibition, Martos Gallery, New York; curated by Bob Nickas
2008 

Shit, Feature Inc., New York
2007

Painting as Fact – Fact as Fiction, de Pury & Luxembourg, Zurich; organized by Bob Nickas
2006

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's Amanda Lear, Envoy, New York
An Ongoing Low-Grade Mystery, Paula Cooper Gallery, New York; organized by Robert Nickas 

The O Show, Kresge Foundation Gallery, Ramapo College, Mahwah, NJ; curated by MatCH-Art

2005

The O Show, Shore Institute of the Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ; curated by MatCH-Art 
Seriality, Axel Raben Gallery, New York; curated by Stephanie Theodore and MatCH-Art
The sun rises in the evening., Feature Inc., New York
2004
Galerie Francesca Pia, Bern, Switzerland
Itsy Bitsy Spider, Feature Inc., New York

Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity, P.S. 1, Long Island City, New York; curated by Robert Nickas and Steve Lafreniere
2003

Fast Forward: 20 Years of White Rooms, White Columns, New York (catalogue), curated by Lauren Ross
Small-Scale Sculpture and Anonymous Tantra Paintings, Feature Inc., New York
2002

Guide to Trust 2, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; curated by ANP (catalogue)

Lisa Beck and Marisa Telleria-Diez, Rico, Brooklyn, NY
2001

Timewave Zero / The Politics of Ecstasy, Grazer Kunstverein, Graz, Austria; curated by Lionel Bovier and Jean-Michel Wicker
Natural Wonders, Galerie Francesca Pia, Bern, Switzerland

Another, once again, many times more, Feature Inc., New York
Een goed in de weg staande tafel, Galerie van Gelder, Amsterdam; curated by Jack Jaeger
2000
Not a. Lear, Art Process, Paris; Galerie S. & H. De Buck, Ghent, Belgium; Torch Gallery, Amsterdam; curated by ANP
Hairy Forearm's Self-Referral, Feature Inc., New York;
Hex Enduction Hour by The Fall, Team Gallery, New York; organized by Robert Nickas

The End, Exit Art, New York

Bubbles, Center for Contemporary Non-Objective Art (CCNOA), Brussels; curated by Edith Doove

3ness, Musuem Dhondt-Dhaenens, Duerle, Belgium; curated by ANP, Dike Blair, and Edith Doove (catalogue)

Sex in the Country, Forde l'Usine, Geneva
Open the pod bay doors, Hal, Feature Inc., New York
1999
Cookie Snow Feature, Cokkie Snoei, Rotterdam

curious.parking@stupendous.strawberry, Galerie S. & H. De Buck, Ghent, Belgium
Up Your Head, Feature Inc., New York
1998

Yoyogaga, Feature Inc., New York

Lisa Beck, Jason Fox, Bill Komoski, M du B, F, H & g, Montreal

Utz, Lennon, Weinberg Inc., New York; curated by Stephanie Theodore
Paintings (Lisa Beck, Bill Komoski, David Moreno, John Torreano), Feature Inc., New York
1997
La Tradicion: Performing Painting, Exit Art, New York
Material Girls, Gallery 128, New York; curated by Harmony Hammond
1996
Lisa Beck/Lucky De Bellevue, Feature Inc., New York

Ab Fab, Feature Inc., New York
1994
Friends, Romans, Countrymen, Feature Inc., New York

Joe's Garage, TZ'Art & Co., New York; curated by Stephanie Theodore
1991
Stussy, Feature, New York
1990

Information, Terrain, San Francisco

February 3–27, Daniel Newburg Gallery, New York

Red, Galerie Christine & Isy Brachot, Brussels; curated by Robert Nickas (catalogue)

Invitational Drawing Show, Althea Viafora Gallery, New York
Godhead, Feature, New York
1989
Positive Show, Jack Tilton Gallery, New York
Romancing the Stone, Feature, New York

American Fine Arts, New York
1987

The Four Corners of Abstraction, White Columns, New York
1986
Credible/Incredible, Four Walls Gallery, Hoboken, NJ; curated by Lawrence Rinder

Stavaridis Gallery, Boston
1985
Image/Abstract, Roughhouse, New York; curated by David Row and John Ford

White Room, White Columns, New York
1983

July Group, Nature Morte Gallery, New York

Bibliography

2015
Soyez-Petithomme, Caroline, ed.The Middle of Everywhere, essays by Samuel Gross, Bob Nickas, Caroline Soyez-Petithomme, La Salle de Bains, Galerie Samy Abraham
Lescaze, Zoë. Critic's Pick: The Painter of Modern Life, Artforum
Chang, Chris. "Five Points with Bob Nickas", Art in America
"5 Must See Gallery Shows in New York", Art Info
"The Painter of Modern Life", TIme Out New York
2014
Goleas, Janet. ART REVIEW: "Another, Once Again, Many Times More" on the North Fork, HamptonsArt Hub, posted 9 August, 2014
Lequeux, Emmanuelle. "Observatory," Le Monde, 26 January
2013

Saltz, Jerry. "MoMA's Inventing Abstraction Is Illuminating—Although It Shines That Light Mighty Selectively," vulture.com, 6 January
Morais, Pedro. "Accidents Geometriques," Les Inrockuptibles, 30 January

Pernet, Hugo. " Lisa Beck Endless," Zero Quatre, spring 2013
2012

yes, no, something, nothing, never, always, Feature Inc, New York- catalog of selected works by Lisa Beck 1985-2010,
interviews with Hudson and Bob NIckas Kazakina, Katya. "Art in the Hamptons," Bloomberg.com, 1 August 

Miller, Michael H. "Bob Nickas Curates Summer Show in Bridgehampton One Last Time," GalleristNY.com, 22 May
Fessler, Anne Katrin. Review of "Looking Through", Der Standard, 20 June
2011
Nickas, Bob. Catalog of the Exhibition, 2nd Cannons Publications, Los Angeles (reproduction)

Indrisek, Scott. "The Pleasures of the Prosaic at the Bridgehampton Biennial," Modern Painters, posted 15 August
Rosenberg, Karen. "All Nooks, Crannies, Bedrooms and Trees are Backdrops for Art," New York TImes,
8 August C5 (reproductions)
Miller, Michael H. "Learning from Bridgehampton," New York Observer, 12 July Miller, Michael H. "So Long, Chelsea! Bob Nickas to Liven Up the Art World this Summer with Bridgehampton

Biennial," New York Observer, 1 July
Johnson, Ken. Are You Experienced?: How Psychedelic Consciousness Transformed Modern Art, Prestel Publishing, New York
2010

Review of "Skulture," Goings On About Town, New Yorker, 25 January, 12

Rubin, David S., ed. Psychedelic: Optical and Visionary Art Since the 1960s, with essays by David S. Rubin,
 Robert C. Morgan and Daniel Pinchbeck, San Antonio Museum of Art in association with MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, 33, 109
2009
Nickas, Bob. Painting Abstraction: New Elements in Abstract Painting, Phaidon Press, New York

Smith, Roberta. Review of "To Everything," New York Times, 19 June, C29
2008

Interview on myartspace.com
2006

Sheets, Hilarie. "Where Magic Mushrooms Bloom," Artnews, February, 120–1
2004

Smith, Roberta. Review of "Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity," New York Times, 16 July, E28
Wilson, Michael. "Curious Crystals of Unusual Purity," Artforum, November, 222
2003

Johnson, Ken. "Alumni Return, Juxtaposing Past and Present," New York Times, 28 November
Wolfe, Charles T. "The Plasticity of Perception," Flash Art, July–September, 63–64 (reproduction)
2002

Farquharson, Alex, "Timewave Zero/ The Politics of Ecstasy," Frieze, March, 87 (reproduction) Olson, Marisa S. "Guide to Trust No. 2 at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts," Artweek, May
Perret, Mai-thu, "Lisa Beck and John Tremblay ," Frieze, January/February, 104 (reproduction) Guide to Trust No. 2, exhibition catalogue, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco (reproduction)
2001

Cotter, Holland. "Another, Once Again, Many Times More," New York Times, Listings,11 May, E38
Ivy, Angus. Review of "3ness," Zingmagazine 14 (Winter), 210–11
2000

Andrews, Max and Dawn Fulcher. Preview of "Bubbles," Contemporary Visual Arts, July/August, 82 (reproduction)
Dams, Jimi. "Lisa Beck," Purple 5 (Summer), 272–3 (reproduction)
Goings On About Town, New Yorker, 11 January
Critics' Picks, "Open the pod bay doors, Hal," Time Out NewYork, 28 December, 65

Liste 2000, The Young Art Fair, catalogue, Basel, Switzerland (reproduction)
1999

Braet, Jan. "Koel Amerikaans," Knack, 17 March, 77 (reproduction)
Doove, Edith. "Verrasimgen uit Amerika," De Standaard, 3 February, 2
Jones, Jonathan R. Review of "Up Your Head," Contemporary Visual Arts, November/December, 67 (reproduction)
Lambrecht, Luc. "Americaans en Toch Niet," De Morgen, 12 February, 14
Popelier, Bert. "Jonge Amerikanen," De Financieel Economische Tijd, 3 February, 12
"Mob Rules" (Review of "Up Your Head"), NY Arts, December
"ANP: This Flight is Tonight," Zingmagazine 10 (Autumn), 170–1 (reproduction)
1998
Cotter, Holland. Review of "Yoyogaga," New York Times, 20 November, E43

Smith, Roberta, Review of "Utz," New York Times, 22 February
Recommended, Time Out New York, 12 April, 12
1997
Cotter, Holland. Review of "Material Girls," New York Times, 31 October
Levin, Kim. "Work in Progress – Art and Exhibitionism in Soho," Village Voice, 22 April

Rubinstein, Raphael. "On Broadway: Studios Without Walls," Art in America, June
1996
Levin, Kim. Village Voice, Choices, 6 March

Moody, Tom. Review of "Ab Fab," Art Papers, November/December
Short List, New Yorker, 11 March
1994

Hess, Elizabeth. "Garage Sale," Village Voice, 20 December

Levin, Kim. "Garage Sale," Village Voice, Choices, 20 December

Nickas, Robert. "Split Screen," BOMB , Summer (reproduction)
1992

Cotter, Holland. "Lisa Beck and Peter Dudeck," New York Times, 19 June
Schwartzman, Alan. Review of "Lisa Beck and Peter Dudeck," New Yorker, 15 June
1990

Red, exhibition catalogue with texts by Robert Nickas and Xavier Douroux, Galerie Christine & Isy Brachot, Brussels (reproduction)
1989
Brenson, Michael. Review of "Positive Show," New York Times, 24 February

Smith, Roberta. Review of American Fine Arts group exhibition, New York Times

Lisa Beck Interview on Gorky's Granddaughter
with Zachary Keeting and Christopher Joy

 

 

 

download press release

Jane Kim is pleased to present "You Are Here," a solo exhibition by Lisa Beck at 33 Orchard, opening Saturday, September 27 from 6-8 pm. The show will run through November 9, 2014.

Lisa Beck has long been preoccupied with ways to see our place in the wider universe. As scientists search for understanding of the fundamental physics of the universe they study observable phenomena and available data. Based on this data, many different theories have arisen, and each of those theories presents a different understanding of the way the universe works. In the same way, gathering information, observing situations from different points of view, and the constant shift in our perception of reality are the foundations of Beck's approach to her work.

Visual awareness and perception are a bridge between us and the world we live in, and acts of observation become acts of creation as we use what we see to create the world as we understand it. With this in mind, Beck employs diverse materials, including mylar, enamel, oil paint, mirrors, and wood in her works which take the forms of paintings, sculptures, installations, and wall paintings. She creates works whose appearance shifts as the viewer moves, or as the light changes. The reflective aspects of the works integrate them with the surrounding environment. While formally abstract, the work has many references: changing skies, star fields, orphan planets, light rays, the relative smallness and fragility of our earthbound existence.

Heightened visual and spatial consciousness - the cosmic and the earthly - along with the silence and expansiveness of the space and time continuum, are the first impressions of "You Are Here". While Beck's works take diverse forms, transparency and reflection are the visual qualities that link the works in the exhibition. 33 Orchard's space is altered by a large panel that divides the long gallery space into discrete areas containing recent works that present different aspects of Beck's universe.

Recent works include paintings on mylar in which bands of color rhythmically alternate with the shiny surface to create expansive cosmic imagery. The artist's recombinant constructions are ensembles of panels that hang close together in varied compositions. Each of these works brings together combinations of painted and reflective surfaces, such as mylar, oil paint, attached mirrors, etc, which ultimately form cohesive compositions. The disparate elements that make up each of these pieces correspond to the mental constructions formed from divergent observations one reflects upon to arrive at a coherent understanding. Her paintings on mirrors are made using enamel paint over mirror with linear elements left unpainted to reveal flickering slivers of bare mirror within the lush paint. Beck creates a visually vibrant surface, allowing the paint to float and pool on the surface that contrasts with the linear structure. This serves her concurrent interests in the materiality of the art object and its metaphorical references to space, landscape and mood.

Lisa Beck was born in 1958, and lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. This is her tenth solo exhibition in New York City, seven of which were presented at Feature Inc. Her latest projects include group shows at "Another, Once Again, Many Times More," Martos Gallery, East Marion, NY; "The Egg," LABspace, Great Barrington, MA ; "The Optical Unconscious", Kunst(zeug)haus, Rapperswil, Switzerland; "Inhabiting TenEyck," Storefront TenEyck, Bushwick; one person shows: "Lisa Beck: Observatory," Galerie Samy Abraham, Paris, 2014 and "Lisa Beck: Endless," Fort du Bruissin - Centre d'Art Contemporain, Lyon, 2012.