Gordon Rice
Encyclopedia
Gordon Rice is a Canadian artist active in the Vancouver BC area.
, California and educated at Los Angeles City College
, University of California at Berkeley, U.C.L.A., and the University of Hawaii
(MFA), Gordon Rice exhibited in Los Angeles and Hawaii 1961-1968. Rice is a Canadian citizen who emigrated to Canada in 1968, and has lived and shown in Victoria BC, Nakusp
, Vancouver, and currently White Rock, BC
. He has maintained his associations with Los Angeles area artists, and has been notably an associate of Chicano artists Roberto Chavez, Marcus Villagran, and Roberto Gutiérrez. He has shown in Vancouver with his close California friend, Robert Ross, at the Pender Street Gallery in 1977. Rice and Ross exchange collage materials by mail continuously. In recent years Rice has shown mainly in various commercial galleries or at private shows in Vancouver.
From 1977 through the 1990s Rice was active as an assistant curator with the Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, BC and also as a painting instructor at numerous community colleges and the Emily Carr College extension program. His teaching activity carried beyond, into the 2000s.
s, many incorporating photographs; and small or very small collages on paper, watercolours, and drawings. Many of these works are in private collections; one piece on public view is the large oil Corner Still Life in the collection of Fairmont Hotels, hanging in the lobby of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler in Whistler
, BC
Rice's work reveals his interest in classical drawing and painting, but also in abstraction and media/surface play, with Asian influences and allusions. Many diverse themes can be found in Rice's work: observation of suburban life; significant themes emerging from mundane materials and subjects; Asian and Pacific Rim
influences on North American culture; cluttered interiors and still lifes; human figures in everyday settings (including portraits of his wife Ester); gardens and plants, art films, movies, music, astronomy, literary or philosophical texts, cars and industrial sites/equipment; themes common to the hipster
movement of the 1950s and 1960s such as Buddhism
, Americana
and Canadiana
; abstract
visual relationships, especially those generated by camera optics
or distortions of light and reflections; children's art (including collaged elements from his own daughters and grandchildren); advertising, kitsch
, and even camp
, especially in elements (labels, advertisements, etc.) which evoke an ironic appreciation of the populist
expressiveness of "debased" sentimental, ethnic or commercial material. In the 21st century, the predominant work has been large oil paintings with complex surfaces and evocations of luminosity, and medium-sized collages interpolating photographs, often in large numbers.
The rate of Rice's output has remained consistent from the 1960s to the present (2010), including this use of photographs. The interest in photography pre-dates the rise of the Vancouver School of Photoconceptualism, which Rice took notice of without entering into a particular dialogue with it in his work. Commenting on a tendency to remain aloof from art world trends, Curator and first director of the Charles H. Scott Gallery, Ted Lindberg was already writing in 1974 that "Rice has brought ... to Nakusp fragments of ... the peculiarly Pacific world...," and that "he has an almost panoramic knowledge of the interactions and/or disparities between western European art and several hundred other cultures and subcultures.... This is perhaps why he doesn't worry too much about current vogues."
This or similar ideas appeared in an article Lindberg wrote for Vanguard magazine in 1974, according to a summary entry in the book Art and Architecture in Canada, citing "Gordon Rice's ... interest in manual skill and the Topographical tradition
... contrasted with his lack of interest in contemporary art trends."
Curator Greg Bellerby has made the following assessment: "In all his work, he imparts a sense of inquiry and delight with the ordinary life around us."
Biography, Education
Born in Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California and educated at Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College, known as LACC, is a public community college in the East Hollywood section of Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard...
, University of California at Berkeley, U.C.L.A., and the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
(MFA), Gordon Rice exhibited in Los Angeles and Hawaii 1961-1968. Rice is a Canadian citizen who emigrated to Canada in 1968, and has lived and shown in Victoria BC, Nakusp
Nakusp, British Columbia
The Village of Nakusp is a small community located on the shores of Upper Arrow Lake, a portion of the Columbia River, in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia...
, Vancouver, and currently White Rock, BC
White Rock, British Columbia
White Rock is a city in British Columbia, Canada, that lies within the Metro Vancouver regional district. It borders Semiahmoo Bay and is surrounded on three sides by the City of Surrey, British Columbia. To the south lies the Semiahmoo First Nation, which is within the city limits of Surrey...
. He has maintained his associations with Los Angeles area artists, and has been notably an associate of Chicano artists Roberto Chavez, Marcus Villagran, and Roberto Gutiérrez. He has shown in Vancouver with his close California friend, Robert Ross, at the Pender Street Gallery in 1977. Rice and Ross exchange collage materials by mail continuously. In recent years Rice has shown mainly in various commercial galleries or at private shows in Vancouver.
From 1977 through the 1990s Rice was active as an assistant curator with the Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, BC and also as a painting instructor at numerous community colleges and the Emily Carr College extension program. His teaching activity carried beyond, into the 2000s.
Work
Through all this time, Gordon Rice has made and continues to make work in these formats: large oil paintings (one of which is in the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery), large scale collageCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
s, many incorporating photographs; and small or very small collages on paper, watercolours, and drawings. Many of these works are in private collections; one piece on public view is the large oil Corner Still Life in the collection of Fairmont Hotels, hanging in the lobby of the Fairmont Chateau Whistler in Whistler
Whistler, British Columbia
Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately north of Vancouver...
, BC
Rice's work reveals his interest in classical drawing and painting, but also in abstraction and media/surface play, with Asian influences and allusions. Many diverse themes can be found in Rice's work: observation of suburban life; significant themes emerging from mundane materials and subjects; Asian and Pacific Rim
Pacific Rim
The Pacific Rim refers to places around the edge of the Pacific Ocean. The term "Pacific Basin" includes the Pacific Rim and islands in the Pacific Ocean...
influences on North American culture; cluttered interiors and still lifes; human figures in everyday settings (including portraits of his wife Ester); gardens and plants, art films, movies, music, astronomy, literary or philosophical texts, cars and industrial sites/equipment; themes common to the hipster
Hipster (contemporary subculture)
Hipsters are a subculture of young, recently settled urban middle class adults and older teenagers with musical interests mainly in alternative rock that appeared in the 1990s...
movement of the 1950s and 1960s such as Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Americana
Americana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
and Canadiana
Canadiana
Canadiana is a term referring to things related to the country of Canada. It is most often used to refer to a class of books somewhat wider than Canadian Literature because it also includes books about Canada as well as Canadian non-fiction works....
; abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
visual relationships, especially those generated by camera optics
Optics
Optics is the branch of physics which involves the behavior and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light...
or distortions of light and reflections; children's art (including collaged elements from his own daughters and grandchildren); advertising, kitsch
Kitsch
Kitsch is a form of art that is considered an inferior, tasteless copy of an extant style of art or a worthless imitation of art of recognized value. The concept is associated with the deliberate use of elements that may be thought of as cultural icons while making cheap mass-produced objects that...
, and even camp
Camp (style)
Camp is an aesthetic sensibility that regards something as appealing because of its taste and ironic value. The concept is closely related to kitsch, and things with camp appeal may also be described as being "cheesy"...
, especially in elements (labels, advertisements, etc.) which evoke an ironic appreciation of the populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
expressiveness of "debased" sentimental, ethnic or commercial material. In the 21st century, the predominant work has been large oil paintings with complex surfaces and evocations of luminosity, and medium-sized collages interpolating photographs, often in large numbers.
The rate of Rice's output has remained consistent from the 1960s to the present (2010), including this use of photographs. The interest in photography pre-dates the rise of the Vancouver School of Photoconceptualism, which Rice took notice of without entering into a particular dialogue with it in his work. Commenting on a tendency to remain aloof from art world trends, Curator and first director of the Charles H. Scott Gallery, Ted Lindberg was already writing in 1974 that "Rice has brought ... to Nakusp fragments of ... the peculiarly Pacific world...," and that "he has an almost panoramic knowledge of the interactions and/or disparities between western European art and several hundred other cultures and subcultures.... This is perhaps why he doesn't worry too much about current vogues."
This or similar ideas appeared in an article Lindberg wrote for Vanguard magazine in 1974, according to a summary entry in the book Art and Architecture in Canada, citing "Gordon Rice's ... interest in manual skill and the Topographical tradition
Topographical tradition
The topographical tradition describes a long-established tradition of painting largely or entirely concerned with specific places on the earth and their "topography"....
... contrasted with his lack of interest in contemporary art trends."
Curator Greg Bellerby has made the following assessment: "In all his work, he imparts a sense of inquiry and delight with the ordinary life around us."
Further reading
- BC Artists Files listing at Vancouver Public Library, includes invitations to private shows, clippings, B&W reproductions of some works: online reference here.
- The sights and textures of the West Coast summer, 1976 Vancouver: Equinox Gallery, 1976. Notice of a series of exhibitions held at Equinox Gallery, Vancouver, summer 1976. Exhibitions include Alan Wood, Chris Hayward and Gordon Rice, Jun., 1976; William Featherston and Leonard Brett, Jul., 1976; Allan McWilliams and Bob Evermon, Aug., 1976.