Point of View at LAUNCH LA

Point of View – Katrin Assmann, Ryan Molenkamp, Sandy Rodriguez, and Edward Walton Wilcox

May 27 – June 17, 2017
936 MEI LING WAY , LOS ANGELES, CA 90012
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, May 27th, 7 – 10pm
RSVP Essential to: [email protected]

LAUNCH LA proud to present Point of View, a group exhibition featuring Katrin Assmann, Ryan Molenkamp, Sandy Rodriguez, and Edward Walton Wilcox. Point of View examines the perennial genre of landscape as each artist presents a contemporary interpretation to both urban and natural settings.

Katrin Assmann’s misty landscapes and organic, subdued palette reflect a uniquely Californian atmosphere. The softly blended layers of paint create a visual effect reminiscent of old Polaroids and materialize the fleeting images of nostalgia and memory. Assmann moved to Los Angeles in 2003 and began using her growing collection of vintage found photographs from the vast flea markets of Los Angeles as inspiration. Katrin explores the imagery of a bygone California; a world very different from her hometown in Germany.

Ryan Molenkamp’s work is rooted in the landscape of the Northwest. Almost structural in his approach, Molenkamp’s paintings resemble graphic illustrations, or tiled mosaics of paint. These complex surfaces study the formal properties of line and color that build up the natural landscape. The propensity to build structures on top the desert’s natural beauty, and the corresponding shift in our perception of these landscapes, is also an important theme that permeates Molenkamp’s work.

Sandy Rodriguez’s paintings are quintessentially Californian. Palm tree silhouettes stand amidst the atmospheric fog, fire, sunsets and sunrises of the Los Angeles skyline. Immensely saturated, Rodriguez captures billowing blue clouds set against a violet sky, and the prismatic orbs of refracted light during a midnight drive. Each painting is a vision of Los Angeles, and exudes the essence of moving through the city.

Wilcox represents the continuation, if not evolution of the multi-talented Renaissance man, achieving an absolute mastery of craftsmanship across a vast array of mediums and disciplines. Though his Gothic and Neo-Romantic technique betrays a romantic affinity for the legacy of his craft, Wilcox’s sepia toned, hi-chiaroscuro technique captures idyllic, imaged landscapes that are both captivating and disquieting.

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Sandy Rodriguez a third-generation Chicana painter and independent educator who investigates the methods and materials of painting across cultures and histories. I was born in National City, California in 1975 and raised across San Diego, Tijuana, and Los Angeles. I grew up experimenting with the ratios and techniques of oil painting passed down from the three generations of Mexican and Chicana painters in my family.

Ryan Molenkamp is an artist from Seattle. His subject matter is largely informed by his interest in landscape, geology, and development. Molenkamp earned a BFA from Western Washington University and has exhibited in the Seattle area. He has also exhibited in New York and Portland. Molenkamp was awarded a residency at Jentel in 2012 and has had artwork and writing published in Art Ltd. Magazine, Seattle Magazine, and City Arts Magazine.

Edward Walton Wilcox’s work has shown in Los Angeles, New York, Miami, Seattle, and Berlin, and has appeared in publications such as The LA Times, Juxtapoz, Coagula Art Journal and FLAUNT Magazine. His work can be found in private and public collections across the United States and abroad.

Katrin Assmann grew up in Essen, Germany where she studied Illustration, art and design at the famous Folkwang University. “I feel an optimism and ease of living we didn’t have when I grew up in Germany. I work with layers of diluted oil paint to create a sense of a glorious but lost past just as a photograph that captures a fleeting moment and then fades over time.” — Katrin Assmann

Top photo: Ryan Molenkamp, “Sound Cascade 17″, Acrylic on panel, 20 x 30”