Big Pictures Los Angeles is pleased to present “The Sick Rose”, an exhibition of new paintings, drawings, and sculptures by Los Angeles based artist Laurie Nye. An opening reception will be held October 19 th , 6-10pm
In 1794 William Blake published “The Sick Rose” a short poem and engraving included in his collection “The Songs of Experience”.
O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:
Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.
The Sick Rose presents various elucidations and interpretations of Blake’s poem. The poem can be seen through a lens of romantic tragedy, evoking images of desire, toxic love, heart break, and poison. Observed in a modern light, the rose’s sickness might symbolize a political or environmental contamination upon society. In response, Nye ponders the significance of Romanticism in her exploration of the form of a rose. Her new paintings are akin to odes, containing discreet gestures. Titles such as Bleeding Heart Rose and Love and Worry Rose suggest a requiem of past loves or symbols for a shared catharsis, and A Rose for Lee Krasner and Science Fiction (Ripley’s Rose) nod to artistic heroes and wink to her past bodies of work. Though Nye’s practice explores painting, drawing, sculpture and discreet objects, her project centers on her paintings, which emphasize an ongoing expressionistic and visionary lexicon. Presenting a diverse array of media, her latest works mine art-historical and feminist tropes, while also delivering personal evocations.
Laurie Nye (b.1972 Memphis, TN), earned a BFA from the Memphis College of Art in 1995 and MFA from the California Institute of the Arts, in 2002. Her work has been featured in solo and two-person exhibitions including, Day and Night Projects, Atlanta, GA, The Pit, Five Car Garage, Los Angeles. Thematic group exhibitions include Color Out of Space, Lowell Ryan Projects, Los Angeles; A Kind of Paradise, Blake and Vargas, Berlin, Germany, Moving Still, Monya Rowe, St Augustine, FL and Figure it Out, The Dot Project, London. Her work has been covered in The Los Angeles Times, Artillery Magazine, Autre Magazine, Fad Magazine and Dateagle/London. She is an active curator, organizing shows at Big Pictures Los Angeles (reviewed in the LA Times) and 0-0 LA. Laurie Nye lives and works in Los Angeles.