ALWAYS F*CKING CHASing Rainbows
(Or, Still Lost But SomewhaT CONTENT)
JUNE 14TH - 27TH, 2019
Four Eleven is proud to present Paul Rizzo’s first solo exhibition with the gallery, Always F*cking Chasing Rainbows. In his work, Rizzo documents the present obsessively. He fills sketchbooks with illustrations of the morning’s iced coffee, lists of movies to watch, and lighthearted, colorful reminders to slow down and breathe. Many of Rizzo’s paintings are accented by materials that he comes across in his day-to-day life: a pair of worn-out khakis from Ruthie’s; a floral fabric picked up off the street. The careful attention he devotes to his subject matter is tangible. With his “dream-houses,” Rizzo so dotingly captures the charm of the homes on Bradford Street that one might think he grew up in them himself.
Rizzo never shies away from the mushiness of kitsch or the earnestness of cliche, but uses them to navigate where sentimentality and sincerity aren’t enough. As the title(s) of the exhibition suggests, Always F*cking Chasing Rainbows explores desire’s unwieldiness and implacability, and nostalgia — for the playfulness of childhood, or the sexiness of early 80’s porn, for abstracted, imaginary landscapes, for an elusive future where dream-houses can be more than just dreams.