October 12 — November 16, 2013
Pregunta Número Uno
Lance Letscher
Conduit Gallery is pleased to announce an ambitious exhibition of new works by Lance Letscher. The exhibition, unlike any previous at the gallery, will span all 3 exhibition spaces and will include 2-dimensional, as well as large-scale 3-dimensional works.
Letscher is a master of collage, continuing to confound and amaze with his agility in cutting and assembling. Inscrutable and mechanistic, the new works require a mental flexibility from the viewer in order to catch the humor and nuanced psychology embedded in the content. While a majority of the collages are densely constructed, the artist leaves room for occasional spare, floating lines and forms which give breathing space to the dense webs of activity.
The work in the exhibition is the culmination of 30 years of exploration in many mediums; material and intellectual pursuits coalesce to form compositions that are fecund and challenging. The apt title, Pregunta Número Uno, announces the job at hand. Letscher had a childhood obsession with mechanics, which endures today. Among the large-scale objects in the exhibition is a 1941 training glider, with a 50 foot length. He cut the length to 12 feet, and using plans for a WW2 rocket-powered fighter plane, he rebuilt the form, likening the shape to a swallow - beautiful, streamlined and with pointed tips. There is also a 1980’s motorbike, which he has repaired and completely reassembled. Collaged areas have been applied to the surfaces of both the glider and the bike, imbuing the objects with psychological and emotional attachment. Groups of books, showing the residue of use, are collaged, giving another layer of mythology to each volume and texture to the surfaces.
This exhibition more than any other, provides an opportunity to peer inside the head of a very bright mind, to glimpse the ideas behind the mechanics and to appreciate the broad range of creativity within the work.
Letscher earned both a Bachelors and a Masters degree in Fine Art from the University of Texas at Austin and has built and impressive and extensive exhibition history since. Selected one-person exhibitions since 2006 include: Galerie Vidal St. Phalle, Paris, France (2011/2009/2007); Galerie Peter Vann, St Moritz, Switzerland (2011); Galerie Pascal Polar, Brussels, Belgium (2010); Galeria Miguel Alzueta, Madrid, Spain (2010); Tammen Galerie, Berlin, Germany (2009); Forsterart, London, England (2007); The Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo, TX (2007); Galeria Miguel Alzueta, Barcelona, Spain (2006) and Grover/Thurston Gallery, Seattle, WA (2006.)