|
Press"The individual works carve out their own space, but remain relevant to a more general discourse on the global arts. Jim Ricks' thoughtful curation allows the viewer to perceive transgressive notes of both death and sensuality, and American audiences seeing work by these artists for the first time, will discover a new reference point for contemporary Irish art.
"We need to start thinking more creatively about public art. Jim Ricks has. On Tuesday he launches 'Poulnabrone Bouncy Dolmen' in Galway. The public artwork, which toured Galway and Clare last summer, will travel around the Slieve Aughty region for two weeks before appearing close to the real Poulnabrone Dolmen in the Burren on June 21— the summer solstice. Ricks, a Californian artist, describes it as “a bouncy replica, at twice the scale of the famous 6,000-year-old megalithic portal tomb". It is commentary on our past, our present, the concept of "brand Ireland" and the very idea of public art; and everyone is invited to bounce. A temporary, moveable, witty, interactive, contemporary public artwork we are invited to play with? Maher has endorsed it as “the best public art piece…ever". She might just be right."
“The multi-media artist has made a bright career from scrutinising the artistic works of the modern masters. It is a style that has been heavily influenced by the graffiti artists and political activists he grew up with in America... Always worth a visit, Jim Ricks’ shows are vibrant and ever changing just like modern life itself.”
“I have, in the past, bought three things from Frieze: a lipstick (OK, not exactly art, though it came from an achingly hip New York gallery); a £20 note grafitti’d by Jake and Dinos Chapman (£20); and, last year, a beautiful painting by Ireland-based artist Jim Ricks for £150...”
“The artist has combined an icon of ancient Ireland with an icon of contemporary Ireland, playfully re-presenting elements of Irish culture, often over-used commercially to attract tourism, in an accessible, witty, and visually arresting way.”
“With 'A shanty we can believe in' Jim Ricks also chooses to comment on American society. Constructed in the corner of the gallery stands a makeshift shelter decked with Obama presidential election placards. When two social classes form, one an aspiration of the other, they remain caught in a symbiotic clinch. The work seems to question what real difference the president will make to the underprivileged where his predecessors have failed.”
“Imitation, some say, is the sincerest form of flattery... Galway-based artist Jim Ricks was a key participant in a project at last week’s Frieze Art Fair in London that pushed the above cliche to its limit... Ricks and two other artists laboured to create cut-price versions of work for sale at the fair... Reaction to such blatant counterfeiting ranged from “cool disinterest to general enthusiasm”, Ricks says. He did receive an unexpected visit from representatives of David Shrigley from the Copenhagen-based Galleri Nicolai Wallner as he was in the process of replication. They photographed Ricks’ work, bemused to learn how easy it was to clone the £4,000 original... He used construction paper instead of metal to clone a Jim Lambie sculpture and swapped gold plating for paint to duplicate a Jürgen Drescher cardboard box work... Ricks’ version of Tiravanija’s The Days of this Society is Numbered, for instance, became a subtle critique of Ireland after the boom. Tiravanija painted the alarmed title of the piece over pages from the New York Times, but Ricks shifted the context of the piece by intentionally using The Irish Times as his backdrop. “Part of the project was really about taking ownership of the pieces, making them your own. It’s adding a new layer,” Ricks says. Tiravanija is renowned for his relational work and, ironically, some viewers mistook Ricks’ knock-off for an original...”
“As Frieze... opened its doors in London this morning... Stephanie Syjuco and a group of colleagues are producing cheap knock-offs of the expensive masterpieces at the fair... Gavin Brown, owner of New York-based Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, was less sanguine about the copying of the Rirkrit Tiravanija works made from newspaper at his stand. His are $90,000 each; the knock-off, by Jim Ricks, £399. “I have no reaction,” he said. “And that is a reaction in itself. My reaction is flat.” The Ricks version had sold before it was even complete. Asked whether the originals had gone, Brown said: “Mind your own business.”
“With a similar intent to subvert ideological standpoints, Jim Ricks’ work highlighted issues relating to capitalism and world politics, in particular, those of his native America. His use of a consciously cluttered aesthetic blurs the line between high and low and highlights the limitations of representation and how we as the art audience consume it... His works are urgent questions aimed at capitalist and imperial structures...”
“The Fairgreen Gallery... Allowed for the display of ambitious large scale installation and sculptural work such as Jim Ricks’ 'Fortune 500 – an exploration of imperialism in the new millennium'... His giant house of cards marked with dollar signs and his chaotic photographic collage of American culture provided a high level of drama which worked well in the space...”
“Large bold political statements on the nature of US financial dominance (James Ricks’ 'Fortune 500')...”
|