Paradigm Gallery + Studio is pleased to present Rise and Shine, an exhibition of new works by Luke O’Sullivan, on view from September 22 - November 11, 2017. The show includes a series of 6 multicolor silkscreen prints and several new sculptures.
O’Sullivan creates invented buildings, places, and objects describing unexplored worlds conjuring a sense of discovery and adventure. Rise and Shine represents a shift from the artist’s earlier work featuring structures, facades, and panoramic landscapes toward a more detailed approach. These new works depict encapsulated, floating environments devoid of humans. The sculptural objects are keepsakes or relics from these faraway places. Each piece plays with the shifting relationships between two and three dimensions, surface and underworld. O’Sullivan’s recent screen prints introduce color, imbuing these works with a certain levity and illustrative quality.
The playful nature of O’Sullivan’s work draws from Nintendo games, maps, science fiction movies, and movie set design. Likening his process to a lego set, the artist employs screen printed drawings in order to assemble two- and three-dimensional works that depict cities, labyrinths, and fantastical objects that embrace themes of exploration and adventure. Each drawing and sculpture contributes to an ongoing catalogue of a strange and invented world.
Luke O’Sullivan was born in 1984 in Boston, MA. He received his MFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2009 and a BFA from The Art Institute of Boston in 2006. He has exhibited in solo and group shows in Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, New York, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia. He currently lives and works in Philadelphia, PA. His work is in the permanent collections of the Urban Nation Museum (Berlin, Germany), the Museum of Fine Arts Boston), Boston Public Library (Boston, MA) and Art Institute of Boston (Boston, MA).