Monya Rowe Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new paintings by Marcelle Reinecke titled In The Pines. The opening reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, January 9, 6-8 PM. The title of the exhibition, In The Pines, refers to the Appalachian folk song whose origins date back to the 19th century, and whose authorship is unknown. The song is an amalgamation of several songs, and has many variations, all of which paint a different picture. Much like Reinecke's paintings, the blending and layering of narratives within myriad iterations of the song provide rich imagery while leaving it wide open for interpretation. Reinecke says: “I love this song for its eerie beauty. It is mysterious and menacing, but nostalgic, and I love how overtly American it is. For me it speaks to the woodland setting of my paintings, and strikes the balance between shelter and voyeurism that I'm often chasing.”
Reinecke has a penchant for obsessively absorbing images and mentally storing them for possible use in her paintings. Each painting is a compilation of images from experience, art history, photographs, imagination, and pop-culture. Influences range from Lois Dodd (1927-), Georges de La Tour (1593-1652) and Caravaggio (1571-1610) to the pulp illustrations of Rudy Nappi (1923-2015), most well-known for the mid-20th century cover art of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys mystery novels. The compositional elements may be borrowed from important art historical works.
Reinecke blends historical homage and personal narrative to confront the viewer with a slow unfolding narrative. Nostalgia is ever present is Reinecke’s new body of work. The artist plays with the concept of anemoia, a recently coined word which refers to nostalgia for a time or a place one has never known. Although wistfulness is an inherent part of the work, it is also very much fixed in the present. Reinecke’s paintings range from capturing depictions of queer domesticity and leisure, to scenes of trespassing teens fleeing on bicycles or cruising around in station wagons with cigarettes and fountain drinks. The objects, clothes, cars, and decor depicted hark back to the 60’s-90’s. The settings depicted are largely in remote areas in and around woodland cabins. The backdrop of this series resembles the Northeastern United States, and is the artist's fantasy of a queer, lost in time, parallel universe version of the Poconos.