Andrew Rucklidge: Bureau of Reclamation

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Andrew Rucklidge, "Gypsum Rose," 2017

oil and egg tempura on toned gessoed canvas, 40” x 56”

Opening Reception: Thursday, June 15 from 7 - 9 pm

For this show Rucklidge has painted contested landscapes as they transition into a hopeful state of reclamation led by non-governmental groups of highly motivated people who communicate through invisible means via the atmosphere. As seeds and projects take root, this informal ‘Bureau of Reclamation’ slowly reclaims the treeless landscape and attempts to optimize its redevelopment as reclaimed public space. Utopian and Pre-Lapsarian states start to mingle amongst an overtaxed land recovering from heavy use. Colours purposely shift in and out of their descriptive function: for example the cobalt blue sitting on the surface of the weave of linen may be describing atmosphere or form or simply that this was the site of a cobalt mine. The paintings presented here record the hopeful nascent beginnings of this revolutionary reclamation project.