James Gilbert/ (Don't) Want to be Anonymous May 3, 2008

Couturier Gallery is delighted to present Los Angeles artist James Gilbert in his first solo exhibition opening May 3rd. The exhibition will include abstract paintings addressing the relationships between the loss of anonymity, the desire to privatize identity, loneliness and the environment.

James Gilbert (b. 1972) is searching for anonymity in this bizarre, almost fantastic world of virtual reality, where one’s identity, occupation, and gender can be found easily on the web. Whether technology has taken over ones identity is a question on its own. Gilbert, through these paintings, is trying to bring back the era of anonymity and reclaim one’s elusive and “stolen” identity. The figures in these paintings are unrevealed, faceless, motionless, and expressionless, placed in an unrecognizable milieu.

The milieus, or backgrounds, are lushly painted bold planes composed of notable color surfaces, which may represent layers of a person’s private life and seeing them one cannot help but think of the Abstract Expressionism and the field paintings of Mark Rothko, the brush strokes of William de Kooning and the geometric landscape abstractions of Richard Diebenkorn.

Gilbert’s talent as a painter were heretofore hidden behind his gallery managerial work at one of L.A.’s premiere photography galleries until he took off on a ‘sabbatical’ to devote all his time to painting in the South of France and returned with a remarkable body of work. James Gilbert studied at the University of Kansas and has exhibited in various group shows in Kansas and California. This will be his first solo show.

Official Website: http://www.couturiergallery.com/