about James Rieck…

James Rieck is an artist based in Baltimore, MD, and is currently a faculty member at the Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, DC. He earned both his MFA and his BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art, attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and the Glasgow School of Art. In 2006 where he received the prestigious Trawick Prize.

Rieck uses electric colors to flood his works inspired by vintage clothing and catalogues. He is notorious for capturing the clothes and postures of his subjects, while intentionally  leaving out their faces, “I don’t focus on the face in my paintings, or even copying the ad. I bring the attention to the unspoken body language of the models, and their accoutrements. Often times it is a gesture or posture that I’m interested in. It’s there that I see the history of figure and portrait painting. There’s a similar language to presenting one’s best, with undertones of hiding. We know clothes are used to cover us up – they always tell us about what we are hiding from ourselves and each other.”