Lot 495: MATTHEW RITCHIE

MATTHEW RITCHIE B.1964 THE PERSONAL VIRTUE oil and marker on linen 98 1/2 by 137 1/2 in. 250.2 by 349.3 cm. Executed in 2006.

New York, Andrea Rosen Gallery, The Universal Adversary, September - October 2006

Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
Acquired by the present owner from the above

Matthew Ritchie's monumental paintings are an exploration of the nature of the universe, a visual expression of the artist's engagement with the elemental forces of the cosmos and the essence of creation. His kaleidoscopic swirls of color and web-like forms describe planets and galaxies, meteors and sun showers. Within this vast yet intricate visual landscape, a profusion of ideas coexist, drawing on sources as diverse as mythology, biblical tales, medieval alchemy, physics and pulp fiction. Mining the history of human thought, he opens new paths of inquiry and at the same time meditates on the constantly changing structures of information that vie for our attention in the modern world, informing our perceptions and giving meaning to our existence.

A Personal Virtue formed part of an exhibition entitled "The Universal Adversary," a collective term used by the US government in 2005 for what it deemed to be the biggest threats to the population including floods, bio-hazards and nuclear war. The show evoked a post-apocalyptic urban landscape and opened with an extended quote from the Old Testament prophet Ezekiel about the destruction of Babylon. Yet Ritchie notes that the list overlooked the known sources of these threats to human life, such as income disparity, endemic disease, resource depletion, or radical climate change. Ultimately, through his visual exploration of the apparatus of information and invented realities, he moves beyond fear and crisis to provide a glimpse of parallel worlds, a distant and unknowable future.