ramseydau

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PRODUCT : RAMSEY DAU “READYMADE” PHOTO-BOOK

I’ve published my first photography book. 48 pages of "unintentional art” I’ve captured driving, biking, and walking the streets of LA (and NY). This is a small first printing of 75 books and is available at CS Editions. Perfect-bound, soft cover, thick, uncoated paper stock. Only $20 bucks.

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EDITORIAL : MODERN PAINTERS BIOPIC WINTER 2016/2017

My interests lie in choosing things that are out there in the world and, after a period of exploration and gestation, presenting them in a new way, one that reflects my interest in them as objects. So the quiddity of the painting is important, as opposed to a concept it represents. All of my works are composed before they are painted, most coming directly from study collages made using imagery appropriated from print sources: art books, fashion and culture magazines, newspapers, and ephemera like ticket stubs or advertising mailers. I try to keep this sourcing process unguided, meaning I just try to pay attention in my daily life to what I’m drawn to. Once I have a composition that I’m happy with, I photograph it and work with it in the computer to further refine the composition through sizing and cropping. The painting process is very laborious; a detailed larger work can take over a month. I work in acrylics and acrylic enamels and use a lot of dry-brush techniques, tape and masking, and very small brushes. Working with preexisting materials and using abstract collage as a composition tool allows me to focus on my personal aesthetics rather than getting stalled in all the other things that go into making an image. Perhaps because of my twenty-plus years in graphic design, I find this creative process very comfortable and intuitive. At a very base level, collage is a form of design; you have these elements–photos, fonts, text blocks, shapes, logos–and you move them around inside a page to make pleasing compositions. I work very much by feeling, and when something is right, it’s the same feeling in both practices.

The painting we see here to the left, Turning Inward, had its starting point in a collage, whose component pieces came together haphazardly from a stack of source material. I found that a face I had previously torn in half lined up almost perfectly with another, unrelated face. Although the models were of different gender, they both had an androgyny that was enhanced by their mixing. The teal page with the excised shape came from a LACMA catalog; I rearranged and replaced the museum’s text with a quote from Rilke.

The work on the following page,The Black Body Radiation Problem, was composed digitally, in the style of a fashion ad: with a provocative photo, large negative space and an iconic logo mark. However, in this case, I’ve used an image of Charles Ray’s Plank Piece I-II. 1973, a photograph of a performative sculpture. I had always liked the documentation of Ray’s piece, in part because of his playful reference to John McCracken’s leaning sculptures. I severely cropped the original image, which adds to the feeling of unease present, and also negates any idea that this painting is “about” Charles Ray. A concert wristband sits on top of the composition. The painting is also covered in pencil scribbles, a nod to Cy Twombly and an analog to the naive marks an unattended child leaves in a cherished book. Scribbling on top of a painting that took a month to make is both terrifying and freeing.

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PROCESS : TIME LAPSE OF THERE’S A PROBLEM IN MY BRAIN                        

Here’s a time lapse video of the full painting process of the work There’s a Problem In My Brain. This painting will be on view in my upcoming exhibition with KM Fine Arts here in Los Angeles, on view Nov. 3rd - Dec. 23rd.

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PROCESS : PAINTING LETTER FORMS                        

I’m working on some new paintings to go to Miami for Art Miami 2016 with KM Fine Arts. Here is a process video showing the painting of letterforms.

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NEWS : UPCOMING EXHIBITION

My new exhibition, An Ocean Beneath the Sea opens Nov. 3rd, 2016 from 6-9pm at KM Fine Arts.

814 N. La Cienega Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90069

RSVP: rsvp@kmfinearts.com

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My first solo show in Los Angeles is opening in less than 2 weeks: Sep. 12, 2015

The Singularity is Near

KM Fine Arts

814 N. La Cienega Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 90026

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PROCESS : SHOW UPDATE

My first Los Angeles solo exhibition is scheduled for September 12, 2015 at KM Fine Arts. Here are some photos of some of the works in progress.

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PROCESS : MASKING REVEAL

I love the reveal when removing painter’s tape. Here, I reveal a striped rock that I’ve been working on for a few days. It is part of a larger work that will be in my show this summer.

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PROCESS : RENDERING TIME LAPSE

These photos, show the process by which I paint the detailed parts of my paintings. It is a slow process, using very fine brushes and about 10 shades of gray from white to black. This section is a little over 2 feet in height and is part of a 4 foot square painting that will be in my upcoming show in September 2015.

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PROCESS : PAINTING PROCESS

Here are a few steps showing the process of one of my paintings. This was produced in the studio in Australia during my residency with Art Park in October of 2014.

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NEWS : ART PARK ARTIST RESIDENCY #8

I'm very honored and extremely excited to attend the Art Park Artist Residency program this summer in Byron Bay, Australia. And I'm not mad that this beach is out in front of my studio. Big thanks go out to Craig and Paul at Art Park and their accommodations partner, the Linnaeus Estate.

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ADMIRATIONS : Cherine Fahd. I was introduced to this photographer's work at the 2014 Photo LA Exhibit. She's an Australian artist, and these works from her "Camouflage" series area really amazing. They remind me a bit of minimalist paintings and prints by Ellsworth Kelly.

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PROCESS : The 14th Book of Bokonon. I just finished this piece for a group show coming up here in Los Angeles on January 25th (until Feb 2nd). The Cat Art Show LA will be at:

101/Exhibit Gallery

6205 Santa Monica Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90038

The complexity of rendering the Egyptian cat urn was my most challenging piece to date. I kept wondering what I'd gotten myself into, but after sticking with it, I'm quite happy with how it turned out.

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ADMIRATIONS : Christopher Michlig

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INSPIRATIONS : Amanda Ross-Ho. Wow.

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RANDOMS : This weird sensation inside

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INSPIRATIONS : Vintage black & white imagery.