Rick Arnitz

 

 

As You Were

• September 19 – October 10, 2002
• Opening reception September 19, 6:30 pm
• Artist talk in the Gallery at 7:00 pm

California Artist Rick Arnitz’ current tool of choice is a paint roller. He calls this instrument “a mechanical mediator between the hand and the canvas,” which is expressive, but has limitations. Arnitz labels his creations “semi-abstract art”—halfway to serious meaning. I ask the viewers to meet me there.” When presented with Arnitz’ work, the viewer is intrigued and drawn in by the apparent lack of content, then held by the transfixing textures and ubiquitous rhythms of variation. The titles challenge the viewer to connect what they observe to possible meanings.

A native of St. Louis, Missouri, Arnitz hitchhiked to California at nineteen, lived through the 1960’s in Los Angeles, served briefly in the army, and then resumed his education at Moneterey Peninsula College. In 1973, he enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, where he subsequently earned his B. A., M. A., and M. F. A. degees. Currently, Rick Arnitz is represented at the Stephen Wirtz Gallery in San Francisco, California. Arnitz’ work has been presented in group and solo exhibitions throughout California, in Texas, Massachusetts, New York, and Oregon, and internationally in Copenhagen, Denmark. Rick Arnitz has been featured in numerous publications, including Artforum, Art International, the The San Francisco Chronicle, and ArtWeek magazine. Arnitz’ works can be found in numerous public collections, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Achenbach Foundation, the San Jose Museum of Art, the University Art Museum, Berkeley, the Monterey Museum of Art, The Bank of America Collections in San Francisco, Continental Securities in Vancouver, B.C., and the Principal Finance Group of Des Moines, Iowa.