A solo show featuring all drips opens at 212Arts

  • Thu, Jun 8, 2017 6:00pm Tue, Jun 20, 2017 7:00pm
  • 212 Arts

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212 Arts

...is pleased to present the first solo exhibition of Paul Richard’s work in 5 years, “Drip”. Despite his abilities as a representational painter in the gallery setting, Richard’s street art possesses a playful sense of spontaneity and quickness as he manages to capture the quintessential short-hand features of his subjects with nothing more than a dripped contour line of paint. While most artists prefer the vertical spaces in the city's landscape, the drip by its very nature must be on a flat surface, but this is not even the main reason Richard works in this orientation. Even before 1997 when he first moved to New York, Richard has always recognized that people's attention constantly scans the ground in front of them making it the perfect place to find an audience. The recognizability and popularity of his drip work is a testament to Richard’s creativity in using the sidewalk as his canvas.

 

 

Drips commissioned for Justin Bieber and his manager

In the Spring of 2016, Richard was commissioned to apply his now iconic drip style to portraits of pop sensation Justin Bieber and his manager "Scooter" Braun. The process of creating drips is somewhat performative in that all works are completed in one sitting, but the first draft rarely meets the artist's high standards. The drip itself is an exercise in repetition until the artist is ready to create the final work. In this video, Richard prototypes one of his drips.

The final work as presented to the singer features his trademark hair cascading over his piercing eyes.

'Justin' — Oil on Canvas 42 x 60

'Justin' — Oil on Canvas 42 x 60

Jay Z & Beyoncé acquire drip portraits

Jay Z & Beyoncé acquire portraiture drips for their private collection.

In October of 2016 Paul created several drips featuring pop moguls Beyoncé and her husband Jay Z. This first image shows Paul with the prototype for the drips that eventually became part of the collection.

For sale.

For sale.

This version from the series hung at the couple's Rock Nation studios.

Private Collection

Private Collection

Also acquired for the family was a drip of the couple's daughter Blue Ivy.

Private Collection

Private Collection

Richard featured on 'Street Museum of Art' site

The virtual museum project for 'street art' (Street Museum of Art) has made Richard a featured artist. Drawn both to Richard's eye-catching drip work as well has his brash pronouncements on placards near and far, the museum features Richard along with a few dozen other artists. Unlike the vast majority of the other artists who prefer a wall or building for a canvas, Richard, sometimes by necessity (drips respond to gravity), uses the street and sidewalk itself for his backdrops.

“Founded in 2012 around the streets of Brooklyn, The Street Museum of Art’s guerrilla curating initiatives re-evaluate the current model for contemporary art museums by exploring the unique relationship these artists share with their urban environments.”
— Street Museum of Art website
First Avenue, East Village, Manhattan — Mixed media on cement

First Avenue, East Village, Manhattan — Mixed media on cement

Besides the drips, Richard has earned a reputation for his "designated art". Reaching back to 1998, the year of Richard's arrival in New York, the tactic has garnered the attention of the Times and other major publications.  

“That is when Mr. Richard moved to Williamsburg from Boston and began roaming the city to make ‘’designated art,’’ as he calls it, by affixing such plaques to sidewalk paraphernalia that strike his fancy. All bear the title ‘’Untitled 1998.’’”
— The New York Times
Link to actual article from The New York Times

Link to actual article from The New York Times

Paul Richard's Drip Drawing Appraised at $5,500 at Auction

Paul Richard's Gibbous Moon 2009, attracted a lot of attention being the first piece to sell in the Acria Annual Charity Auction. It was valued at $5,500 and sold immediately with "Buy Now" option. Other popular pieces were a lithograph by Jeff Koons and a Central Park photograph by Nan Goldin. Tom Modern, author, who attended the event said of Richard's piece " I remember when he was selling those for $35."

Gibbous Moon — 22 x 15

Gibbous Moon — 22 x 15