Raid Projects is pleased to present Hybrids 5.0: new watercolor and egg tempera
paintings by Paul Paiement. This is
Paiement’s first Southern California solo exhibition since his successful
museum debut at the Laguna Art Museum and the publication of his award
winning book Hybrids
1.0-3.5 (Laguna Wilderness Press). The current
work utilizes three-dimensional screen-like overlays that simultaneously
reveal and conceal the imagery underneath. The screens are made with
wooden dowels and bits of watercolor paper embedded into the supports. The
two-dimensional surface references half-tone screens used in commercial
printing, while the three-dimensional qualities allude to pixel depth in
digital photography.
It
would be difficult to argue against the claim that the digital era has
changed contemporary life. Only a decade ago, cell phones were more
novelty than necessity and PDA meant making-out in public, not handheld
device. Paiement examines this confused status of nature, reality,
and possibly even the spiritual in late capitalism.
As
the series’ title suggests, Paiement’s Hybrids analyze the
disparate structures of the natural world as pared against the synthetic,
or plastic reality of human existence. But instead of drawing dichotomous
comparisons, Paiement’s meticulous constructions conversely point to
similarities between the organic patterns and shapes of insects and the
design of any number of iPods, cell phones, PDAs and boomboxes. These are
playful images underpinned by the possibility of universal
architectonics.
As
Paiement continues to skillfully play with ideas of manipulation and mass
production, the effect, while at times playful, can be chilling. When the
science of cloning, and the constant desire to make people, animals,
weapons of war, and goods faster and better has reached a fever pitch,
these paintings hint at an apocalypse.
Paiement
has shown widely in solo and group shows in New York, Italy, the
Netherlands, Canada, London, Chicago, and Southern California. His work
was most recently featured in solo shows at the Laguna Art Museum and
Heather Marx Gallery, San Francisco. Group shows include Re-Presenting Representation
VII at the Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY; Bugology
at The Armory, Pasadena,CA; and Bug Out of the Box: A New Look at the
Contemporary Art, History, and Science of Bugs at
the Berkshire Museum, Pittsfield, MA; and in Cyborg Manifesto or The Joy of Artifice
at the Laguna Art Museum. Paiement's work has been featured in several
publications including Art in America, Artscene, Modern Painters, Artforum,
Ouest
(France), Artweek,
Step Inside
Design, Communication Arts, Los Angeles,
the Los Angeles
Times, and the New Art Examiner.
Paiement received his MFA from the University of Southern California in
1995.
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