Throughlines
Rush Baker IV
14 Jun. – 13 Jul. 2024
Press – Dovetail Mag – The Depth of Erasure by Kate Mothes
“With the recognition that your figured past is the archival, is the memorial, comes also the realization that in that encounter, one is necessarily inscribed into a dialogue of representation.” – Politics of Memory
“What comes after representation is abstraction.” – Rush Baker IV
Future Gallery is proud to present “Throughlines,” the first solo exhibition of American artist Rush Baker IV in Germany, and with the gallery. Throughlines delves into the turbulent intersections of history, memory, and contemporary socio-political landscapes through Baker’s compelling visual abstractions. Exploring themes of Civil War reenactment, political inertia, and drawing from the historical evolution of recreational “attractions,” the exhibition asks viewers to consider their physical and psychological proximity to sites of conflict turned sites of entertainment and tourism. Born in DC, raised in Maryland, consistently pursuing a dual interest in politics and painting, Baker is keenly aware of the historical traces of violence forged in and around the Capitol. His work explores the notion that landmarks among landscapes, marked and unmarked, appeal to everyone impacted by mediated images reinforcing their narratives in our collective imaginations, from lithographs to AI.
Baker’s “Throughlines” masterfully collapses the experience of historical cycloramas into an exhibition that embraces the power of attraction. His work questions the nature of light in painting, using bold colors to capture the energy and complexity of the battlefield and contemporary art issues. This exhibition re-appropriates the violent expropriation of experience, making history visible and engaging viewers in a dialogue about representation and memory. Baker’s use of bold, vivid colors acts as a beacon, much like a fly drawn to honey. Blaring colors trap viewers, compelling them to engage deeply with the action of each piece. This exhibition leverages color as a tool for attraction to the chaos of battle, creating an immersive experience that commands attention and evokes strong emotional responses. How does light form against the backdrop of war? What can the light tell us about our proximity to past, present and future sites of warfare? If attending a reenactment is meant to place you inside the world of the war, Baker’s paintings are meant to place you in the eye of the storm within unexplored positionality
Employing a diverse range of mediums, Baker deliberately cultivates ambiguity, blurring the boundaries between real and digital. His method involves printing collaged images in grids and affixing them to the canvas with wheat paste. The surface is then layered with plaster, concrete, paint, and resin, creating a textured representation that captures the urgency, energy, and chaos prevalent in the current socio-political climate. By layering historical graphics over tones of brash brush marks, all the while submerged by colors, his forms explode past their perimeter, giving the viewer a sense that the work is a window to a wider experience.The energy in Baker’s paintings manifests through layers of digital collage, resin, plaster, concrete, and paint. The various media are interwoven, at odds, and chaotic, slowly revealing compositions of both destruction and reconstruction.
Baker’s work parallels the cycloramas of the 1880s, enormous panoramic paintings that transported viewers into historical scenes, such as the Battle of Gettysburg. Through his paintings, Baker reenacts and reimagines archival imagery of war, blending past and present to create a new narrative. His work challenges the narrative boundaries of historical painting by incorporating contemporary social and political interpretations, drawing parallels between historical conflicts in the United States and modern-day struggles around the globe. Baker invites viewers to reassemble their perceptions and engage with the artwork on a deeper level. The exhibition challenges viewers to see beyond the surface, exploring the transition between different levels of experience and the ways in which history is remembered and forgotten. Through his work, Baker seeks to create a space of heightened uncertainty, encouraging viewers to question what they see and feel.
Rush Baker’s “Throughlines” is a powerful exploration of color, memory, and social commentary. The exhibition invites viewers to engage with the paintings on an emotional and intellectual level, drawing them into a complex dialogue about history, memory, and the nature of attraction. Through his vivid, detailed compositions, Baker reanimates historical imagery, creating a compelling visual experience that captivates and challenges.
— Sam Vernon, 2024 DAAD Fellow, and Assistant Professor of Fine Art at The Pratt Institute of Fine Art
Rush Baker IV (b. 1987, Washington, D.C.) lives and works in Prince George’s County, MD. He received a BFA from The Cooper Union for Advancement of Science and Art in 2009 where he received the Jack Stewart Memorial Prize for Excellence in Painting, and an MFA from Yale University in 2012, where he received the Elizabeth Canfield Hicks Award. Recent solo exhibitions include: Scaramouche Gallery and The Cooper Union, New York City; HEMPHILL Artworks, Washington DC; Honfleur Gallery, Washington DC; Keijsers Koning, Dallas; and in group shows at Zidoun-Bossuyt, Luxembourg; The Third Line Gallery, Dubai; The Harvey B. Gantt Center, Charlotte, NC; MOCADA, Brooklyn, NY; Koki Arts; Tokyo, and Yale University. His work is in the collection of the International African American Museum in Charlotte, SC as well as The Studio Museum in Harlem. Baker is a Lecturer in the MFA Program at American University’s Katzen School of Art in Washington, D.C.
