Details:

In this surreal painting, a moon hangs over a mountain in an image that seems to vertically fuse three slices of a wide panorama—a suspension of traditional landscape that fuses kitsch with romanticism and abstraction.
Framed: 19.3 x 14.6 x 1.5 in.
Signed

① Artwork:

Desert Moon

In this surreal landscape painting, a moon hangs over a mountain in the desert. The image seems to vertically fuse three slices of a wide panorama. Addressing the function of painting in an era of digital art, the artist's works dispense with any sense of perspective—while fusing kitsch with romanticism and abstraction. His labyrinthine compositions exist as a suspension of landscape effects inside an illusionary space.

In his paintings, Neil Raitt continues to reference gestures adopted from Bob Ross’ television program The Joy of Painting. In this work, Raitt pushes beyond these references to lead viewers toward an otherworldly place.

Specs:

11.41 inches
16.53 inches
with frame
14.56 inches
19.28 inches
1.5 inches
19.28 inches

③ Artist:

Neil Raitt

Neil Raitt’s intricate paintings dispense with a traditional sense of perspective, leading viewers on a search through the atmospheric effects of landscape and the illusion of space. His labyrinthine compositions address notions of kitsch, romanticism and abstraction, as well as the role of painting in the digital age. Frequently employing gestures from Bob Ross’ The Joy of Painting, Raitt’s mature work pushes beyond these references to depict surreal vistas.

BIO:

Neil Raitt was born in 1986. He received his MA from the Royal College of Art in London, UK in 2013.

Over the past ten years, Raitt’s work has been included in solo and group shows at: Nicelle Beauchene in New York, NY; The Cabin in Los Angeles, California; Chez Valentin in Paris, France; Choi & Lager in Cologne, Germany; The Hole in New York City; Lin & Lin Gallery in Taipei, Taiwan; and Rental Gallery in East Hampton, New York. 

Institutions that have exhibited Raitt’s work include: the Centre d’art contemporain La Halle des bouchers in Vienna, Austria; Villa Du Parc centre d’art contemporain in Annemasse, France; the DePaul University Art Museum in Chicago, Illinois; and the Goss-Michael Foundation in Dallas, Texas. 

Raitt was the recipient of the Northern Trust Acquisition Prize in 2016 and the Catlin Art Prize in 2014. His work is in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art in Los Angeles, California; the DePaul Art Museum in Chicago, Illinois; the Saatchi Collection in London, UK; and the Frank-Suss Collection in London, UK.

Raitt lives and works in Los Angeles, California.

Neil Raitt:
Desert Moon, 2020
Acrylic, gouache, and watercolor on paper
16.5 × 11.4 inches /
Neil Raitt:
Desert Moon, 2020
Acrylic, gouache, and watercolor on paper
16.5 × 11.4 inches /