Nicholas Lamia

at

REECE GALLERIES

September 9 - October 15, 2005

New York, N. Y. (September 1, 2005) --The Reece Galleries, Inc.,celebrating its 35th Anniversary, is pleased to announce its third one-person exhibition of paintings by American artist Nicholas Lamia. Nicholas was one of only a few artists to have the honor of being awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003.

Lamia's painting style ranges widely from small landscapes to large-scale abstractions. In his work, he references past masters such as Mondrian and Klee, shares some visual vocabulary with contemporary artists like Sean Scully and Rosie Lee Tompkins, yet maintains a strong sense of individuality and a unique style. For this show, Lamia has created a group of abstract paintings composed of grid-like frameworks. They do not depict anything from the physical world; however, they maintain a connection to the natural world through paint handling, color and layering. The resulting imagery concerns the classic tension between Apollonian and Dionysian elements and bears a resemblance to plant tissues, aerial views of cities, and other such organically complex structures. This reflects the tension between Lamia's training as a scientist and his practice as a painter.

Born in Los Angeles, Lamia currently lives in New York City. He received a Bachelor's Degree in biological environmental science from the University of California at Berkeley in 1994, and a Master of Fine Arts in painting from Boston University in 2000 where he studied with John Walker and John Moore. He has received numerous awards including a Kahn Career Entry Award in 2000. Lamia was recently commissioned by Tishman Speyer Properties to complete a large painting for their new Westin Hotel in Times Square. His paintings are included in many private and public collections.

Landscape and abstraction have become, for me, inextricably linked-- demonstrating a symbiosis between the physical and spiritual worlds. The colors, tones and textures I absorb while painting from nature reappear, transformed into geometric compositions that evolve from the organic complexity that surrounds me each day.

--Nicholas Lamia

A reception with the artist in attendance will be held at the gallery on Tuesday, September 13, 2005, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Shirley I. Reece, President sireece@reecegalleries.com

24 West 57th Street New York, NY 10019 tel 212.333.5830 fax 212.333.7366 www.reecegalleries.com

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