A&O Exclusive Interview With Steven Riddle

Steven Riddle. Untitled. airbrush acrylics, oil based monotype, cut paper collage on paper. 20x23. 2010

Baltimore-based artist Steven Riddle recently emailed to share some images of his work with me. What immediately struck me about the work was his sense of color and geometry. Rock formations, mineral clusters and geodes are placed in stellar formations that suggest some sort of inter-galactic composition. I wanted to learn more, so I asked him to do a quick interview for A&O, to which I’m grateful he agreed. Be sure to follow the link for more beautiful images and a more thorough explanation of the work in the artist’s own words.

Artist Statement:

My work explores ideas of misperceptions and misrepresentations of nature. Natural rock formations known as geodes can be artificially colored using man-made methods. This results in the perversion of the original colors that are found in natural formations. The dyed geodes display a falsification of nature. Tchotchke markets exploit indigenous societies, stealing, altering, and in return, profiting from their culture through souvenirs sales. These mementos have no cultural value, other than being a product of consumer driven economy. The misrepresentations add to the destruction of cultural traditions. I have chosen to work on paper because I view its physical properties as temporal, and its fragility as appropriately related to the relationship between nature and indigenous cultures.

Steven Riddle. Untitled. Gouache, spray paint on paper. 13x15. 2010.

Argot & Ochre: I noticed from your CV that you were born in Pittsburgh. Is that where you grew up as well?

Steven Riddle: I grew up about twenty minutes north of Pittsburgh, just outside a small town called Harmony. My father worked in a steel mill there.

A&O: Your work touches on the exploitation of indigenous societies. Discuss your interest in communicating this theme through your art. How did it arise? Does it have anything to do with your own ethnicity
or where/how you were raised?

SR: I was extremely fortunate as a kid. I spent summers with my family taking road trips out west, often to majestic locations like Glacier National Park or Yellowstone. Along the way we stopped at truck-stops
and other tourist spots. We took photos in front of fiberglass Indian Chiefs. I remember looking underneath the plastic totem poles or the back of dream-catchers only to find a Made-in-China sticker. It
disappointed me for some reason, because you expect to find something organic. I once asked the store clerk if there was anything authentic, and they could not tell me. From a young age I felt that there was something misleading about the sale of these objects. Though I didn’t know the economics at the time, I did not like the feeling of being deceived. These experiences have always shaped my work.

ics, silkscreen, oil based monotype, cut paper collage on paper. 25x21. 2010.

A&O: What role do color and geometry play in your work?

SR: I want to grab peoples attraction and bright neon helps that happen. I really want the colors to be as loud as possible. I want to make your eyes spin. Conceptually the neon colors are used in reference to the man-made process in which thy are manufactured. Neon is a perversion of the natural color wheel. Using these colors mimics the man-made process that geodes are artificially colored.

A&O: How does the work develop/discuss your process

SR: I use silk-screening, relief and mono printing processes. I also use an air brush. I make a lot of work just for the scraps some times. I have plastic bins full of useful scraps. I pull from these bins and start to arrange the pieces around, or I cut them into different more usable shapes, but always saving the scraps for the future.  I spend a lot of time arranging, searching for some things that I have never seen before, some excitement. It’s a reactionary way of working.

Steven Riddle. Untitled. Spray paint, makers, cut paper collage on paper. 18x21. 2010

A&O: Where do you draw influence and inspiration? Music/art/literature?

SR: I play movies and tv shows in my studio. I don’t think it influences the content of my work but it help me to focus for long periods of time. I like the writings of Peter Halley and lately I have really gotten into Imi Knoebel’s work and provisional paintings. I am big on early American paintings by Thomas Cole and George Catlin.

Steven Riddle. Untitled. Airbrush acrylics, oil based monotypes, cut paper collage on paper. 19x22. 2010.

A&O: Could you describe yourself as a person? Your interests? Any accomplishments or interesting childhood memories?

SR: I’ve been told I look like Zach Galifianakis. As a child, I collected toy trains with my dad and uncle. I helped plan the train layouts. I looked forward to this every year. I was also on the high school wrestling team. I like sports teams from Pittsburgh, and Paula Dean recipes.

A&O: Are you part of any group or collective of artists? Who are your contemporaries?

SR: No collective, but I am good friends with a lot of really great artists here in Baltimore. Amy Boone-McCreesh, John Bohl and Seth Adelsberger are all really in-tune with what’s going on. Seth Adelsberger and Alex Ebstein the co-owners of Nudashank, have really put together some high caliber and aggressive shows. I think we all give Baltimore a larger presents in the art world. The art world should follow more closely to what is happening here. Some people see Baltimore as just a stepping stone,  and I hate that mentality.

StevenvRiddle. Untitled. Gouache, airbrush acrylics, silkscreen, oil based monotype, cut paper collage on paper. 11x14. 2010.

A&O: What is your advice to young artists?

SR: Never back down and never apologize.

Steven Riddle. Untitled. Gouache, spray paint, cut paper collage on paper. 23x16. 2009