Mark Ryan Chariker: The Forest Through The Trees

Exhibition Dates: November 14 - December 21, 2024

Opening Reception: Thursday, November 14th @ 6PM-8PM

39 White Street, Tribeca

1969 Gallery is pleased to present The Forest Through The Trees by Mark Ryan Chariker. In this most recent body of work, Chariker playfully reinterprets the age-old idiom, 'You can’t see the forest for the trees,' suggesting that our collective fixation on quantity, immediacy, and individualism in modern times often blinds us to the broader interconnectedness of our experiences. Chariker’s humanistic interpretation of this proverbial ideology involves the deliberate act of slowing down, a rejection of mass production, and an appreciation for painting and its materiality—fostering an environment in which the artist’s process mirrors the viewer’s experience of looking—deeply, carefully, and meticulously. 

In this new series of paintings, figures are depicted in a paradoxically celebratory yet confrontational fashion, meeting the gaze of the viewer, and surrounded by an overwhelming profusion of vegetation. The plants and roots encroaching the edges of these images carry over to his forest landscape paintings, in which he offers glimpses of light beyond a dense array of foliage. This interplay creates an ambiguous sense of hope and possibility, suggesting an ideal state that transcends our vantage point. 

Through subtle tonal shifts and layered spaces in which environment and emotion become inseparable, Chariker urges viewers to pause, to take in the entirety of the scene, and to investigate the intricacies of our world. Ultimately, like the old masters he nods to, Chariker creates a visual experience that is as much about feeling as it is about seeing. His work moves beyond the spectacle of quick consumption, asking the viewer to linger; to engage deeply with the worlds he depicts; and to explore The Forest Through The Trees. 

For Inquiries, please contact
Alexander Browngardt | e: alex@1969gallery.com

Mark Ryan Chariker (b. 1984, Spartanburg, SC) currently lives and works in Brooklyn, New York. He received a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in Boston, MA. He is represented by 1969 Gallery. Chariker’s work has been included in numerous exhibitions and art fairs, including The Armory Show, New York, NY; Dallas Art Fair; Untitled Miami Beach; Ojos de perro azul, Marinaro, New York; Lost Hours, Anat Ebgi, Los Angeles, UK; I have an idea!, 1969 Gallery, New York, NY; Platform, presented by David Zwirner Gallery, New York, NY; Red Root, Green Root, The Valley, Taos, NM. Chariker has completed residencies at PM/AM Gallery in London, RAiR Foundation in Roswell, New Mexico, SÍM in Reykjavik, Iceland, and NES in Skagaströnd, Iceland. Chariker’s works are in the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH, Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, Miami, FL Center of International Contemporary Art, Vancouver, Canada, and Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, New York, NY; Paris, France. His paintings have been featured in Artforum International, Artnet News, and Art of Choice.

About 1969 Gallery

Founded in September 2016, 1969 is a contemporary art gallery in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood. Through solo / group / external exhibitions and art fair presentations, the Gallery has cultivated the careers of its represented artists and a broader community of artists primarily devoted to painting.

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