Visual Artist

Brooklyn

I would like to change what I believe is an overly simplistic way we look at color, race in the culture. I think things are really more layered and complex than the media conveys.

Today, we bring you the first in a series of video interviews from Brooklyn filmmaker David Cripton. I have known David's work for a very long time, starting with his documentary on bike theft in Montreal in 1994. I am delighted with how life circles back and that he is creating visionary stories for you here. Meet Rico Gatson inside his Bushwick studio.

RICO GATSON

by Dave Cripton

In his first short, Dave Cripton interviews Rico Gatson, A NYC visual artist based in Brooklyn. Even though Gatson uses painting, video, sculpture and installation, he prefers not to be defined by any single medium, even though he uses many and thinks of himself as an object maker. He produces work in which racial commentary is readily apparent while conveying notions of historical uncertainty via mixed symbols and open-ended statements. Gatson has exhibited in dozens of solo shows and scores of group shows in the US and abroad. An MFA graduate of Yale University in Sculpture who also teaches at NYU, his work is in many public collections including the Studio museum of Harlem, Denver Art Museum and at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC. His next Solo show is at the Samsøñ Gallery in Boston. Gatson's work can be viewed at RicoGatson.com.