GOLESTANI is pleased to present New York–based artist Raynes Birkbeck’s first international solo exhibition titled “Flash to Pappy, I’m on Your Tail” opened on Sept. 12th. The show features a series of new paintings depicting the Schwarzwald (The Black Forest), alongside works on paper and sculptures completed throughout the past decade. Born in the Bronx in 1956, Birkbeck’s unique vision melds personal and fictious scenarios embellished with ecology, politics, war, religion and queer representation.
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Raynes Birkbeck
FLASH TO PAPPY, I´M ON YOUR TAIL -
In the artist’s latest body of work, Birkbeck envisions Germany, a place he’s never been. Combining polyamory and German folklore with imagined prehistoric scenes, both dinosaurs and lederhosen–clad hunters linger amongst dark trees. In the painting “Alpine Love,” after climbing the Alps, a group of men make love on the summit.
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THE SCHWARZWALD
Birkbeck has an aptitude for pulling together a wide range of references and improvising disparate connections. Discussing his thought process behind the painting, he explains:
“I was imagining what it would be like in Germany. I’ve seen enough pictures to know about The Schwarzwald. I also know when the Dutch and Germans settled Africa, they called it the wald. And Americans had a famous president with ‘velt’ in his last name, Roosevelt. Roose is roses. Maybe it means flowering forest? Something like that.” —Raynes Birkbeck
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Birkbeck’s artworks follow this personalized logic with liberal doses of free association. He doesn’t censor himself, rather indulges the subconscious. The results reveal a diverse cast of historical and contemporary personas that co–exist on multiple, simultaneous timelines.
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“I may be on the back of a dinosaur as one Birkbeck. Then another Birkbeck may be walking on the beach or engaging in an orgy. I’ve been through the 70’s and 80’s but in each timeline, it’s handled differently. In the new climate, there may be a gulf that can’t be breached again. It’s better to be alive than dead.” — Raynes Birkbeck
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»This multihyphenate maker’s work illustrates a sci–fi paradise where humankind is polyamorous, omnisexual, multigendered, magical. Yet his objects are always suffused by an unrepentant, hedonistic eroticism, a cockeyed humor, and a generous heart.« —Artforum International
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WILD PARTY AT JOHN BARLEYCORN
»John Barleycorn is the guy with the brown beard. John Barleycorn’s partner is featured in the picture—he’s lying next to a guy named Neville. Neville, Richard, and John Barleycorn are married. They invited their friends over for a party. They are having an orgy in John Barleycorn’s house. It’s a wild house party and basically this is a situation where all these people are friends. The dinosaur is their pet.«
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»There was a man in the low renaissance named John Barleycorn. There was a murder that happened during that time and Sir John Barleycorn was killed. They went on a crusade and John was successful, but when he came back there was a lot of jealousy. I heard about the name in the songs I listened to, a song by Traffic and another by Jethro Tull. It was about an English murder story. The whole town was in on the murder. It became a famous story. I liked the man, I don’t know why they killed him. But they murdered him.«
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»There was also a restaurant called John Barleycorn in Manhattan. Not sure if they’re related, but that was the name. I never went there, but I heard about it when I listened to QXR (a classical music station in New York). So those are the sources for the name John Barleycorn.«
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»If you look at the painting in the painting, you see John Barleycorn’s ancestors fighting on the back of a dinosaur. It took place in an alternate reality in the high middle ages. There’s also a window and there’s a ship and a dock in the distance.« —Raynes Birkbeck
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FRITZ IN THE OPEN
»I’m showing the wildlife in an alternate Germany. Some animals that would be in Germany, and naturally I put dinosaurs in there too. If the world changed, and different animals filled different niches, then some of them would be lizards. I have a theory, after the second coming, God will bring back some animals that went extinct, such as saurian species. Certain birds and lizards will keep the ecosystem going.«
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»There may be a hunter amongst the trees in the forest hunting deer and rabbit. He’s wearing lederhosen—I’ve been to festivals and I see they wear suspenders and they wear shorts instead of long pants. They wear a shirt and hat to complete the look. And of course socks and shoes.«
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ALPINE LOVE
»A bunch of guys were climbing the Alps. They started playing, having sex on a mountain top. I got the vision because I know the Alps are a well known mountain range in Europe. It runs through Switzerland, Germany, France, Austria. I was imagining what it would be like there.«
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SELF–PORTRAIT
»Ah! Well, I like the idea of being included in the work because it shows my contributions as a character in the paintings, doing activities such as splits or interacting with the police. My presence in a painting means that I’m there to solve a problem. If there is a war or a disaster, and I’m one of the characters, I need to help. In my work, we’re all friends and family. When I add myself, I’m coming in as a son, father, or cousin.«
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BAD BILLY
»Bad Billy is a character I manufactured into a superman with a nom de guerre. He and Raynes work in the current timeline, 3.2. He is actually a version of a guy I once knew named Bill. I like the idea that he was a real person. In my work Bad Billy is a father, a lover, and an artist who represents wisdom and power.«
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»There are many versions of “Bill” and “William,” who appear as different forms of this character Bad Billy, but they’re all based on one man. Bad Billy embodies the ultimate ruling historical figure with a lot of power and is very involved with his government. He is the kind of guy who sets up a dynasty and has other people serve as his proxies. He ruled for 500 years, until others gained possession of his world.
I’ve become more interested in including female figures. I’ve been developing new characters based on my mother and grandmother. I would like to add my aunts too. I imagine they would meet me at certain points in a given timeline and rise to power. Right now, I have ideas for eight different characters they can play.«
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»This comes toward the end of the 21st century. So they are preparing people for their stay of long hauls in space. They go for several months at a time. They aren’t up there for only one day.«
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Additionally, space travel and environmental concerns are recurring motifs in the series of drawings on display. The title for the exhibition comes from the work, ”Ganymede In Orbit: Birkbeck, DeMarco, and Davies,” in which Birkbeck portrays himself as an astronaut. Rockets launch from a Global Sea Wall after the Earth floods and people search for alternate universes to inhabit. Code names are used, and the planes, spaceships, and helicopters have speech bubbles drawn above them with tiny letters in ballpoint pen, recounting a sci-fi fantasy. Pappy, Bad Billy, The Bearded Man, and Bull attempt communication, but Birkbeck revels in the vagueness behind the statements. He explains the phrase “I’m on your tail” could be either aggressive, as in someone’s about to be attacked, or it might be friendly, just letting someone know you’re joining their flight group.
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GANYMEDE IN ORBIT: BIRKBECK, DEMARCO, AND DAVIES
»Ganymede is an Orbital like the Gemini Project. This happens in 3.2, the near future.«
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»It can have 2-6 astronauts in a capsule. They are putting up satellites. They needed something closer to resemble Earth, better than the International Space Station. Ganymede is a larger structure, a circular structure with 2 rings and a fuselage in the middle, and it rotates. This comes toward the end of the 21st century. So they are preparing people for their stay of long hauls in space. They go for several months at a time. They aren’t up there for only one day.
2 Stages, on the Right side of the picture - They sent the Rocket launches from the Global Sea Wall. Earth flooded and there was an oceanic reservoir. There was a flood control system, Islands built high. They were going to lose them. So there are planes and boats, helicopters. The roadway that you see is a road system built along the Global Sea Wall. The sea was brought up from the North Pole when the ice caps melted. There was a giant rain storm. The nations that would’ve been swallowed up were built up, helped by the Global Sea Wall.«
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»Artist Raynes E. Birkbeck creates fantastical, vibrant paintings that imagine a better world, one in which humans coexist with dinosaurs to retell stories of past, present and future.«—Art in America
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DINOSAURS
»The dinosaurs are an example of a modern world out of control. I´m going to give man the power to live with the animals, to support the system that he has now...I often say "Imagine if people had a little baby dinosaur to carry with them?" It allows the person to express themselves. It is an extension of their personality.« —Raynes Birkbeck
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»I’ve noticed that people have become distant. You can be open. You can say what you want and express who you are. Love eventually conquers all.« —Raynes Birkbeck
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Raynes Birkbeck, Copyright Jonathan Grassi / Courtesy SITUATIONS, NY
Raynes E. Birkbeck
RAYNES BIRKBECK (b. 1956, The Bronx) lives and works in Manhattan. He is a self–taught artist who paints, sculpts, draws, and writes poetry. He has exhibited work at SITUATIONS, New York; Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles; Norma Mangione Gallery, Turin, Italy; The Bureau of General Services—Queer Division, New York; The Leslie–Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art, New York; Fierman Gallery, New York; Safe Gallery, Brooklyn; and Apexart, New York. His work has been reviewed in Artforum, Art in America, and Vault Magazine amongst others. Additionally, Willow Glen Films is producing a documentary set for release next year.
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Available works
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Raynes Birkbeck, San Francisco – A walk through the Park, 2019
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Raynes Birkbeck, Russian Country-Side in Spring, 2019
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Raynes Birkbeck, Pres WHD and the Family Feast Billy, Ray, Little Billy, 2020
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