Patrick Parrish Gallery is pleased to present “American Collection Paintings”, a solo exhibition of paintings by Toronto-based artist Brian Rideout.

Referencing images of sumptuous private spaces sourced from design books and magazines, Rideout transforms printed photographs of luxe, opulent interiors into distinctive and contemplative oil paintings. By exploring the natural transference and distortions that occur as an art collection undergoes the “meta” process of being captured as a photograph, printed onto the pages of design books, and finally rendered into a painted form, Rideout’s paintings honor the layered history that published images preserve. His practice functions as a visual record, chronicling the documentation of design trends by highly regarded publications while simultaneously highlighting the role that these archives play in deciding what becomes promoted and validated in the arts canon.

With several of Rideout’s source images stemming from pages found in Patrick Parrish’s vast book collection, American Collection Paintings can be seen as the meeting of three overlapping collections: Parrish’s archive of collected books, Rideout’s practice of collecting images, and the collections of art and design objects depicted in Rideout’s paintings. As a result, Rideout’s presentation of privately owned collections at a public, liminal space such as Patrick Parrish Gallery implores viewers to ponder the level of exhibitionism and the desire to present that is inherent with all collections.

The exhibition will be on view from September 8th through October 21st and we hope to see you there!

Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council and the Government of Ontario for funding support.