Dear (2011)
WALL PAINTINGS
Dear is a reproduction of the solo exhibition Dear David Johnson that Rinus Van de Velde had at Chicago's Moniquemeloche Gallery in 2011. The work adds yet another chapter to the artist's fictional autobiography. The handwritten text framing the sculptures is part of an Aug. 26, 1963, letter from the character Rinus Van de Velde to fictional curator David Johnson. In it, the artist apologizes for a missed appointment and explains that his presence at a major art event has caused him to fundamentally question the contemporary art world and the authenticity of his own “production” of sculptures. The world of shiny 'dinner party shoes' stands in stark contrast to the pronounced desire for authenticity, substantiated by some charcoal drawings of primitive artworks. The drawings derived from photographs lend credibility to the narrative and invite the viewer to relate the fictional reflections in the letter about creative genius and 'the ultimately private' of the imagination to the collective consciousness.