Hilary Pecis
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery
Installation View
Come Along With Me
Exhibition:
Come Along With Me
Gallery:
Rachel Uffner Gallery
On Display:
March 1st - April 26th, 2020
Hours:
We-Fr: 10am - 6pm
Sa-Su: 11am - 6pm
I have been a fan of Hilary’s work for a number of years now, so I was delighted when she agreed to an interview. Below, Hilary and I chatted about her current exhibit Come Along With Me at Rachel Uffner Gallery, her life as an artist creating in Los Angeles, and her work with The Binder of Women. At one point, Hilary shared her admiration of Hilma af Klint and Agnes Martin due to their “genius, boldness and risk-taking.” With adventurous color choices, a true talent for patterns, and an ability to push the limits of composition, I can’t think of three words that better describe Hilary’s work itself.
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery
Blossoms
Hilary Pecis
Elizabeth Mathis Cheatham: I was introduced to your work a few years ago when you had your first solo exhibition with Rachel Uffner Gallery. Fast forward a bit, and you have just opened your second exhibition with her. Please tell us a bit about Come Along With Me. What inspired you? What challenged you? What did you learn along the way?
Hilary Pecis: The title of the show is an invitation to join me in visiting various places in my paintings. The paintings are all landscapes or still lifes in one capacity or another. All of my exhibitions tend to be a combination of both genres of representational painting, as I find pleasure and a challenge in each. There is always the excitement of rendering something that I am uncertain about, without over rendering, and staying within my own vocabulary of mark making. Those challenges are what tend to bring the sweetest pleasures and often unexpected results. As far as inspirations, I take a lot of photos and don't always know which will end up as reference material. I don't always feel the initial inspiration, but might circle back years later. In general, I am looking for a composition that is interesting—forcing me to look around in all directions—but I also need subject matter that is embedded with information. I want a little guidance from the image I am working from, and then the freedom to take liberties with color, line, and space. I like a little boundaries, but not too many rules.
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery
Installation View
Come Along With Me
EMC: You view many of these works as portraits... Can you speak to this?
HP: Yes, many of the still life/interior paintings are made from images taken while visiting friends' spaces. I feel like the place a person inhabits says a lot about them—the things they collect, the books they read, etc. I don't paint portraiture, and there are rarely any bodies or body parts in my paintings. Although I like a challenge, I don't think that I am up for the pressure that portraiture would put on me. That said, perhaps I will give it a go in the future. Painting people's spaces is a good way for me to say more about that person than I could do in painting the body itself.
EMC: Your interiors are so rich with pattern and reference. I find it incredibly impressive that you have managed to make them delightful and not at all overwhelming. How ever do you manage that?
HP: Haha… I don't know if I have an answer for that. There is a simplification of imagery and a flatness in the way that I paint that might aid in not overwhelming the viewer. But honestly, I think that it really just depends on the viewer. For me, when a painting is less busy, I feel more pressure to have a “feeling," whereas in a painting that has more noise and variation, I am liberated in how I want to move around the painting. I guess we are all just lucky that if we like paintings, there are so many different paintings we can choose to look at.
“For me, when a painting is less busy, I feel more pressure to have a “feeling,” whereas in a painting that has more noise and variation, I am liberated in how I want to move around the painting.”
– Hilary Pecis
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery
Fruit Bowl
Hilary Pecis
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery
Bryce’s Window
Hilary Pecis
EMC: One of your paintings pays homage to Hilma af Klint... I still have dreams about that exhibition—I was so moved. Can you speak a bit to this painting?
HP: Yes! The painting is of the Guggenheim Museum, and the photo that I used for reference was taken during the Hilma af Klint exhibition. A few years back—2016 I believe—I made another painting from the inside of the Guggenheim but from the Agnes Martin exhibition. The architecture in the space is aesthetically very pleasing, and compositionally interesting to me, the way that the curving ramps move your eyes around—but I like to have the opportunity to sneak in the artwork of such incredible artists as well. I have a fondness for both artists, in their genius, boldness, and risk-taking. Almost all of my paintings are saturated with color, pattern and busy lines. The Museum and the other Guggenheim painting are two of the only “quiet” paintings that I have ever exhibited, allowing the small image of the museum's artwork, surrounded by various shades of white to hold all of that energy.
EMC: It really is such a lovely painting… I, too, have a fondness for Agnes Martin. You did your schooling in San Fransisco before moving to LA. Though I used to live in Southern California, I admit I have tons to learn about the art scene there. Can you tell us a bit about what drew you to LA, and what it’s like to create there?
HP: I lived in SF for about 10 years, and it was a lovely small town to go to school in. Although it is not a major city for contemporary art, there are a handful of great galleries, a couple of art museums that host terrific exhibitions, and a few art fairs. While I was living in SF, my husband and I would visit LA every couple of months to check out the museums and galleries. In 2007 it was becoming obvious that LA was the art hub of the West Coast, and we toyed with the idea of moving, but we also really loved the Bay Area. In 2012 I had a baby, and there were several factors including cost of living and employment opportunities that made LA seem that much more appealing. We moved down shortly after and have never looked back. The weather here is more my pace, as it is a much drier climate. I am not one for cold or damp, and I love the sunshine and light that we have almost year-round in LA. Another thing that has me still smitten with LA is that although there is always something art related to experience, there is also a more casual pace, less rushing and more chill vibes. I live in the northeast part of the city where it is really quiet and kid friendly, but can easily be in DTLA or Mid-Wilshire in 30 minutes or less, where there is always something to do. It feels like a very nurturing and fulfilling art scene to me.
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery
Museum
Hilary Pecis
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery
Pink Roses
Hilary Pecis
“I think that whenever we try to lift each other up, it benefits everyone.”
– Hilary Pecis
EMC: I so look forward to a visit to your studio the next time I come to see my family. Maybe you can introduce me to some of your favorite art spots. In addition to your personal art practice in LA, you are one of the original members of The Binder of Women. Can you tell us a bit about the collective? I have a hunch where it came from, but I’d love to hear the backstory on the name choice as well.
HP: The name of the group refers to Mitt Romney's quote about having "binders full of women,” when he had been asked about equality and female applicants. The phrase was just too good not to use as our group's name.
The idea behind the group was that we would be helping each other grow as artists and help each other by introducing each other to a wider audience. We chose to issue a portfolio edition, modeled after those put out by Artist Space and White Columns, both in NY. The portfolio would be an edition, containing a print by each of the Binder of Women members. In theory, the binders would introduce our work to a wider audience, as a collector may purchase the binder for one or two of the artists included, but would ultimately receive prints by all ten members (and 16 in the second edition). I am not sure how successful we have been with that ultimate goal—but I think that whenever we try to lift each other up, it benefits everyone.
Image Courtesy the Artist & Rachel Uffner Gallery