Andy Dixon “Leisure Studies”

Andy Dixon paints with Bosschaert’s Belgium, affectations from Matisse and Rousseau and motifs from Veronese Renaissance Italy all at play by his easel. And yet, these historical influences are expressed with refreshing contemporaneity. Recently relocated from Vancouver to New York, Dixon approaches his elite subject matter with shocking hues and a daring attitude to the application of paint. His first solo show in New York, Leisure Studies, pushes beyond the aristocratic tableaux of Dixon’s earlier paintings to depict pure action.

Developing his meta-artistic preoccupation with creating luxury by depicting it, the sporting world of the affluent is Dixon’s new focus. The contorted shadow of a tennis player lies green against a pink clay court, polo horses flex, and socialites grimace and bawl with exertion.

At the center of action is a studio painting, cross-referencing the works in the exhibition itself. Just as Dixon observes leisure, he also reflects upon the leisure of observing. With the paintings fostered over a working vacation in the city, the artist’s studio itself becomes the greatest symbol of recreation. The play of the paintbrush in each creative moment echoes the games of the canvases’ players. Leisureliness is realized through its illustration.