Ceysson & Bénétière

Born in 1970, in Ann Arbor, USA.
Lives and works in Chicago and Detroit, USA

Education

1998
M.F.A. University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

1995
Visva Barhati University, Santiniketan, India

1994
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, USA

1994
B.F.A. University of Iowa , USA

1993
Yale/Norfolk Summer Program, USA

Scott Reeder and Laura Owens in conversation
February 7, 2014, in Los Angeles
Relative to the show Scott Reeder, 356 Mision Road, Los Angeles, March 2014.

Laura Owens: This project started last summer when we talked about your film Moon Dust, which you've been working on for almost nine years.

Scott Reeder: The movie is an ongoing thing that I work on when I have time, and so it goes to the back burner if I have painting exhibitions or other things like that to work on. I have to space it out so it doesn't take over everything.

LO: Did you build the original set in your art studio?

SR: Yes, the original set was in the same building as my art studio, and at the same time I was making collaborative works with Donald Morgan. We had a wood shop in the front where I was making sculptures, including the robot sculptures that were shown at Pat Hearn. So there's always been a cross-pollination between what's going on with my paintings and sculptures and what's going on with the film.

LO: Building the film set in the art studio actually mirrors the evolution of the show at 356. A year ago this was my art studio, since then I've envisioned handing it over to other artists to use as a studio or a place where they can make things. For you the studio has also been a film set. And at the same time the set is really reminiscent of your paintings, or made in a similar way to how decisions are made in your paintings.

SR: Yeah, I think that there's a lot of overlap. There was a script to start the movie, but then once the production started, most of the script was thrown away. Dialogue and action would be written out in reaction to the space and the props and the objects. So the scenes are based on things, things in space. The movie naturally expanded in that direction. The original plot took place in one room, but as we became more ambitious, we built more rooms and adding more characters. The last scenes, which were shot here in L.A., are the most elaborate. I was able to make sets I've had in the back of my mind for years.

LO: People seeing the exhibition might not understand that the intention was to quickly finish a few scenes while also making paintings in the space and in my studio, as well as editing the film. You ended up continuing to build sets and shoot new footage while you were painting, and what might have been just a switch over to making a painting exhibition became a complex experiment in doing too much.

SR: There was a crazy blur between the painting production and the movie production. I don't know if you even saw this, but for a lot of shoots we were using these big blank stretchers as bounces for the lights.

LO: The actual pre-painted blanks?

SR: It was a blank white canvas that had been stretched and primed. We also stretched a green screen fabric over a painting since we needed a flat surface. We shot a group of people in front of it and that painting went on to become a different painting.

LO: That's amazing. So not only do the sets have an unseen functionality in the exhibition, but the paintings have an unseen functionality for the film. You were trying to develop a couple of new bodies of work for this show, one of which you got really excited about and ended up making ten or fifteen giant paintings. They started out as landlord paintings, these roller paintings applied with a stick and a house-painting roller, not unlike when one of the people helping with Moon Dust would be painting a set or a wall.

SR: It's something I've always liked the look of, when graffiti is covered up. Any half-assed paint job where two related colors sit on top, like a wall with four different kinds of beiges. It's like a landlord who is trying to do the minimum amount of effort. It's about an immediacy to make something look semi-presentable, but remaining interested in what's underneath and this idea. One corner of the room was three different sets throughout the course of the month and you'd see the edges where previous colors peaked through and it was beautiful just watching these walls get repainted. Also the size of the mark in that space, the roller mark seemed like the right size, it's such a huge space even with the sets taking up a lot of the room.

LO: I was really impressed with the improvisatory nature of the film, with the way you would gather the actors together and start shooting with just a couple cues or lines. In the same way, with the roller paintings you're really confident with not having that much information as to how it's going to go but just taking a few colors and letting it be exactly what it is. Not trying to be illustrative with it, or fix it, or make it better. With the actors, it seemed like the same thing-the lack of control you wanted to have over those people was pretty noticeable.

SR: You have to be comfortable with chaos and maybe failure, that some of the stuff that people would do might not be usable, but to get to that thing that's natural or strange. It would be impossible to write, and I guess it's the same with the paintings, you just have to have this confidence or blind faith that something interesting will happen if you just keep putting down the layers or putting down the paint. I think the paintings I'm most interested in are enigmatic, they have some mystery. What came first? What came second? How did the artist decide it was done? How did they leave this decision or get rid of this other decision? It's like the casting, not everyone that showed up is probably going to be in the movie but we have this faith that someone's going to show up that's going to be great. Like Ian Svenonius was great. Knowing that this is going to happen and there's this energy happening and with this network of people, you're going to get some good performances and you're going to get some good people that just show up, come out of the woodwork just because you set this thing up. It's like a flytrap or something. It's going to catch something interesting. And now I'm just at the point where I'm going to weed out the best of all the stuff we caught here in L.A.

Group shows at Ceysson Gallery
Feed the Meter, Wandhaff
September 23 - December 16, 2017

IOWA, Paris
October 20 - December 10, 2016


Solo shows

2015
Put the Cat on the Phone, Kavi Gupta Chicago | Washington Blvd, Chicago, USA
Context Burger, Retrospective Gallery, New York, USA

2014
Scott Reeder, 356 Mission Road, Los Angeles, USA

2013
Paintings of Things, Kavi Gupta, Berlin, Germany
People Call Me Scott, Lisa Cooley, New York, USA

2012
Scott Reeder, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago, USA

2011
Chicago Works: Scott Reeder, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA
Scott Reeder, Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, USA

2010
Luce Gallery, Torino, Italy
Green Gallery, Milwaukee, USA

2009
Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA

2008
Gavlak Projects, Palm Beach, USA

2007
Liste Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Inova, Milwaukee, USA

2006
Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco, USA

2005
Midway Contemporary Art, Minneapolis, USA

2003
Gallery 400, Chicago, USA

2002
Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA

2001
Bronwyn Keenan Gallery, New York, USA

1999
Pat Hearn Gallery, New York, USA

1998
Hermetic Gallery, Milwaukee, USA

Group shows (selection)

2016
IOWA, with Sadie Laska, Tyson Reeder, Spencer Sweeney, Galerie Bernard Ceysson, Paris, France

2015
Laugh-In: Art, Comedy, Performance, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, San Diego, USA
It Gets Beta, with Andrew Kuo, Marlborough Broome Street, New York, USA

2014
People's Biennial, curated by Jens Hoffmann and Harrell Fletcher, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, USA
Purple States, curated by Sam Gordon, Andrew Edlin Gallery, New York, USA
Another Look at Detroit: Parts 1 and 2, curated by Todd Levin, Marianne Boesky Gallery, New York, USA
Awkward Phase, curated by Jeremy Willis and Lauren Novotny, 65 Maspeth Ave, New York, USA

2013
Paint Off, Paint On, Halsey McKay, East Hampton, USA
A Study of Midwestern Appropriation, curated by Michelle Grabner, Hyde Park Art Center, Chicago, USA
Draw Gym, organized by Brian Bellot, Know More Games, Brooklyn, USA
Please Come to my Show, Part II (1980-Now), organized by David Senior, MoMA Library, New York, USA
Summer Reading, The Hole, New York, USA
The Future is Stupid, Green Gallery, Milwaukee, USA

2012
The Art of the Joke, V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark
Liminal Boundaries, Luce Gallery, Torino, Italy
Sentimental Education, Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, USA
Spaced, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, USA
Portrait of a Generation, The Hole, New York, USA

2011
Abstract America, Saatchi Gallery, London, United-Kingdom
with Tyson Reeder, Gavlak Gallery, Palm Beach, USA

2010
Holes, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA
With Walls, Museum 52, New York, USA
Anniversary Show, Gavlak Projects, Palm Beach, USA
Little Worlds, Luce Gallery, Torino, Italy
Tuesday Afternoon in a Cage, L.T.D., Los Angeles, USA
More Mergers and Acquisitions, Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, USA

2009
Constellations, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA
Rob Pruitt's Flea Market, The Tate Modern, London, United-Kingdom
Top Ten, New Jersey Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Wallgasm, Angstrom Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
There, There, Inova- Peck School of the Arts, Milwaukee, USA

2008
Pretty Ugly, Gavin Browns Enterprise, New York, USA
I Won't Grow Up, Cheim & Read, New York, USA
Tales of the Grotesque, Karma International, Zürich, Switzerland
with Tyson Reeder, Daniel Reich Gallery, New York, USA

2007
Liste International Art Fair, Basel, Switzerland
Ausstellungsraum Klingental, Basel, Switzerland
Rob Pruitt's Flea Market, GBE, Frieze International Art Fair, London, United-Kingdom
Jail City, Jack Handley Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Fake Space, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Portland, USA
Foot by Foot by Foot, Mogwai, Venice, USA
Mantua Festival, Dublin, Ireland
Fast Forward, Rockford Museum of Art, Rockford, USA
Secret Cache, Angstrom Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
High Desert Test Sites, Joshua Tree, USA
WuTang Googleplex, Gavin Brown's at Passerby, New York, USA
Ceramics Show, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, USA
Three Degrees of Francis Bacon, Milwaukee Art Museum, USA

2006
Action Adventure, Canada, New York, USA
60 Second Video Festival, Fugitive Projects, Nashville, USA
On Platforming, Locust Projects, Miami, USA
Gas-Issue Number 4, Jacob Fabricius, Copenhagen, Denmark
Art Institute of Chicago Benefit Auction, Chicago, USA
White Columns Benefit Auction, New York, USA
The Art of the Artist Statement, Hellenic Museum and Cultural Center, Chicago, USA
Kids of the Black Hole, Stalke Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark

2005
Drunk vs. Stoned 2, Gavin Brown Enterprise, New York, USA
One Minute Rave, Canada, New York, USA
The Four Color Pen Show: Chicago, Van Harrison Gallery, Chicago, USA
with Tyson Reeder, Gavin Brown's Enterprise 620A, New York, USA

2004
Strange Animal, L.A.C.E., Los Angeles, USA
The Four Color Pen Show, Locust Projects, Miami, USA
Where do we come from? What are we? Where are we going?, Champion Fine Arts, Los Angeles, USA
The Infinite Fill Group Show, Foxy Productions, New York, USA
Sticker Project, Wrong Gallery, New York, USA
Drunk vs Stoned, Gavin Brown's Enterprise/General Store, New York, USA
Yard Sale, Track House, Oak Park, USA
Under the Sun, Greener Pastures Contemporary Art, Toronto, Canada
What's Up With Milwaukee, Galapagos Art Space, New York, USA
Pacemakers, The Suburban/Lothringer Dreizen, Munich, Germany
Make Your Own Fun, Guild and Greyshkul, New York, USA

2003
Going West, Jones Center for Contemporary Art, Austin, USA
Symbolic Space, The Hudson Rover Valley Center for Contemporary Art, USA
The Birman Returns, D'Amelio Terras, New York, USA
Now Playing, D'Amelio Terras, New York, USA
Karaoke Death Machine, Daniel Reich, New York, USA
The Burnt Orange Heresy, Space 101, New York, USA
Utopia Station, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
General Store, The Stray Show, Chicago, USA
Millhaus vs. Forcefield, Mixture Contemporary Arts, Houston, USA
Amfar 2 x 2, Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, USA
Sculpture Show, Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, USA
K-48 Kult Show, Scope Art Fair, New York, USA
The Party, Joymore, Chicago, USA

2002
Version 02, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, USA
Canceled Art Fair, China Art Objects, Los Angeles, USA
Tasty Dog, Krems, Austria
Newspaper Project, Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, USA
Realm of the Lair, Joymore, Chicago, USA
with Tyson Reeder, The Suburban, Oak Park, USA
with Milhaus, Deluxe Projects, Chicago, USA

2001
Mortal, The Betty Rymer Gallery, Chicago, USA
Memorial Show: Part 3, Pat Hearn Gallery, New York, USA
More, More, More, Chicago Project Room, Los Angeles, USA
The Armory Show 2001, Pat Hearn Gallery, New York, USA
with David Robbins, Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston, USA

2000
Factory Soiree, Milwaukee Art Museum, USA
The Next Wave: New Painting in Southern California, California Center for the Arts, Escondido, USA
with Laura Owens, China Art Objects, Los Angeles, USA
with Cameron Martin, Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, USA

1999
Painting: fore and aft, ACME, Los Angeles, CA
Oriental Nights, Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, USA
with Mitchell Lopez, L.A.C.E., Los Angeles, USA

1998
Yeah, Loyola Research Center, Chicago, USA
Vienna Beef, Bricks and Kicks, Vienna, Austria

1997
Harry Karry Show, Diverse Works, Houston, USA

1996
The Speed of Painting, Pat Hearn Gallery, New York, USA

Press (selection)

2015
Kerry Cardoza, Scott Reeder/Kavi Gupta, NewcityArt, September 27, 2015
Paul Laster, 25 Amazing Exhibitors at Expo Chicago 2015, whitehotmagazine, September 2015
Zeenat Nagree, Golden Gates, ArtForumDiary, September 24, 2015
Jason Foumberg, Fall's 10 Most Anticipated Art Exhibitions, ChicagoMag, September 15, 2015
Elliot J. Reichert, Eye Exam: Chicago is an Exquisite Corpse, NewcityArt, September 3, 2015
Brian Hieggelke, Reeders Digest: How Two Brothers Curated the School of the Art Institute's 150th Anniversary Exhibition, NewcityArt, August 31, 2015
Dan Fox, The Last Resort, Frieze Magazine, March 2015 Issue
OC Yerebakan, NEW YORK - ANDREW KUO AND SCOTT REEDER: "IT GETS BETA" AT MARLBOROUGH CHELSEA THROUGH MARCH 28TH, 2015, Art Observed, March 31, 2015
Andrew Russeth, Scott Reeder: Moonstruck, ARTnews, February 2015
Kevin McGarry, In San Diego, Art is a Laughing Matter, New York Times Style Magazine, January 23, 2015
Carl Swanson, Is Soho in the '70s Just a Two-Hour Flight Away? 9 Artists on Why They Live in Detroit [Excerpt], Vulture, January 02, 2015

2014
Scott Indrisek, with Chris Byrne, Artists' Choice: The Best Shows of 2014, Part II [Excerpt], Blouin ArtInfo, December 30, 2014
Thea Spittle, The People's Biennial 2014, Arthopper, December 31, 2014
Nate Freeman, A Chat With Scott Reeder About Moon Dust, His Space Age Day-Glo Feature Film, The New York Observer, November 11, 2014
Allyson Shiffman, Dusty Side of the Moon: The artist Scott Reeder finally unveils a film 11 years in the making, Wmagazine, November 10, 2014
Lunar Cinema, Art in America, November 2014 Issue
Craig Hubert, Looking Forward By Looking Back: Scott Reeder's "Moon Dust", Blouin ArtInfo, November 10, 2014
Andrew M. Goldstein, 8 of the Best Artworks at EXPO Chicago 2014, Artspace, September 20, 2014
Scott Indrisek, Highlights From EXPO Chicago, Blouin ArtInfo, September 22, 2014
Randy Kennedy, The Lively Soul of a Decaying City: Detroit Artists at Marianne Boesky and Marlborough Galleries, The New York Times, June 25, 2014
Ben Carlson, Scott Reeder Talks About Moon Dust, Artforum, June 2014
Andrew Berardini, Scott Reeder, 356 S. Mission Road, Los Angeles, ArtReview, May 2014 Issue
Alicia Eler, In on the Art Joke: Scott Reeder at 356 Mission, Hyperallergic, January 31, 2014
Caroline Busta, Scott Reeder, ArtForum International, January 2014

2013
Roberta Smith, Scott Reeder - "People Call Me Scott.", The New York Times, December 12, 2013
Noah Dillon, I Called Him Scott: An Interview with Scott Reeder, Art in America, November 13, 2013