CHRIS ULIVO

ANCIENT ROME TODAY!

 

April 29 - June 3, 2023

Track 16 Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Ventura-based artist Chris Ulivo, Ancient Rome Today! The work is on view from April 29 to June 3, 2023 and marks the artist's first solo exhibition with the gallery.

Two paintings are hanging on a white wall in a room.
A painting of a man laying on a pile of money.

Forces of Destiny: The Removal Of A Dreadful Sun Mosaic From My Temple. 2022. Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches. #CU.13879

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In an era heavily influenced by digital image-making tools, Chris Ulivo spent the past fifteen years working with the archaic medium of egg tempera and creating images solely from memory and imagination.

A painting of a woman carrying a tray of food in front of a pool.

Preparations For An Outdoor Feast At The Ancient Recreation Of Jones Beach. 2023. Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches. #CU.13892

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Working completely “from his head” allows a genuine and direct relationship between his capacity for visualization and depiction. Built of thousands of tiny strokes, the slow pace of tempera encourages the gradual realization of each scene. From this simple combination comes vibrant and unruly scenes. 

A painting of a man sitting in a chair on the side of a road.

Forces of Destiny: Reading Natural Philosophy To Plants In A Pastoral Setting. 2023. Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 24 inches. #CU.13894

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The works in the exhibition are part of an ongoing series, Forces of Destiny, which is a high-concept farce with the Ulivo himself figuring into most of the images. The artist travels back in time to ancient Rome in a foolish attempt to rewrite history, visit ancient relatives and make a name for himself.

A painting of two people standing next to a pool in the rain.

Forces of Destiny: Nighttime Downpour / Showdown at The Zoo. 2022. Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 18 inches. #CU.13875

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A painting of two people sitting at a table on a beach with a boat in the background.

Forces of Destiny: Setting The Table For Argus As Would Zorba. 2023. Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 48 inches. #CU.13890

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These are rooted fantasies. He strives for vitality and believability in each painting no matter how improbable or ridiculous the narrative. Inspired by historical fantasists like the writers Patrick Leigh Fermor, Robert Graves, and the work of Edward Gorey, the ultimate goal is to have paintings that appear as if an overzealous icon painter was tasked with creating backdrops for a lost opera buffa.

A painting of a house shaped like a pineapple with stairs leading up to it.

Forces of Destiny: Prayers and Entreaties For The Abandoned Cistern Conversion Project. 2022. Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 18 inches. #CU.13874

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WORKS IN THE EXHIBITION

Preparations For An Outdoor Feast At The Ancient Recreation Of Jones Beach, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches [61 x 91.4 cm].
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Reading Natural Philosophy To Plants In A Pastoral Setting, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 18 inches [91.4 x 45.7 cm].
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Moonlight Discussion Of Snails And Oysters, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 18 inches [91.4 x 45.7 cm].
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The Removal Of A Dreadful Sun Mosaic From My Temple, 2022

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches [61 x 91.4 cm].
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A Rehearsal Of Ismene's Big Final Scene, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches [61 x 91.4 cm].
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The First and Very, Very Last Great Desert Tortoise Race, 2022

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches [61 x 91.4 cm].
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Setting The Table For Argus As Would Zorba, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches [61 x 91.4 cm].
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Learning Latin Remains Challenging Despite Unlimited Time And Resources, 2022

Egg tempera on panel. 20 x 16 inches [50.8 x 40.6 cm].
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What Begins As An Ordinary Ceremony Becomes Unruly, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 14 x 11 inches [35.6 x 27.9 cm].
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The Grouch Performed For The Audience You Desire Rather Than The One That Arrives, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 48 inches [91.4 x 121.9 cm].
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Don't Waste Time Making Offers to Hags!, 2022

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches [61 x 91.4 cm].
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The Ontime Arrival Of Poseidon, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 36 inches [61 x 91.4 cm].
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Nighttime Downpour / Showdown at The Zoo, 2022

Egg tempera on panel. 18 x 36 inches [45.7 x 91.4 cm].
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A Quiet Snowy Day At A Rebuilt Temple, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 24 inches [91.4 x 61 cm].
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Hermes Arrives to Bless the Completion of Yet Another Modern Roadway, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 18 inches [91.4 x 45.7 cm].
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An Unusually Yellow Day At Sperlonga, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 18 inches [61 x 45.7 cm].
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A Modern Water Taxi System Comes To the Marshes, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 24 x 18 inches [61 x 45.7 cm].
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Professionalizing the Training of Minoan Bull Leapers, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 14 x 11 inches [35.6 x 27.9 cm].
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Pathetic Attempt at Adjusting the Genii Table in Anticipation of Athena’s Visit, 2022

Egg tempera on panel. 12 x 9 inches [30.5 x 22.9 cm].
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Instructing On The Scientific Method By Talking To Plants, 2023

Egg tempera on panel. 12 x 9 inches [30.5 x 22.9 cm].
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Prayers and Entreaties For The Abandoned Cistern Conversion Project, 2022

Egg tempera on panel. 36 x 18 inches [91.4 x 45.7 cm].
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INSTALLATION VIEWS

  • A room with a painting on the wall and a painting on the floor.

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  • A long hallway in a museum with paintings on the wall.

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  • Three paintings are hanging on a white wall in a room.

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  • A long hallway with paintings on the wall in a museum

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  • An empty room with a large window and a painting on the wall.

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for inquiries email info@track16.com

A man stands in front of a telescope in a room

INTERVIEW

CHRIS ULIVO

by Etty Yaniv
June 19, 2021
↳  READ
The word artspiel is written in black on a white background

Christopher Ulivo (b.1977, Brooklyn, NY) lives and works in Ventura, CA. Ulivo received a BFA from the Tyler School of Art, Temple University, and an MFA from Rhode Island School of Design. His egg tempera paintings imagine the confluences and collisions of fate, myth, personal lineage and the unintended consequences of unlimited wish fulfillment. The resulting paintings are visually dense and darkly humorous. In the course of his career, he has both exhibited and organized shows across the United States and Europe including: Half Gallery, Los Angeles; Susan Inglett Gallery, New York; Axel Obiger, Berlin; Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara; The Felix Art Fair, Los Angeles; The Armory Show, New York; and The Benkai Museum, Athens.