Group exhibition featuring artists:
Chris Freeman (paintings)
Tenjin Ikeda (printmaking)
Todd Richmond (paintings)
Alan Ulrich (sculpture)

TOPAZ ARTS is pleased to present a group show featuring artists Chris Freeman (paintings), Tenjin Ikeda (printmaking), Todd Richmond (paintings), Alan Ulrich (sculpture). Under the Influence is a group exhibition featuring four artists who were assistants of sculptor Richard Artschwager during the 1990s.

The artists reunite to present new and recent work, each having been influenced by the experience and the creative process of making many major works for Artschwager. While differing in medium, each artist uses precision to arrive at whimsical forms. Chris Freeman creates large monochrome paintings, deceptively photo-realistic to hypnotic effect. Tenjin Ikeda’s printmaking series “Egungun” combine ancestral forms and urban imagery. Todd Richmond’s vibrant large-scale paintings tap into the realm of allegory. Alan Ulrich crafts distinct sculptures and furniture from materials found from nature and on construction sites. Under the Influence is organized by TOPAZ ARTS Co-Founding Directors Todd Richmond and Paz Tanjuaquio.

Watch the video feature of the artists on ArtInfo.com!

Read a related article – Artists featured in The Wall St. Journal >

About the Artists:

Chris Freeman, born in 1961 in Riverhead, NY, lives and works in Hudson, New York. His first attempts at photography came from a stolen Browny Camera from a yard sale, when every roll of film he shot came back black, until the lady at the store showed him how to load the film. His paintings today look very much like the photographs he took in 1973, or what they might have looked like. Since then his photographs have been published in the Suffolk Sun Newspaper and, at 17, was hired as photography teacher by the B.O.C.E.S Occupational School- adult night-classes, to help pay for his schooling. An avid skateboarder, he is considered a pioneer since the early 1980s, building his first full-scale vertical skateboarding “Half Pipe”, and featured in the cult surfing films “Flowing Free and Sunwaves”, “Transworld Skateboarding Magazine”, and has won “Freesyle, High Jump, and Best Overall Skateboarder.” In 1985 Freeman graduated as the first S.U.N.Y Purchase Student to graduate cum laude in two disciplines of Art: Photography and Woodcutting. From 1986-1989 he was fabricator, engineer and installation supervisor at David Kennedy Studio in Brooklyn, NY. In 1989 he was hired as foreman and installer at Richard Artschwager Studio, by Tom MacGregor. In the 1990s he had his first solo exhibition of paintings and photographs at Private/Public, participated in “Exquisite Corpse” at The Drawing Center, “Auction” The New Museum, shot his first art films: “Candy’s Picnic” and “The Secret Missing OJ Tape”; among many projects and performances in NYC. From 2007-2011 he restored the fifth oldest Synegogue in the U.S. as his home and painting studio, located in Hudson, NY. Recently he built his first drag race truck and won the prestigious “12 Best Builder Award” at the Syracuse Nationals Hot Rod Show 2012. Today he dedicates his time to Painting and Drag Racing.

Tenjin Ikeda is an Afro-Puerto Rican artist born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Initially a self-taught artist, he has been seriously making art for the past 20 years using the various mediums of painting, sculpture, and printmaking. He attended the School of Visual Arts in New York first focusing on graphic design and then Fine Arts. It was at the Art Students League that he discovered printmaking which has been his focus over the years. He is a member of the Society of American Graphic Artist (SAGA) and the Arts Student’s League. He has various works in private collections in the US, Canada, Mexico, Bahamas as well as acquisitions by The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, The Print Club of Albany, and the Art Student’s League. In the 1990s, Tenjin has worked as an artist assistant to Richard Artschwager for 6 years as well as Keith Haring. He presented a solo exhibition in 2003 at TOPAZ ARTS and has participated in many group shows in different parts of the country and internationally.

Todd Richmond, born in Pittsburgh, PA, is a visual artist, composer & filmmaker. His very early exposure as a child in art labs at Carnegie Mellon University and later studies at the Art Institute of Chicago influenced his philosophy in using many media, from painting and sculpture to music and film. From 1990-1995 he was artist assistant to sculptor Richard Artschwager, where he created and assisted in the design and construction of many major works exhibited at museums and galleries worldwide. His dance films have been shown at the American Dance Festival’s 15th Annual Dance for the Camera at the Nasher Museum of Art, NC; Queens Museum of Art, NY; Merce Cunningham Studio, NY; among many NYC venues. His collaborations in dance began in 1993, working as composer, set designer and filmmaker for choreographer Paz Tanjuaquio as well as with many New York City and international choreographers. He is the founder and Co-Director of the nonprofit arts organization TOPAZ ARTS, Inc. established in 2000 with Paz Tanjuaquio to foster their collaborations and provide for a creative development center, which he implemented and designed the 2,500 sq. ft. facility.

Alan Ulrich grew up on the east end of Long Island, always drawing, making art from a young age. An avid skateboarder, he has built ramps on long island and different locations in the NYC area. He attended the School of Visual Arts in 1989 and worked for Richard Artschwager from 1991-95. While doing home renovations, he became interested in building furniture. Working as a carpenter, he now lives in Center Moriches, NY where he continues to make art and play drums in The Moto-Wrays.