As a carpenter and scenic artist for the Seattle Opera, Rick Araluce’s miniatures reflect the intricacies or real world details. His love for building inspired him to create small-scale renderings of forgotten places that often give us a sense of abandonment and mystery. Each space, although devoid of human presence, points to a subtle narrative in which Araluce plants clues such as a light bulb, a gift, a telephone, or a broken frame, then allows the viewer to use his imagination in order to fill in the rest of the story.
Comparable to assemblage artist Joseph Cornell, Araluce creates a body of work that can be defined as poetic, eerie, and often times incorporate elements of surrealism. Each space captures moments in time that often asks the viewer to question what event has taken place there. His scenes are riddled with symbols that remind us of loss, loneliness, dissolution, and mortality—giving us a sense of drama and inciting an emotional reaction. Such is the aim of Rick Araluce who quotes “I’m trying to provoke universal associations and emotions within the viewer.”
EDUCATION
Painting, sculpting, intaglio printmaking, Orange Coast Junior College, Costa Mesa, CA
Ernest Guerrero, private tutor
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Otis-Parsons Art Institute in Los Angeles, Lecturer
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2009 Constructions, Offramp Gallery, Pasadena, CA
2007 The Stolen Hours, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
2006 OK Harris, New York, NY
2005 The Slow Turning of the Night, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
2004 OK Harris Gallery, New York, NY
2003 William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
2002 The Perfect Voice of Unreason, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
2001 Mystery; Obsession; Minutiae, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
1998 La Luz de Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1996 In Other Places, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
1995 Horwitch/ Newman Gallery in Scottsdale, AZ
1994 Orange County Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA) in Santa Ana, CA
1993 La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, CA
Rachelle Lozzi Gallery in Los Angeles, CA
1992 La Luz de Jesus Gallery in Los Angeles, CA
1988 Onyx Sequel in Los Angeles, CA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2009 9th Annual Northwest Biennial, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA
2007 Actor! Actor!, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
New Visions, Seattle Opera, Seattle, WA
2006 Building Allegory, William Traver Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Scenic Dope, Ballard Works, Seattle, WA
2002 The Box Show, The Mark Woolley Gallery, Portland, OR
Twenty-Fifth Anniversary Show, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
2000 Assemblages, William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
1997 William Traver Gallery, Seattle, WA
1996 Jerry Solomon Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, curated by Louis Newman
1995 Horwitch/ Newman Gallery, in Scottsdale, AZ, curated by Louis Newman
1994 Louis Newman Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, curated by Louis Newman
1993 John Thomas Gallery in Santa Monica, CA, (Twisted Tales), curated by Jim Reed
Art Institute of Southern California in Laguna Beach, CA, (Dark Suburban Fantasies), curated by Jim Reed
1992 Space Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, (Boxes), curated by Leo Michelson
1991 Modern Museum of Art (MMOA) in Santa Ana, CA, (California Perspectives), curated by Bob Abbott
1990 Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions (LACE)
1988 Los Angeles Impression Gallery in Los Angeles, curated by Carlos Baez-Silva
1987 The Ivy Gallery in Los Angeles, CA, (The Mens’ Show), curated by Michael Ivy
AWARDS & GRANTS
2009 Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Award
2008 Pollock-Krasner Award
Artist Trust GAP Grant
2007 Seattle City Artist Projects Grant, Seatle, WA
PUBLICATIONS
2007 Cantor, Allyn. “Rick Araluce: The Stolen Hours”, Preview, The Gallery Guide, June/July/August, p. 90, 2007
“Actor! Actor!”, curated by Signe Mayfield, p. 6
Gant, Michael S. “Floater”, San Jose Metro, March 7-13
2006 Seattle Opera Magazine, Oct.
1996 McTaggart, Tom, “Paranoid Dollhouse”, The Stranger, September 26, p. 15.
1993 Reed, Jim, Dark Suburban Fantasies, catalogue, p. 2-3
Kaplan, Mickey & Phillips, Jeff, La Art, catalogue, p. 30
1992 Phillips, Jeff, Barakat Gallery catalogue, p. 6
Hide Bio
