New York, NY: Raandesk Gallery is pleased to announce Behind the Curtain, an exhibition of portraits by Jason Bryant and Kevin Cyr, on view from January 14 – March 12, 2010. Comprised of some 10 large-scale paintings, the exhibition will include Jason Bryant’s photorealistic depictions of celebrity archetypes and Kevin Cyr’s large-scale vehicle portraits. Having first met as assistants at Kehinde Wiley Studios, Bryant and Cyr will show their own work together for the first time, each showcasing his unique style and approach, as they intersect, depart, and ultimately converge under a pioneering spirit toward the practice of portrait-making.

Using vehicles on the streets of his Brooklyn neighborhood as his subjects, Cyr pulls cars, trucks, and vans out of their pedestrian settings and brings them into the arena of studio portraiture. Old and distressed vehicles are seen in a new light, as their distinct personalities are brought to the forefront. Like wrinkles on an aging face, the vehicles’ marks of wear and tear become their very signs of character, life, and beauty. Cyr’s works are set alongside Bryant’s portraits of Hollywood-like subjects; aggressively cropped, works provide intimate human portrayals without ever revealing the subjects’ eyes. Iconic skateboard graphics overlaid onto portraits appear to jump out from the picture plane in boldly colored and polished explorations of iconic imagery in its many forms. Bryant and Cyr’s works unite in the exhibition as they invite viewers to uncover new meaning, find alternative points of focus, and lift the veil on traditional portraiture.

About the Artists

Jason Bryant was born in 1976 in Wilson, North Carolina and lives and works in New York City. He received his BFA in Painting from East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina in 1999, before completing his MFA at Maryland institute College of Art in 2004. He has had solo exhibitions in New York, Maryland, and North Carolina, and has been included in group exhibitions throughout the U.S. and internationally, at venues including Il Ramo d’oro in Naples, Italy; The Show room in Nashville, Tennessee; Gallery 32 in London, England, and The Hemicycle Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Cyr was born in 1976 in Edmundston, NB, Canada, lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and received his BFA from Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. Cyr’s work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. at venues such as PEP Gallery in Brooklyn, Broadway Gallery, New York, Alden Gallery in Provincetown, MA, Iceberger Gallery in San Francisco, and venues in Europe and Australia.