Details
Steve Roden (B. 1964)
When Rain is like Sun, When Sun is like Rain (When Secrets are Shared)
signed, titled and dated 'When Rain is like Sun, When Sun is like Rain (When Secrets are Shared) 2008 Steve Roden' (on the overlap)
acrylic and oil on linen
72 x 72in. (182.9 x 183cm.)
Executed in 2008
Provenance
Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City.
Acquired from the above by the present owner.
Exhibited
Culver City, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Steve Roden, 2008.
Oakland, Oakland Museum of California, L.A. Paint, 2008-2009.
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Please note this lot is the property of a consumer. See H1 of the Conditions of Sale.
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Lot Essay

Steve Roden is a pioneering figure in the contemporary art scene, whose oeuvre encompasses experimental music, painting, drawing, sculpture, sound installation and performance art. The intertwining relationship between his experimentations as a composer and his interests as a visual artist, forms the backbone of his abstract creations which mirror the sounds and rhythms that arise from his music.

When Sun is like Rain, When Rain is like Sun (when secrets are shared) is characteristic of Roden’s paintings that can be read as a visual accompaniment to his musical compositions. Vertical stripes of bold contrasting colours – red, yellow, green and blue - are intersected by diagonal black and white lines which give rise to geometric shapes that reverberate across the picture plan like staccato sounds. These clashing juxtapositions of pulsating colours force the eye to continuously move in all directions as the vibrant hues recede and project. Yet, at the same time, the composition strikes the viewer harmoniously and the sense of unity within the composition mirrors the effects of a completed song.

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