Monte Vista Projects is proud to present Optic Treatment. This exhibition features two Los Angeles based artists: Nick Loewen and Rimas Simaitis. The exhibition explores the relationships between image and form, surface and color, process and content, light and shadow, and their friendship. The work, made by both mechanical and manual means, uncovers similarities between organic and automated processes of production. The two artists first met in graduate school at UCSB, and since their graduation, have reflected on each other’s work. They initially didn’t intend to show together, but circumstance has brought them together. Call it coincidence or chance, it’s clear that they share similar wavelengths.
Nick Loewen creates all over composition paintings using found lenticular imagery. He then meticulously cuts the lenticulars into small squares then reassembles them into mesmerizing and hypnotic mosaics. His randomized method of generating images obscures the content and meaning of the found imagery. From landscapes to still lifes, Nick Loewen splices imagery, color, and movement to make subtle moments that call for interaction on the part of the viewer.
Rimas Simaitis takes inspiration where science intersects moments of mysticism. This is when his work crystallizes. His cast aluminum objects resemble patterns that were left on a sandy beach or in a sandbox. The objects reflect the moments of focused energies or patterns, revealing the possibility and mystery that shapes Simaitis's worldview.
Nick Loewen (b. 1984) lives and works in Los Angeles. He received a BA from Goshen College in 2006 and an MFA from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2012. His work has been exhibited in New York, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Wonder Valley, CA.
Rimas K. Simaitis was born in Coeur d’Alene, ID (1983), and currently lives and works in Venice Beach, CA. He completed his MFA in Spatial Studies at the Univeristy of California, Santa Barbara in 2012. His work has been exhibited around the country, and has been included in biennial exhibitions at the Boise Art Museum (2010) and at the New Wight Gallery at UCLA (2012). He has completed residencies at the Ox-Bow School of Art, Wave Farm, and on Andrea Zittel’s Indy Island at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.