RETNA
SecretDanceOfMemories,2015
Acryliconcanvas
64x96inches
Specializinginpost-warandcontemporaryart,theCasterline|GoodmanGalleryinAspenshowsfirsttier original artworks from the20th and 21st centuries, including original paintings, sculptures and
drawings by established artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Alexander Calder, Ed Ruscha and Andy
Warhol.
Forthesummerseason,theCasterline|GoodmangallerywillfeaturetheartistRETNAwithhisshow:
SPEAKEASYfromJune25toSeptember25,2016.ThegallerywillholdareceptiononJuly2ndfrom
5:30-7:30pm.
Los Angeles-based artist RETNA accesses spaces between text-based imagery and abstract emotive
states with his mysterious lines of verse. Each block of text is a sophisticated system of hieroglyphs,
calligraphyandilluminatedscript.WithinfluencesfromArabic,Egyptian,Hebrew,Anglo-Saxon(orOld
English) and Native American typographies, RETNA’s distinctive language communicates a personal
form of poetry. RETNA’s messages are masked in ciphers: words and meanings that are never
immediately revealed, nor capable of being accurately translated. He employs ancient totemic
symbologiesasabaseline,overlaidwithbeatsfromtheurbanjunglewhichweresourcedfromhis
surroundingsinLosAngelesandhisElSalvadorian,Cherokee,SpaniardandAfricanAmerican
bloodlines. These diverse subcultures are channeled into his work, often accompanied (either in the
studiooronthestreet)byastreamofambientormusicalsounds.Itisthismulti-sensoryexperience
thatisbrushedontothesurfaceforRETNA:asynthesisofauditoryandvisualcontent,spontaneously
manifested.
RETNA(MarquisDurielLewis)wasbornin1979inLosAngeles.Attheageoffifteen,hebeganpainting
onpostedfashionadvertisementsand,fromthere,ledoneofthelargestandmostinnovativegraffiti
artcollectivesinthecity.InadditiontoexhibitingatinstitutionsandgalleriesinLosAngeles(including
thefaçadeofTheLosAngelesMuseumofContemporaryArt'sGrandAvenuelocationfortheir2013
GalacelebratingtheblockbusterexhibitionArtInTheStreets),Miami,London,NewYork(includingthe
prestigiouspublicexhibitionspaceoftheHouston-BoweryWall),andHongKong,RETNAhascreated
exclusivecollaborationswithbrandssuchasVistaJet,Nike,LouisVuitton,andChanel.RETNAlivesand
worksinLosAngeles.