Rick Gradone

Work in progress This performance project with @farofasp and @liminallinescollective who is @yinlauu @anikkdesign and myself is shaping up. Will be performing in São Paolo, Brazil at the end of June. Excited to be making clothing again for this. Big concepts to tackle in big ways… #performanceart #newwork #saopaolodance

FORM #1,2020 Acrylic on canvas In response to the unbelievable work by @floholzinger at the @labiennale I am returning to the first painting I did of this work, remembering why I started this in the first place. As it is art’s job to scream out the treachery and pain of the times, it is also within its essential domain to build hope and imagine paradises. To envision a cohesion to which creation has always given evidence long before human endeavor. How are we to live meaningfully without both? #artislife #earthwork #deepthoughts

As audições para Após a Forma, São Paulo foram encerradas. Queremos agradecer a todos os artistas que compartilharam conosco seu tempo, presença e imaginação. Foi muito especial conhecer a potência e a diversidade da cena performática da cidade. Os artistas selecionados serão anunciados na próxima semana. _______________________________________ Auditions for After Form, São Paulo are now closed. We want to thank every artist who shared their time, presence, and imagination with us. It has been incredibly inspiring to experience the depth and diversity of São Paulo’s performance community. Selected artists will be announced next week. #butoh #arteperformativa #danzacontemporanea #saopaulocultural #intercambiocultural @farofasp @galpaodofolias @yinlauu @rickgradoneprojects @anikkdesign

TWILIGHT (BOYLE HEIGHTS,CA), 2024 Black gesso on acrylic wash Interesting as time passes and I am now moved from this home in Los Angeles how this work about that neighborhood is feeling different for me. Complex. I see my hopes and dreams in it in a sparkly light. The pain of leaving hits differently. A whole narrative is forming with a full range of feelings, not just the overwhelming sadness and pain of leaving. This rock from the neighborhood is now a reverse night sky in California for me. A whole galaxy in a rock. From here in Stockholm it feels like a dream. My amazing old therapist used to say “I believe all of this work is about loss. We lose our things, our family, our friends, and ultimately our lives. Loss is the thing we are all trying to understand here.” #rockpaintings #deepthoughts #whereishomeanyway

Flashback to my show at @semi_aquatic in Brookings, OR. Hard to believe this was 3 years ago now. Excited to make more of these wood pieces :) as always thank you to @agentborges for your friendship and support. #rockpaintings #earthwork

Estão abertas as inscrições para o Laboratório de Performance Corporificada, conduzido por Yin Lau (Hong Kong), artista interdisciplinar de butoh e pesquisador corporal. O laboratório integra uma nova obra cênica de longa duração, criada por Yin Lau, Rick Gradone (EUA) e Anik Kurkjian (Reino Unido). Serão selecionados/as cinco artistas residentes em São Paulo para um processo intensivo de criação corporal de um mês. As pessoas selecionadas formarão um coletivo temporário com Lau, criando uma obra creditada onde a pesquisa butoh encontra as realidades de São Paulo, com apresentação pública ao final. 🔸O LABORATÓRIO OFERECE: Criação coletiva + apresentação pública Treinamento e colaboração em butoh (movimento, improvisação, composição) Intercâmbio artístico internacional Documentação profissional + crédito integral como colaboradores(as) 🔸BUSCAM-SE ARTISTAS QUE: Tenham prática corporal consistente Possuam maturidade emocional e comunicação clara Sintam-se confortáveis com materiais complexos e sensíveis Estejam dispostos(as) a riscos criativos e temas desafiadores Disponibilidade total para o período do processo Tenham conforto em trabalhar principalmente em espanhol e inglês Não é necessária experiência prévia em butoh ou virtuosismo técnico. 🔸ESTRUTURA: O lab investiga o corpo como território através de temas como medo, trauma, escuridão, controle, liberdade, interconectividade, terra e memória. Usando práticas de butoh, improvisação e composição coletiva, exploramos como essas forças habitam o corpo e moldam a presença em grupo. Há especial interesse em como essa pesquisa ressoa no contexto social, político e ecológico de São Paulo – o trabalho será moldado por vozes e perspectivas locais. 🔸REMUNERAÇÃO: ‼️Este laboratório NÃO é remunerado.‼️ 🔸CRONOGRAMA: ✍️Inscrições até 24/04 (forms da bio) 🗣️Entrevistas online: 25 e 26/04 🖥️Encontros online: 02 a 30/05 (sáb, 10h-12h) 👥Encontros presenciais: 02 a 27/06 1️⃣02 a 20/06: Ter, qui e sáb, 18h-22h 2️⃣22 a 27/06: Seg a sex 18h-22h; sáb a partir das 13h 📍Casa Farofa - Rua 13 de Maio, Bela Vista, São Paulo

THE DOOR WAS RIGHT HERE, 2025 Rebuilding this costume to perform this profound piece at @supermarketart in Sweden about loss and rebirth. Jasmine was 8 months pregnant with her son Adé when she lost everything she owned in the Woolsey Fire in Malibu. Each stitch attaching these baby clothes has been a small labor. The making is as much a ritual as the piece itself. Cannot wait to be there to do it again. Perfomance collaboration with @jasminealbuquerquecroissant @wren_ossman @bkn.bjorko.konstnod @losangeleswildfiresurvivors video is also collaboration with @janeszabophoto thanks to all for making this piece happen #performanceart #newwork #supermarketartfair2026 #losangeleswildfiresurvivors

On this day of the wedding of my precious nephew @dreiborges I am so so happy. I love you so much and forever and @agentborges you too. 🥲 #itsfashiondarling #ecclesiasticallooks #belgianvibes

THE MOUNTAIN EVENTUALLY WILL DISAPPEAR, 2025 Based on a found rock in Björko Sweden during the @losangeleswildfiresurvivors at @bkn.bjorko.konstnod , this work is a meditation on where the present moment exists in the vast timeline of the earth. Björko was formed over millennia of glacial erosion that reduced a former mountain to an island in the water. In this rendering, the chunk that is missing from the mountain is balanced by the fungus that metabolize everything on earth to create rebirth. A teetering leaf with holes, being devoured by a bark beetle, an invasive species that attacks the flora of Björko further complicates this balance. Destruction is a consistent part of the ecosystem, and all judgements of this are worthy of critical analysis. The sheer fabrics create a dreamlike quality to the work when suspended in the room. What is really happening here? And from where do our judgements about it stem? The answer is unclear. #bjorkokonstnod -#losangeleswildfiresurvivors #newwork #earthwork #rockpaintings

WARNING SIGN (COW PARSLEY/HEMLOCK), 2025 A combination of cow parsley, a found rock, and a road sign from the Swedish countryside, this banner looks at the hall of mirrors that exists when engaging identity and nationalism. Cow parsley is one of the spring flowers associated with Midsommar, but it can easily be mistaken for its identical poisonous counterpart, hemlock. I loved the beautiful design of swedish road signs that used the national colors and got into interesting conversations when I asked people what they “meant”. This sign that suggests a turn is in the road I was told by some was a “directive” as opposed to a “warning” which was how I interpreted it. Some questions rise between when you are being “warned” or “told what to do” here and what the difference is. It felt appropriate to balance this dynamic rock on this conversation with its blood red stripes. Proof that coursing through this soil is iron, the same iron that is in bloodlines. The same iron we use in weapons to protect and to conquer. It is the ambiguity of these elements that interest me the most. In this era of increasing isolation and nationalistic tendencies, what should we do? When nature is full of mirrors, violence, and twists in the road, can we ask something different of human behavior? #deepthoughts #earthworks #fiberart #bknbjörkökonstnod #losangeleswildfiresurvivors

TOTEM (MAGPIE, GNEISS, FIRE, BEGONIA), 2025 Part of the handsewn works on home fabrics that I made in Björko, Sweden, this work looks at the precarity of human existence in the incredible timeline of the earth. The magpie belongs to a species that started roughly 60 million years ago compared to the roughly 300,000 years homo sapiens have been recorded on earth. Humans are not without their place in this delicate balance, but clearly some forms are more constant. Magpies rank as one of the most exceptionally smart species on the planet showing abilities of self awareness and complex social dynamics. They are also capable of remembering human faces and human behavior and have built in judgements about them. The world is watching us with many eyes whether we are aware of it or not. #losangeleswildfiresurvivors #bknbjörkökonstnod #earthworks #newwork #fiberarts

So thrilled to be part of this- come to the opening!!! Santa Monica Recognizes Latinx, Afro, Asian, White, and Indigenous Queer Heritage. Celebrating Santa Monica’s 150th Anniversary in collaboration with @18thstreetarts Curated by Steve Galindo @thestyleguyde Co-curated with Artist @franciscoflamenco6 EXHIBITION 11/26- 12/19 Opening 11/26 4-6PM Closing 12/19 4-6PM Open Daily M-F 10AM - 5PM A celebratory art exhibition and public program that honors the diverse histories and contributions of queer communities in the City of Santa Monica. Drawing from local perspectives, this initiative uplifts the stories of queer people of color, Indigenous voices, and allied communities whose legacies have shaped both the city’s cultural fabric and the broader movement toward liberation. These stories will provide visibility not only to the artworks but also to the narratives of those who have historically been underrepresented in official accounts of Santa Monica’s past. Beyond static displays, the program will foster dialogue between generations and across cultural identities. By amplifying the work of artists who have been shaped by Santa Monica’s cultural institutions—this exhibition connects contemporary queer creative practice with the city’s long-standing reputation as a hub for experimental and socially engaged art. At its core, this event seeks to celebrate community history and diversity, honor the achievements of queer artists, foster connection across communities, and address inequities by affirming the positive contributions of queer people to the city’s past, present, and future. In doing so, it reinvigorates a sense of shared belonging and civic pride while positioning Santa Monica as a leader in cultural equity and historical recognition. #queerart #queerartist #artopening #rockpaintings #earthworks