Douglas Rieger 道格拉斯·莱杰
Invisible Dragon (Int.Strain) 不可见之龙（内部张力）, 2025
wood, paint, aluminum, steel, hardware 木材，颜料，铝，钢，五金配件
Sculpture 主体: 81.3 x 81.3 x 152.4 cm; 32 x 32 x 60 in
Base 底座: 139.7 x 139.7 x 76.2 cm; 55 x 55 x 30 in
Base 底座: 139.7 x 139.7 x 76.2 cm; 55 x 55 x 30 in
Further images
Invisible Dragon (Int. Strain) (2025) by Douglas Rieger is a striking sculptural work that juxtaposes industrial strength with organic fluidity. The piece features a robust steel base, providing a solid...
Invisible Dragon (Int. Strain) (2025) by Douglas Rieger is a striking sculptural work that juxtaposes industrial strength with organic fluidity. The piece features a robust steel base, providing a solid foundation for the large sculptural form resting atop it. This upper structure, with its undulating contours and evocative physicality, suggests a dynamic interplay between tension and release.
This sculpture functions as a tool, embodying a process-driven approach rather than one dictated by a preconceived idea or opinion. For the artist, the form comes first, leading the way, while meaning and ideas emerge in response. Unlike traditional methods where an idea precedes the object, here, the act of making generates thought.
While rooted in drawing, the final work diverges significantly from its initial sketches. The connection between the two develops organically during the sculpting process, shaped by trial, error, and the essential role of the artist’s direct engagement with the material. Flawed logic and mistakes become integral elements of the work’s evolution.
This sculpture is both personal and open-ended—it holds traces of an encounter with decaying industrial equipment near the artist’s childhood home, a past relationship, and places that once sparked excitement. It exists as an abstracted form, a vessel for projection and interpretation, allowing both artist and viewer to find meaning within it.
Like fire or music, sculpture resists full capture. A photograph can never fully convey its presence; movement is lost, shape shifts, and experience changes. It harbors a secret, one that can only be uncovered through direct engagement—by being in its presence.
Douglas Rieger (b. 1984, Pittsburgh PA) lives and works in New York, NY. He received his MFA from Yale in 2016 and BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2008. Rieger’s work has been exhibited at Capsule Shanghai (Shanghai, China), Helena Anrather Gallery (New York, NY), Thierry Goldberg Gallery (New York, NY), 67 Ludlow Gallery (New York, NY), New Discretions (New york, NY) and Fahrenheit (Madrid, Spain). His works has been featured in Bomb Magazine, Art in America, Artforum, Artsy, The New Yorker and FAD Magazine.
This sculpture functions as a tool, embodying a process-driven approach rather than one dictated by a preconceived idea or opinion. For the artist, the form comes first, leading the way, while meaning and ideas emerge in response. Unlike traditional methods where an idea precedes the object, here, the act of making generates thought.
While rooted in drawing, the final work diverges significantly from its initial sketches. The connection between the two develops organically during the sculpting process, shaped by trial, error, and the essential role of the artist’s direct engagement with the material. Flawed logic and mistakes become integral elements of the work’s evolution.
This sculpture is both personal and open-ended—it holds traces of an encounter with decaying industrial equipment near the artist’s childhood home, a past relationship, and places that once sparked excitement. It exists as an abstracted form, a vessel for projection and interpretation, allowing both artist and viewer to find meaning within it.
Like fire or music, sculpture resists full capture. A photograph can never fully convey its presence; movement is lost, shape shifts, and experience changes. It harbors a secret, one that can only be uncovered through direct engagement—by being in its presence.
Douglas Rieger (b. 1984, Pittsburgh PA) lives and works in New York, NY. He received his MFA from Yale in 2016 and BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2008. Rieger’s work has been exhibited at Capsule Shanghai (Shanghai, China), Helena Anrather Gallery (New York, NY), Thierry Goldberg Gallery (New York, NY), 67 Ludlow Gallery (New York, NY), New Discretions (New york, NY) and Fahrenheit (Madrid, Spain). His works has been featured in Bomb Magazine, Art in America, Artforum, Artsy, The New Yorker and FAD Magazine.
