Liz West, “Our Color,” 2016, commissioned by Bristol Biennial. (Photo: courtesy of the artist)
In many ways, color is the foundation of visual art. It expresses mood, it captures the light, it engages our senses, and, perhaps most importantly, it adds an essential vibrancy to our lives. It’s that exuberance that defines the work of Olga Rei and Valentine Uhovski, the duo behind Rainbow Contemporary. Since its founding in 2020, during the pandemic lockdown, the collective has spearheaded countless creative and charitable projects, all while collaborating with artists specializing in color and light.
Now, Rei and Uhovski have set their sights on yet another initiative: a coffee table book. Aptly titled Rainbow Dreams, the volume gathers more than 200 contemporary artworks, each practically vibrating with color. Across some 250 pages, readers will encounter Takashi Murakami’s beaming flowers, Yayoi Kusama’s iconic polka dots, Gabriel Dawe’s delicate rainbow threads, and Sho Shibuya’s striking gradients painted on issues of The New York Times. Other featured artists range from Derrick Adams, Nick Cave, and Jennifer Guidi to Olafur Eliasson, Ellsworth Kelly, and Sarah Sze, offering a compelling glimpse into how differently artists interpret color throughout their own work.
“Our main goal was to create a truly visual, universal book,” Rei and Uhovski tell My Modern Met. “We certainly live in very uncertain times globally, and we wanted to create something that brings hope and smiles to readers. It can serve as both a color healing and a celebration of some unbelievable art.”
Rainbow Dreams, which will be published by Monacelli this April, also includes interviews with renowned artists Mickalene Thomas and Judy Chicago. In their respective conversations, both Thomas and Chicago meditate upon color and how they’ve developed their own distinct aesthetic languages through their palettes. Taken in its entirety, then, the book is an unforgettable journey through every color of the rainbow, highlighting just how central tones, hues, tints, and shades are to artistic production.
“There’s so much beauty in this world,” Rei and Uhovski add. “We just need to come together more often and not forget to emphasize the light over the darkness.”
Ahead of the book’s publication this spring, My Modern Met had the chance to speak with Olga Rei and Valentine Uhovski about Rainbow Contemporary, Rainbow Dreams, and the process of creating a volume solely dedicated to color. Read on for our exclusive interview with the duo.
Ugo Rondinone, “seven magic mountains,” 2016. (Photo: Gianfranco Gorgoni)
What first compelled you both about color and light in contemporary art?
We’ve both been seeing art together around the world for more than two decades. While compiling and curating artists for this book, we quickly had a realization that we’ve always been unconsciously drawn to the color and light in some of our profound museum and gallery memories. It’s probably because rainbows provide something universal, beautiful, and touching. So, in many ways, it’s really been a full circle moment for us.
Kimsooja, “To Breathe – Leeum,” 2022. (Photo: Seungbeom Hur, courtesy of the artist and Leeum Museum of Art)
Gabriel Dawe, “Plexus A1,” 2015. (Photo: Ron Blunt)
You co-founded Rainbow Contemporary together. What originally inspired the venture, and how has it evolved since its founding?
We founded the project days into the first pandemic lockdown in 2020. That moment felt very significant and dark, and we wanted to provide something light and hopeful to the world, even in a small capacity. We’ve done a few significant fundraisers for Save the Children and during the outbreak in the war in Ukraine, but the book really encompasses the biggest artist compilation ever for us. We truly hope that this work is only a starting point for a more hopeful project and community moments in New York and beyond.
Lauren Halsey, “auntie fawn on tha 6,” 2021. (Photo: Allen Chen / SLH Studio, courtesy of the artist and David Kordansky Gallery)
Aside from Rainbow Contemporary, in what other ways does color appear throughout your work?
For one, the way we look at and collect art has completely evolved. We’ve started living with art that celebrates color and light to remind us daily of how incredible a spectrum can be. And yes, we wear a lot of color, too—because sometimes you just need to in New York’s sea of black!
Interior spread from “Rainbow Dreams,” ed. by Olga Rei and Valentine Uhovski. (Monacelli Press, $37.23 on Bookshop.org)
What was the impetus behind Rainbow Dreams?
Our main goal was to create a truly visual, universal book. We certainly live in very uncertain times globally, and we wanted to create something that brings hope and smiles to readers. It can serve as both a color healing and a celebration of some unbelievable art.
Installation view of “Do Ho Suh: Passage/s,” at Lehmann Maupin in New York, 2017. (Photo: Thierry Bal)
What was the process of creating Rainbow Dreams?
We’ve spent close to a year in research to compile a dream artist list. We went through our archives and experiences, like seeing Janet Echelman at Renwick Gallery, Shoplifter’s Chromo Sapiens installation at the Venice Biennale, and Vaughn Spann’s incredible paintings at the Rubell Museum in Miami. We narrowed down our list to some incredible names with our editor, Simon Hunegs, and our research team, spending quite a bit of time on artists, museums, and galleries. Luckily, everyone got it and was so receptive.
Interior spread from “Rainbow Dreams,” ed. by Olga Rei and Valentine Uhovski. (Monacelli Press, $37.23 on Bookshop.org)
What do you think the book reveals about color and light in contemporary art?
That it’s very universal and comes in so many different shapes, mediums, and forms. Ultimately, we featured 108 artists in this book, truly from around the world and of different backgrounds. They’re painters, sculptors, photographers, and so, so much more. But ultimately, they’re all dreamers and activists committed to expressing something universal and personal.
Kimsooja, “To Breathe – A Mirror Woman,” 2022. (Photo: Jaeho Chong, courtesy of the artist and Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía)
Do you have any favorite artists and/or artworks featured in the book?
It truly is impossible to choose favorites, but it was really cool to feature works that took our breath away in real life, like Kimsooja’s installation in Madrid, so many iconic pieces by Ugo Rondinone, and Lauren Halsey’s varied pieces. We also love the contrast between legends like Mike Kelley and the emerging beauty of the likes of Kevin Beasley and Zoe Walsh.
Athi-Patra Ruga, “The Future White Woman of Azania 1,” 2012. (Photo: Hayden Phipps)
What do you hope people will take away from Rainbow Dreams?
In her brilliant interview for the book, Judy Chicago advises to “choose hope and to embrace the rainbow.” And that kind of sums it all up. There’s so much beauty in this world; we just need to come together more often and not forget to emphasize the light over the darkness.
Cover of “Rainbow Dreams,” ed. by Olga Rei and Valentine Uhovski. (Monacelli Press, $37.23 on Bookshop.org)
