Tj Rinoski

TJ Rinoski’s work is an uncanny illusion touching on a humorous edge of his memory. He paints stories without clear narratives, as memories tend to be misleading and not always truthful. Rinoski’s images are preconceived and gathered from tattered handwritten notes that only make sense to him. The words inscribed on his pages refer to his own experiences, photographs, and the occasional film scene. Rinoski’s process starts with staining color on minimally gessoed canvas to create a dry foundation. By blotting his brush in a punch-like manner, he blurs color until a textured artifact emerges like a dusty postcard from your grandmother’s bookshelf. This matte texture mimics the palpable feeling of its subjects. While Rinoski’s works are derived from personal anecdotes, his paintings evoke shared experiences. Whether it is an elementary school field trip to the aquarium or watching sports on a sunday evening. The absence of details invites the viewer to momentarily live in the interpretation of his memories and build their own story within. Rinoski’s pieces convey the flexibility of a memory, that we are all mere visitors in the storytelling of one’s imagination.