Experiential
Featuring Roxanne Richards & Joy Davis Ripley
June 15 – July 15, 2017
Roxanne Richards Artist Statement:
I have read that being comfortable alone with one’s self is a great gift. During the past two years, I have found myself alone for long periods of time. Although being alone is not something I would have chosen for myself, life decided to give it to me anyway. I had to overcome seeing aloneness as a punishment or a burden so I could embrace the freedom that being alone can bring. My work explores how we think aloneness feels, how aloneness feels and the opportunities aloneness brings.
As a colorist, I find dry pastel the perfect medium to explore the depths of color since dry pastels are almost pure pigment. Isopropyl alcohol mixed with dry pastels allows me to both draw and paint with the pastels. This handling of the medium produces a very atmospheric and layered effect, which conveys the ambiguity of my new normal. The figures move in and out of the picture plane confirming my uncertainty of what the future holds and conveys the loss and incertitude over what was but us no more. The one thing all of the figures possess is the desire to be comfortable again.
Joy Davis Ripley Artist Statement:
After my daughter was born prematurely in 2010 she experienced significant development delays. In an attempt to get distance on my own life during this time, I picked up my camera and used the LCD display. I realized that my anxiety and fear for my daughter were greatly reduced as I lost myself in trying to defamiliarize the subjects in my viewfinder. I’m drawn to strong lines, bursts of color, and details that allow for fresh perspectives. As I continued to experience an increased sense of well-being from my photography, I began wondering if mindfully integrating art into our daily lives could lead to a reprieve from our harried, hurried lives. In the late fall of 2015, I began creating designs from my fine-art photographs and transferring the results onto durable, long-lasting textiles in environmentally-friendly processes. The result is eye-catching, flattering ArtWear in performance-wear fabrics, able to go straight from a strenuous hike to dinner and drinks.
Exhibition Sponsor:
