Kingman(363), 2012
acrylic on canvas
45 x 72 inches; 114.3 x 182.9 centimeters
LSFA# 13097
Refractions/Landscapes: New Work by Richard Wilson
November 9, 2013 - January 4, 2014
Vertical columns, bands of sun-infused color, fall in irregular patterns. Jazzy rhythms in the keys of California, Kansas and Illinois spread across the expanse of a canvas plain. Richard Wilson’s most recent work, abstract renditions of the themes, tones, shades and spaces in cross-country travel, mines the artist’s vivid memories of long ago drives along Route 66 and all the musings thereafter.
Titles note exact locations and every location occurs en route from Santa Cruz to the great Midwest: Stanton (1916 miles from home), Needles (292), Laguna (822), Amarillo (1186). As the drive(s) consisted of passage through eight states, each composition is comprised of eight panels, arranged in patterns of five and three. But no panel is the same size. Height, width and depth vary dramatically. Thus the artist creates a three dimensional architecture with his meticulously calibrated strips of color; radiant greens, dusky blues, umbers, ambers and lemon yellows paired with shadowy blacks. A veritable garden of memory in a contemporary landscape of hard edges and vibrant constructs.
Richard Wilson is an Art Professor Emeritus at Shasta College. His work is included in numerous private collections and has been featured in solo exhibitions throughout the West Coast.
This marks the artist’s second exhibition in an ongoing series with the gallery.