Please join us this Friday evening, August 5th, at 6 pm for a reception to open a new exhibition of paintings, drawings, and sculpted works by J. Kirk Richards. Entitled NEW COLORS: Riviera Modernist-Inspired Works, this show marks Kirk's exploration of a new color palette, new aesthetic territory, and a new range of art-historical influence.
The show will feature more than 100 new works, ranging from tiny sketches to abstract sculptures to 8 foot X 8 foot paintings. The exhibited work draws on Kirk's recent travels in Europe, where he encountered directly not just his own long-standing roots in expressionism, but also the sites where many of the greatest artists and works of modern art came into being. Kirk writes:
"This show is a hodgepodge of visual thoughts—the stream of consciousness of an aging grandson of modernism. The show includes themes of the human body, growing older, marriage, faith, Jesus Christ, love, expressionism, etc. Pregnant figures hint at my hopes for an optimistic future. New colors used are listed by each painting. Some of the pieces anticipate the European trip, some were done during the trip, and some were completed after.
Since visiting these places, I feel a little differently about modernism. It’s less of a sacred mystery to me now. I feel less a need to overtly emulate it, but I don’t feel a need to abandon it. Modernism may be passé—it’s a century old, but like classicism and romanticism, it has changed the world forever."
The opening reception is free and open to the public.
