New Feature Exhibition in September August 10 2019
FOUND SPACES
New paintings by Robert Ross
September 7 – 28, 2019
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 7, 4 – 7 PM
Artists Talk: Friday, September 13, 11 AM
About the Exhibition
For his second solo exhibition at Arts on Douglas, Central Florida oil painter Robert Ross examines the essence of everyday scenes from direct observation. While he continues to paint outdoor landscapes, this exhibition reveals a new area of exploration for Ross: interior spaces. In his exhibition statement, he notes “… to escape the summer heat I moved indoors… but it didn’t take me long to see the interior spaces I occupied as landscapes, too, but with a difference. Outdoors, I paint to depict light and openness. Indoors, my subjects are confined spaces, the geometry of domestic life.”
Many of the locations in his paintings are found by accident and they often depict spaces in various states of transition. His urban exterior landscapes often include barricades, temporary walls, and construction sites while his interiors tend to depict empty spaces with patched walls, scaffolding, or building materials. Windows and doors are also important elements in this new work. Ross elaborates, “Passing through a doorway we move from past to future, from old to new. Windows are portals that give us glimpses of what is outside, both real and imagined. They also let in light that helps us see our interior more clearly.”
In his signature style, Ross presents his impressions of these spaces with loose brushwork, strong graphic shapes, and asymmetrical compositions. About his process, he explains, “Looking more closely as I painted, I discovered previously hidden qualities. As a result, spaces became simplified, abstracted. Colors were intensified or muted. Edges were sharpened or blurred…”
As Ross worked on this exhibition, he also became increasingly interested in the simple geometry of houses and interior spaces. As a result, he created an additional collection of small studies that reduce spaces down to minimal shapes, forms and color fields. These are included as a sub-set of this exhibition, in a series titled Domus.
About the Artist
Robert Ross’s urban and rural landscape paintings have been exhibited throughout Central Florida, with solo exhibitions at both the Orlando and Winter Park City Halls, and participation in group shows in a number of Orlando area galleries, including CityArts, Mills Art Gallery, Orlando Museum of Art, Crealdé School of Art, and the Gallery at Avalon Island. Ross has been a participating artist in the Winter Park Paint Out and has received awards at numerous art festivals throughout the region. He received his art education at Oakland University, Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, and in master workshops taught by Stuart Shils. Ross currently maintains a full-time studio at McRae Art Studios in Orlando, Florida.
Image titles:
Robert Ross, Domus, oil on panel, 10 x 10 inches (top)
Robert Ross, Interior Moment, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 inches (bottom left)
Robert Ross, Blue Divide, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches (bottom middle)
Robert Ross, Interior with Two Rooms, oil on canvas, 40 x 30 inches (bottom right)