THE LOCKWOOD GALLERY is pleased to present "FROM WHERE I STAND,” a solo exhibition of works by the artist RANSOME. August 27th – September 25th. Opening Reception: Saturday, August 27, 5-7 pm.
North Carolina-born, Hudson Valley-based, Ransome will present a striking and significant array of both his figurative and abstract compositions Together, the works offer visual insights into the practice of this rapidly emerging artist. Working in a visual language of relationships and juxtapositions, Ransome delves into patterns, shapes and colors with deep sensitivity. The artist has stated that all of his works are abstractions even when they contain figurative elements. His composition surfaces are experimental spaces where the arrangements of shapes, colors and even the communication of ideas can take place. Henri Matisse and Richard Diebenkorn are recognizable influences, as are the women quilters of Gee's Bend, Alabama.
These works often present antipodes: shapes range from large, flat expanses of color to small, painterly forms, made in paint and cut-outs of both found and purchased papers, and whose spirits transition from the tranquil and calm to the energetic and complex. These visual tensions speak to Ransome’s improvisational, jazz-like approach to creating, imbuing his works with a rhythmic quality that freely connects historical and personal experiences, moments of happiness, loss and other shared universal moments in life in single pictorial spaces. In this exhibition, the artist shifts his scope, transitioning from his longstanding interest in the experience of the Great Migration, and too, for the first time, focusing on his own life, through depictions of his friends and the landscapes of the Hudson Valley, the region where he has lived from almost thirty years. Through these myriad artworks, viewers are offered an oblique portrait of the artist's own life as the title "From Where I Stand" suggests.
Throughout the exhibition, Ransome seems to be considering the meaning and spirit of community in our current moment; his insightful use of symbols interplays with larger social and political histories that weave together like a patchwork quilt into a greater narrative about America. The cornerstone of this exhibition is “Altar,” a seven-foot-high black altar where the artist displays icon-like smaller works that show scenes of Hudson Valley living, creating his own artistic shrine to the people and places he holds dear. At times, Ransome’s work more abstractly suggests ideas of friendship and community. The artist often incorporates leftover paper bags, wrapping paper and antiquated, hand-written envelopes into his works—materials laden with sentimental and symbolic value—which he combines with painted marks and lines. In a process reminiscent of that of a rural quilt-maker, who might transform a father’s old shirt, mother’s worn-out dress, or a cousin’s hand-me-downs, into a new, functional creation. Ransome reconstructs, merges and layers these materials into purely abstract works.
Through the artist's process of constant reuse and reconstruction, his works seem to hint at the possibilities of endless connection and the potential for new and harmonious patterns created through the relationships around us.
ABOUT THE CURATOR:
Since 2016, Alan Goolman has curated numerous installations and gallery exhibitions of accomplished contemporary artists. In 2019, Goolman joined Architect and Gallery Owner Michael Lockwood as Curator and Director of THE LOCKWOOD GALLERY.
GALLERY HOURS:
SATURDAYS & SUNDAYS 11 A.M.-6 P.M.
THURSDAYS & FRIDAYS BY APPOINTMENT ONLY
INQUIRES
info@thelockwoodgallery.com
845 663 2138