April 7 - May 6, 2018
​OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY, APRIL 7 FROM 6 TO 8 PM - GALLERY TALKS AT 7 PM

Light and Shadow: Woven paintings by Rick Minard

"In my newest endeavor, I decided to return to the figure as the centerpiece of my woven paintings but instead of exploring relationships as in my previous work, I wanted to explore the affect of light and shadows.  The same figure is painted separately, with one the focus on highlights and the other on shadows.   I am intrigued by the idea of taking the two opposing aspects of the same person and weaving them together to make a whole entity."

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Rick Minard was born and raised in Northwestern Pennsylvania and currently lives in Bradford, PA. He maintains a private fine art studio in his home and has been accepted into numerous juried art shows with the most recent ones being in Virginia and Missouri. His work has won awards such as Best of Show and People’s Choice. Rick earned an Associates degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Clarion University of Pennsylvania, and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He teaches drawing at Jamestown Community College and is an adjunct printmaking and painting professor at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. He is known for his unique woven paintings. In general, he combines various visual elements in ways that explore the ideas that those combinations imply. In earlier figurative weavings, the subjects are usually male and female and are commentaries on interpersonal relationships. They visually represent the sacrifices individuals make in order to maintain those relationships. Other works are based on pattern, color and texture and the interrelationships between these elements. Each individual painting is an abstract exploration of gesture and the properties of surface and tone. They are then woven together into organized arrangements. They literally bring order to chaos.
His current figurative paintings, concentrating on highlights and shadows can be seen as a simple painting exercise in bringing together light and dark colors. They could also be interpreted as something more. Everyone has their own personal fears and weaknesses as well as strengths and hopes. They are both a part of us. They are woven into the fabric of our being. These paintings represent the efforts we all make to strike a balance between the two.

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