Photos of the paintings by Kim Richardson

Gallery photos by Daniel Osornio

Willy Bo Richardson (second from left) with, left to right,
his former painting students from Santa Fe University of Art and Design,
Sharon Nuñez, Mike Sutton and Andrea Ramirez;
and, friend from Mexico City, Cecilia Blasquez
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What I need, and what the world needs is a load-stone that orients people towards what has staying power. What is consistent, is not the outer or inner phenomena we are fascinated by, but the unchanging mind itself. I represent that by essentially marrying myself to a mode of working. It's not a random choice, however. Gravity makes all objects and liquids fall to the center of the earth. These lines blur and travel along the arc of my body. The circle continues outside the canvas, and returns.

I find myself at a jumping point. I know this to be as a dream, and from here I lift off... I see vertical strokes as the last bastion of creativity in painting. It is not total freedom. It is the tension of knowing freedom is there and working with the limited structure that tethers us to this cycle. When I paint, I am aware of my condition, but I strive towards freedom. Little by little I cease from discursive action. Whenever restless thinking wanders out, I withdraw it once again, subdue it, and rest in what’s in front of me. I simply move from one stroke to the next, one color to the next.

It’s simple, but not easy.

The paintings were not the answers. Aesthetically they were the questions themselves, including inner doubt and outer pressure, total expanse and possibility.

I find myself absorbed, receptive and fascinated by the intricate craftsmanship, integrity and graphic elements of the pre-columbian arts, crafts and architecture on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City. The collection is a central hub which radiates into constellations of nearly infinite artistic manifestations. I am in awe, in the same natural sense as when encountering a majestic mountain or body of water.

Textiles, ceramics, and craftsmanship found in doors and hardware; the colorful walls and murals... tree roots win against sidewalk slabs, like volcanoes emerging above clouds. The printmaking history and innovation of Oaxaca, muralist history and the contemporary graffiti... I ask myself, “Why am I here in Mexico? Why are my paintings in San Miguel de Allende? What do I have to offer?”

It seems that in relation to the vibrancy, I can offer space, reflection and contemplation. I suppose that’s why they call it an exchange. I am thirsty and in love with Mexico, and she is embracing.

Memphis ready to call it a night
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Most of this text has been taken from the artist's statement at his website:
www.willyborichardson.com

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Skot Foreman was pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Willy Bo Richardson, the artist's first show in Mexico. In his new series "All Yours", Richardson explores new mediums and materials. Intensely hued waves, rays of light, passages of consonance and dissonance float on the toothless surface of yupo.

Richardson's new expansive paintings explore the phenomena of light reflection and refraction, and simplified forms of atmospheric elements. Working in watercolor, gouache and acrylic, Richardson layers bands of color in space. In paintings like All Yours 13, the waves of color are pared down into undulating ripples of lilac, pink or blue, implying the constant movement of water as it seemingly changes color under the sky. In All Yours 15, the subtle, near monochromatic palette possesses an ethereal, emotional quality, implying the feeling of peace and calm right before dusk. Other paintings glow like rays of the sun splayed out in a pinwheel of vivid, colorful lines. Their prismatic colors seem to jump off the paper. Richardson states, "Water based media on yupo behaves like steam wafting through the air from a cup of tea. It yields unexpected and constantly changing results."

Richardson first fell in love with Mexico as a foreign exchange student in Oaxaca in 1990. He continues to feel at home in Oaxaca and Mexico City, and is fascinated by the rich cultural and artistic merits and history of Mexico. This will be the artist's first visit to San Miguel. Richardson taught painting and color theory at Santa Fe University of Art and Design from 2009-2016. He was fortunate to teach students in exchange from Universidad del Valle de México. He found their innate graphic sensibility to be totally inspiring and continues a creative dialogue with his former students to this day.

Willy Bo Richardson lives and works in Santa Fe, NM. He completed his MFA in Painting at Pratt Institute in 2000 and his BA in Studio Art at University of Texas at Austin in 1996. Richardson's work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at Richard Levy Gallery, New Mexico among others. His work has also been featured in numerous group exhibitions including 70 Years of Abstract Painting – Excerpts at Jason McCoy Gallery. The show assembled works by a selection of modern and contemporary painters, including Josef Albers, Hans Hofmann and Jackson Pollock. In 2012 he showed a body of work in the exhibition "Watercolors" at the Phillips de Pury headquarters in Chelsea New York. His work and vision was featured on the PBS weekly arts series ¡COLORES!. Public collections include the Albuquerque Museum. Richardson was awarded a residency at Tamarind Institute and was a SITE Santa Fe SPREAD finalist.