"Take the Sky"
Acrylic and Charcoal on Gallery Wrapped Canvas.
28" x 22" Unframed.
Star Series Paintings
All seven were painted between July and August 2023, implementing an ongoing series of small drawings as a springboard. I am often asked when is a painting completed, and recently began wondering - when is a drawing completed?
I had been considering a group of written word paintings, and had prepared grammar school style ledger paper for the preliminary sketches, seeing them I instinctively drew a "star" in the upper right corner on some of the images, as I might have done in grade school, then continued following that thread. The 28" x 22" paintings examine this thought of using a symbolic shape as the subject.
The paintings textured surfaces raised some interesting technical challenges, and made it possible to create what I think of as veils of color. The joy and mystery of color in and of itself is a wonderful thing. To my eye these surfaces evoke wall fragments from Pompeii or the Roman Empire.
Painting titles are a unique opportunity for me to expand my esthetic beyond the physical act of painting, into what I think of as poetics.
Bob Cross - Regional Artist
Abstract painting can be an oddly reflective discipline, one which reveals something of our individual nature. I consider style, composition, surface quality and content as important components of my work - and I must admit I have a soft spot for color.
During the last recession my work transformed from hard-edged abstraction to something more primitivistic or expressive. I had been watching the show "Mad Men" and wanted to reconnect with the sensibilities of the abstract expressionist artists that I began my career working with as a master printer in New York in the '80s.
This new awareness changed the way I think about regional art. As more and more local businesses closed their doors and the mindless conformity of the big box stores gained momentum, I knew it was important to drive a stake in the ground as a regional artist. Hopefully my work captures some essence of how the seasons and sunlight, the culture and materials of this corner of the world are worth embracing.
Education
Ohio University, M.F.A., 1990
Atlanta College of Art, B.F.A., 1981
Minneapolis College of Art and Design, 1976
Work
Tyler Graphics, Ltd., Master Printer, 1981-1988
Collaborated on published projects with Frank Stella, Anthony Caro, Helen Frankenthaler, Roy Lichtenstein, David Hockney, Michael Heizer, Alan Shields, Richard Smith, Terence LaNoue, and Steven Sorman.
Haselrick & Cross, Inc., 1994 to present
Co-owner of a mural and faux finish painting company.
Collections
Lincoln Financial Group
Scripps-Howard
The Bank of Ann Arbor
Readers Digest
DuCharme, McMillen & Associates
Indiana Tech
T. C. Steele Boyhood Home
Marcadia Biotech
Baker & Daniels
William & Wagner Advertising
Champion International Corporation
Wood-Logan Company
Tha LaVanture Group
The Smithsonian Museum
Bibliography
Workshop: The Kenneth Tyler Collection
Tyler Graphics - Catalogue Raisonne'
The Prints of Frank Stella - A Catalogue Raisonne
Selected Exhibitions
2009, 2008, 2006, 2004 Ruschman Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
2004 Ohio University Alumni Show, Athens, OH
1995 Invitational Show, Century, OH
1995 Invitational Show, Mansfield, OH
1992 Progressions in Paper, Dayton Art Institute, OH
1992 Artist's Books, Morlan Gallery, Transylvania University Lexington, KY
1992 Works on Walls, Huntington Museum of Art, WV
1992, 1191 Roberta Ruhn Gallery, Columbus, OH
1990 Group Show, Toni Birkhead Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
1989 National Print and Drawing Exhibition, Clemson University, SC
1988 The Shanghai Exchange, Shanghai University, P.R.O.C.
1988 Recent Acquisitions, Reader's Digest, Pleasantville, NY
1987 Four Corners, La Mama La Galleria, NYC
Solo Shows
1997 Steelhead Gallery, South Bend, IN
1992 Lancaster Gallery, Ohio University, OH
1990 Mendelson Gallery, Pittsburgh, PA
Awards
2015 Mereness Purchase Award, Midwest Museum
2013 Kubacki Purchase Award, Midwest Museum
2011 Borger Purchase Award, Midwest Museum
2006 Barnes & Thornbury Purchase Award, Midwest Museum
1989 John Houk Award, Ohio University
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