May 2016: Ralph Davis

Ralph Davis describes his painting best, “As a self-taught artist my painting has spanned a number of styles.  Most recently I have been interested in the combination of the hard-edged otherworldly formality of the geometric figure with the soft-edged informality of the natural world.  This tension between the soft form and the hard edge or the natural and the formal may be extended to a similar tension between the finite and the infinite, or, in Plato’s terms, the earthly realm of coming to be and passing away, and the eternal, unchanging realm of Forms. Geometric constructions in conjunction with biological forms often convey a sense of discovery, of being in the presence of something significant, or on the threshold of a complex realm of things not well understood. My intention has been to avoid cognitive contrivance and the domination of linear thinking and to elicit more complex responses on both a conscious and unconscious level.  I have tried to accomplish this by presenting images and situations where immediate recognition and cursory viewing are insufficient to engage with the visual material. Thus, each painting leaves work to be done and invites the artistic and interpretive participation of the viewer.”