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2000 Paintings, Espresso Royale Caffe, Main Street, Ann Arbor, MI 2000 Visual Playgrounds, Duncan & Miller Gallery, Washington DC 1999 Figure This, Plymouth Community Arts Council, Plymouth, MI 1998 Gatherings: B.F.A. Exhibition, Eastern Michigan University 1997 Oil Pastels, Mud House Café Ypsilanti, MI 2005 Studio 427, Northville, MI 2003 Birmingham Temple Juried Art Show, Farmington Hills, MI 2002 Group Show - Flockworks Studio - Leopold Brothers, Ann Arbor, MI 2001 Washington Street Gallery, Annual Jurried Show, Ann Arbor, MI 2000 Birmingham Temple Juried Art Show, Farmington Hills, MI 1999 Northern National Art Competition, Nicolet College, Rhinelander, WI 1998 A Night at the Guggenheim, Citizens Bank Exhibition, Ann Arbor, MI 1998 Juried Student Show, Eastern Michigan University 1996 Polemic Art Exhibition, Eastern Michigan University 1995 Six Views Digital, Rendezvous Café, Ann Arbor, MI |
Artist Statement Consistent with his inconsistency, he never took a graphic design course. Rick's exposure to oil media, oil pastel on paper, and oil on canvas led to a passion that replaced technology as his means of making images—and making connections with the observer. Rick ultimately earned his B.F.A. cum laude with concentrations in drawing and painting and minors in art history and telecommunications. He is motivated by his interest in visual investigation. An important area of exploration: boundaries. "I take great pleasure in exploring the slight difference between something being recognized as an arm and being recognized as a landscape. I don't want specifics. I'd rather create little visual playgrounds for people to have some fun with. If my work were whittled down to bare essentials, that's it. It's about wanting to enjoy an image that evolves, that will have some life of its own--that over time remains enjoyable to look at." Rick often opts for texture over detail to achieve the forms in his works. "I enjoy creating anonymous figures because it encourages interpretation, and brings a sense of the infinite. To me, concealing the identity of figures and environments is an invitation to the viewer. That the viewer brings something to the work that makes it personal for them is important to me. Art becomes memorable when people make their own connections with it. In my work I have sought to make these associations possible by creating starting points. Each viewer then goes their own way." |
My work is about expression and interpretation. I seek to give the viewer options, and open up a visual dialogue between the figure and its abstracted environment. Bright, opposing colors stir the mix of figurative, natural and architectural elements. With form and color I seek to create an image that evolves and will have some life of its own, that over time remains enjoyable to look at. Art becomes memorable when people make their own connections with it. In my work I have sought to make these associations possible by creating starting points from which the viewer may play.email: rickwedel@hotmail.com