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Artist Statement:
“All great
art is the work of the whole living creature, body and soul, and
chiefly the soul,” John Ruskin says in The Stones of Venice. It
is the inspiration of the artist’s knowledge and emotion that
breathes life into ink, paper and other media. Without it, art
ceases to be anything more than pure decoration.
Aesthetic,
emotional or spiritual value derived from art results from
self-discovery. This is the true nature of art; Rick Simpson’s
art embodies the essence of this philosophy. The uniqueness of
his work increasingly recognized internationally by
well-regarded artist groups. His genre is primarily Fantastic
Realism, but his imagery often goes beyond its unique
boundaries.
Rick’s work is primarily intuitive, characterized by innovation
and experimentation. He “invents” and portrays imaginary
objects and figures not seen in reality. To give life to his
creations, he draws from both representational and nonobjective
genre. The resulting works contrast images of fantasy and
beauty, darkness and humor. The individual viewer’s vision,
imagination, and experiences shape the interpretation of each
image. Rick’s themes involve deeply personal and current social
issues, but also include whimsical and interpretive elements
from nature, both real and imagined. Each image is also a
metaphor that takes on different meanings for each viewer.
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