At a glance, it is perhaps easy to confuse the pastel colored canvases of the talented Winona Ross with that of his predecessor, the great Agnes Martin. Not only are they both stylistically similar, but are spiritual as well. You see, both American artists take their inspiration and colors from the New Mexico landscape; the former lived in that state for about 10 years and kept her inspiration of that place whilst working in New York until she passed in 2004; the latter has lived in New Mexico for the last 12 years. But aside from this, they are both two very different and remarkable artists in their own right.
Winona Ross’ artistry lies in borrowing techniques from the ancient Native American Indians to make unique contemporary art. His minimal and luminous grid-based art is made by painting hundreds of layers of paint that is brushed, dripped, scrapped and burnished to a lustrous finish on a canvas. By doing this, the artist builds a history within the painting, like the sculpted and shaped rocks in a riverbed that have been weathered over millennia.
If you happen to be in NYC, stop by the Stephen Haller Gallery on
26th Street
in Chelsea, where they have a selling exhibition of this terrific contemporary artist until the 26th of November.
image credit: © Johnnie Winona Ross. Lisbon Seeps, 2011, minerals and paint on linen, 48 x 46 in. | 122 x 117 cm. The artist is represented by the Stephen Haller Gallery, New York.
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