Richard Crawford
Anthony Ocone
Paintings
Two Person Exhibition
January 6 - February 7, 2015
Opening Reception
Saturday, January 16
5 to 8pm
In their two-man exhibition of fabulous paintings at Gallery 525, artists Anthony Ocone and Richard Crawford explore abstracted painting styles in intriguingly different ways. Despite their different approaches, their work hangs well together and is, quite frankly, exhilarating on sum.
Anthony Ocone’s acrylic paintings on canvas and wood explore subtleties and shifts of pattern in large formats. He paints letters, brick or other varied simple patterns on his surfaces that bring one to a sense of greater fields of space. By focusing on one or two artistic elements in large areas of color, he unlocks nuances in a pared-down format and suddenly, voila, a repeated letter expands on a universe of possibilities. At first glance his minimalist works seem restful, yet upon further investigation, his works present changes of color and pattern that stimulate and draw one into their fascinating play. In addition, at times he paints a line of a simple form over or under the painting field that further drops one into the mystery of his work.
Anthony Ocone has been creating art for decades and has shown his work in Los Angeles, New York City and Paris. Regarding his intuitive painting process, Mr. Ocone states:
“I imagined a journey, of making art, feeling my way along through my senses. It took me years to really begin. I let myself do whatever comes and do not restrict, and as much as possible in any given moment, suspend judgment and allow myself to not know. This freedom gives space for seeing, for revelation. Pleasure and joy too. I love that.”
Richard Crawford’s smaller format paintings all hang together on one wall in the gallery in a fantastic conglomeration. The sum total of all them, although a bit of a puzzle, become a work of art in itself. Mr. Crawford has a way of synthesizing disparate elements in a fresh and immediate way that is beautiful yet balanced. He combines recurring themes (stripes, stars, dots, zig zags, abstracted flowers and other natural references) and paints them solo or in grid formats on wood or recycled tin. Similar to action painters, Richard Crawford paints his acrylic and mixed media works in an instant, authentic style.
A former Passionist working monk and world-traveller, Mr. Crawford draws upon his rich inner world and elements from other cultures as can be seen by Japanese references and African patterns in his works. Coming to painting later in life, Richard Crawford was inspired by the Immaculate Heart College’s Folk Art collection as did his association with Anais Nin. Henry Miller and Sister Mary Corita. Something about folk art gives him the artistic license to work so freely and his small paintings are awe-inspiring to view.
In terms of his artistic process, Mr. Crawford says that great movies and movie directors inspire him to create. According to Richard Crawford:
"I once told Jean Renior that with his movies he had surpassed his folly. I am moved by what movie directors create with their film craft, and don't ask me why, but good movies get me worked up and that is what gets me throwing paint around in the studio."
Anthony Ocone’s acrylic paintings on canvas and wood explore subtleties and shifts of pattern in large formats. He paints letters, brick or other varied simple patterns on his surfaces that bring one to a sense of greater fields of space. By focusing on one or two artistic elements in large areas of color, he unlocks nuances in a pared-down format and suddenly, voila, a repeated letter expands on a universe of possibilities. At first glance his minimalist works seem restful, yet upon further investigation, his works present changes of color and pattern that stimulate and draw one into their fascinating play. In addition, at times he paints a line of a simple form over or under the painting field that further drops one into the mystery of his work.
Anthony Ocone has been creating art for decades and has shown his work in Los Angeles, New York City and Paris. Regarding his intuitive painting process, Mr. Ocone states:
“I imagined a journey, of making art, feeling my way along through my senses. It took me years to really begin. I let myself do whatever comes and do not restrict, and as much as possible in any given moment, suspend judgment and allow myself to not know. This freedom gives space for seeing, for revelation. Pleasure and joy too. I love that.”
Richard Crawford’s smaller format paintings all hang together on one wall in the gallery in a fantastic conglomeration. The sum total of all them, although a bit of a puzzle, become a work of art in itself. Mr. Crawford has a way of synthesizing disparate elements in a fresh and immediate way that is beautiful yet balanced. He combines recurring themes (stripes, stars, dots, zig zags, abstracted flowers and other natural references) and paints them solo or in grid formats on wood or recycled tin. Similar to action painters, Richard Crawford paints his acrylic and mixed media works in an instant, authentic style.
A former Passionist working monk and world-traveller, Mr. Crawford draws upon his rich inner world and elements from other cultures as can be seen by Japanese references and African patterns in his works. Coming to painting later in life, Richard Crawford was inspired by the Immaculate Heart College’s Folk Art collection as did his association with Anais Nin. Henry Miller and Sister Mary Corita. Something about folk art gives him the artistic license to work so freely and his small paintings are awe-inspiring to view.
In terms of his artistic process, Mr. Crawford says that great movies and movie directors inspire him to create. According to Richard Crawford:
"I once told Jean Renior that with his movies he had surpassed his folly. I am moved by what movie directors create with their film craft, and don't ask me why, but good movies get me worked up and that is what gets me throwing paint around in the studio."