UMBC's Albin O. Kuhn Library Gallery presents "Suburban Journals: The Sketchbooks, Drawings and Prints of Charles Ritchie," on display from January 31 through March 26.
Since 1978, contemporary Maryland artist Charles Ritchie has filled intimate journals with written notations and watercolor studies exploring subjects drawn primarily from his suburban home. Dating from 1983 to the present, the sketchbooks, drawings and prints in the exhibition trace Ritchie's creations from journal conceptions as watercolor and pen and ink studies, through independent sheets in various drawing media, to a range of possibilities as prints.
Over 50 works are arranged into three thematic sections: still lifes, landscapes and self-portraits.
In a recent review in the magazine Art on Paper, writer and critic Faye Hirsch observed, "Ritchie's very ordinary suburban house and yard are becoming, in the hands of this artist, a subject as loaded with expressive potential as the most sublime landscape.?
"Suburban Journals" highlights the process by which the artist translates moments of inspiration into abstracted accumulations of events and experiences from everyday life. For example, the earliest image in the exhibition is a journal study for Rocking Chair in black watercolor from 1983. This was the basis for a drawing of the same year done in watercolor, graphite and pen and ink.
When Rocking Chair was translated into a mezzotint print 13 years later, the artist eliminated almost all detail to accentuate spare, luminous elements isolated against an inky background.
Working primarily in black and white, Ritchie places emphasis on dark and light contrasts. Shadows engulf his compositions, obscuring details and evoking a sense of subtle drama. Ritchie said, "The pictures begin with the scene but aim to move deeper. Over years of scrutiny, my subjects have accrued greater meaning and mystery for me.?
In each of the small-scale works, Ritchie invites the viewer to participate in an intimate scene from his environment, and in this exhibition to understand the process from which it results.
Ritchie received his B.F.A. from the University of Georgia, Athens, in 1977, and his M.F.A. from Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh in 1980. His awards include the Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2004, 2002 and 1998; the MacDowell Colony Fellowship in 1999; and the Individual Artist Fellowship from the Arts Council of Montgomery County, Maryland.
Ritchie's artwork has been featured in numerous exhibitions, and his work is in many public collections including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio; Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums; and the University of Richmond Museums.
Gallery hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 12 p.m.-4:30 p.m.; Thursday, 12 p.m.- 8 p.m.; Saturday, 1 p.m.-5 p.m. For more information, call 410-455-2270.
