February, 2013
Ted Ramsay
Spatial Narratives in Paint • February 12 – March 23, 2013
I’ve looked at many of Ted Ramsay’s paintings over the past couple of years – only 2 or 3 at a time, but it wasn’t until seeing his current show at WSG Gallery that I was able to recognize the genius of Ramsay’s work. TED RAMSAY, Spatial Narratives in Paint is on exhibit until March 23, 2013. When you visit the gallery, you’ll see 15 of his paintings together, and because of the large amount of work, you’ll really get a feel for how he approaches the canvas with color, brush, composition and, most of all, paint.
The pieces are all oils, each one has a figure in it and they’re unmistakably linked by Ramsay’s hand – almost as if they are each a chapter in a book. However, each canvas tells a bit of a different story and has a different mood. His lush handling of paint and color draw you in and pique your interest and would actually be enough to look at, but the deeper layers of the story being told pull you in, and make you start to question, “ What’s going on here, in this painting?”
Each canvas rewards the viewer who pays close attention – almost like a conversation in which secrets are revealed. Standing in front of one of the pieces yesterday, I knew there was a something going on with the figure and the way she was looking out the window, but the little orange window fan off to the side was what I couldn’t stop looking at! And as I was appreciating that bit, other areas of the painting started pulling my eye to them, demanding my attention.
Visitors to Ted Ramsay’s show will be rewarded with delight by each canvas they see. Lovers of painting will be mesmerized. Students of painting will wish you had been one of his students before he retired from University of Michigan, School of Art and Design!