Location: United States
Represented by
Grimandi Gallery, New York
Awards
Art Tour International Magazine top 60 Master of Contemporary Art for 2020
Art Tour International Magazine Artivist of the Year, 2019 -
for my dedication to Human Rights
Art Tour International Magazine Artist of the Decade 2010-2020
ATIM Summer 2019, New York City Summer in the Arts, and Best of International Arts presents Ric Conn Artist.
On July 31 I was interviewed on the Art2heart tv show in New York city.
I am an internationally known award winning expressionist artist
I am inspired mostly by Toulouse-Lautrec, Munch, Picasso, Matisse and the Expressionists.
My work is different—it is not conventional, academic, or even the new modernism. I am creating a new avant-garde.
I won the “Face of Queen Anne’s County” medal for one of my oil paintings. My awards also include First, Second, Third and Best in Show awards as well as numerous Honorable mention awards and Award of Merit certificates. I have been featured in articles in several newspapers, and magazines, including “Art in America’s” issue on galleries and artists in America, and interviewed on television, both local and network.
I have had solo and group shows in Baltimore, Columbia, Annapolis, Frederick, Stevensville, and Centreville MD; Washington, D.C.; Kansas City MO, Orlando and Tampa Fla., Colorado and New York City, and an upcoming show in Florence Italy.
I teach painting and drawing workshops in local schools, arts councils, an environmental center, and private lessons in my studio. I have also given portrait drawing demonstrations.
I have paintings in private collections in several states and Australia.
I studied at the Corcoran College of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Maryland Institute College of Art.
I deal with relevant social issues, equality, empowerment and psychological conditions. I want the issues to confront the—I want to viewer to feel something (either positive or negative) when viewing my work to increase awareness and understanding.
This painting is about the problem women have to go through everyday with men crowding them and touching them both benignly and malignantly.
“P.C. - political correctness is crushing us”
This painting is a response to the Metropolitan Museum of Art taking down a great painting by Balthus because some woman visitor didn't like it, to the Smithsonian's removal of a film by David Wojnarowiczbecause of complaints by a few visitors, by the religious woman who slashed Andreas Serrano's photo. More and more artistic freedom is being taken away by institutions that are afraid they may offend someone. Art is supposed to challenge, offend some thrill others. by giving in to the minority the majority suffer.
The dominatrix with the bullwhip sits on the artist crushing him. She is the institutions that give in to the complainers. The cross in her hand represents the Church which controls the institutions. The dominatrix is nude to show the hypocrisy of the institutions, the Church and the complainers who criticize and condemn while they themselves are certainly not guilt free.
The doors can represent many things, but no matter what - her life, her choice.
Wolf whistles, regular whistles, cat calls, sexualized name calling, as well as staring, are insulting things that women have always had to put up with, and unfortunately they still do. This paintings addresses this problem. I got the idea for this composition from a video by the Ting Tings which addresses this same problem.
“The Statue of Liberty in Kevlar”
women are under attack by the sexual predators, their liberty is seriously compromised, our liberty and that of our entire country is under attack by the politicians. This painting shows Lady Liberty in kevlar (which coincidentally was invented by a woman), she stands for us all.
“Used-ta Doesn't Live Here Anymore”
This painting is about taking charge of your life, keeping the past but putting it away and moving forward. The title comes from my father who always said it whenever I wanted to rely on past behavior instead of changing and improving.,
“Personal Space”
“Her Choice”
“That's Not My Name”
