Shout out to Linfield Gallery at Linfield University & the upcoming exhibit "RETURN TO THE FOOL’S GARDEN" Selected works by Richard Cutshall
- Jennifer Gillia Cutshall
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Curated by Jennifer Gillia Cutshall
Curator Remarks:
Artist Richard Cutshall is a masterful storyteller, weaving mystery into the visual fables he creates. His work conjures worlds born of alchemy that few can manifest, populated by fantastical characters and settings that leave the viewer with more questions than answers.
Through a steely devotion to his studio practice and a unique blending of materials, he accesses a kind of divine passion and inspiration. His studio rhythm is an exorcism of sorts; a purging of a psychic flood of dreams and nightmares, a decent into the shadow places most avoid.
(Richard's studio)
"The Night Ride" by Richard Cutshall "The Wounded Deer" by Frida Kahlo
His creations may evoke the antlered expression of Frida Kaylo's visceral vulnerability, Maurice Sendack’s larger-than-life wild things, Marc Chagall’s dreamy swaths of paint, Rufino Tamayo’s howling creatures, and Goya’s swirling ghosts—yet Richard’s work remains singular in voice and expression, entirely his own. While his vision may suggest another place and time, it also departs from it, unfolding with undefined edges, the gift of the unknown, leaving space to imagine.
(Clockwise Chagall, Sendack, Goya, and Tamayo)
Richard is, above all, a true process artist. He is compelled not by a predetermined result but by exploration and discovery. The story emerges from the work itself. His practice is about time in the studio, his interaction with materials and surfaces, and the struggle to surrender intention to uncover meaning. His exploration produces a unique materiality and surface topography. His expression, immediate and urgent (regardless of medium), and is an amalgamation that few artists can fathom. He pushes surfaces beyond their breaking point, melding media together in a true alchemy of materials and life force. The result is work that embodies discovery itself, offering viewers revelations --whether parables to untangle or gifts to unveil.
In the FOOL’S GARDEN, whispers of the psyche cavort as the wild creatures and characters of Richard’s imaginings. May we all find strange comrades there, to sojourn with us into the shadow places…
RETURN TO THE FOOLS GARDEN
Linfield Gallery
Linfield University
McMinnville, OR
August 27th through September 26th
(Opening Reception 8/27 from 5-7)