One Person Exhibition, 1995, Stark Gallery, SOHO, New York City (Photo: Larry Wheelock)
Paintings from left to right:
Untitled 160 (1993-95), Multilayered oil on Oyster linen, 60" x 60", The Panza Collection
Untitled 162 (1993-95), Multilayered oil on Oyster linen, 66" x 66", Private Collection, CH
Untitled 163 (1993-95), Multilayered oil on Oyster linen, 66" x 66", The Panza Collection
Ruth Ann Fredenthal has always been committed to formal abstract oil
painting. Her vision is to create paintings of timelessness, beauty and
complexity while sustaining the classical Renaissance tradition into
today's pure painting realm. Since the early 1970's, she has pursued a
deep investigation of the micro-tonalities of pure color and their subtle
relationships within a highly complex color field using traditional oil
painting techniques.
Installation View of Salotto, Villa Panza Museum, Varese, Italy (Photo: David Sotnik)
From left to right:
Untitled 130 (1987-88), Multilayered oil on Oyster linen, 60'' x 60", The Panza Collection
Untitled 121 (1984-85), Multilayered oil on Oyster linen, 66" x 60", The Panza Collection
Fredenthal's luminous paintings, which operate right at the edge of
perception, are visually tactile, sensuously warm and contemplatively
rich. After the initial gestalt of the overall color, a mix of many colors, her
paintings slowly and quietly reveal an inner world. Ever changing and
pulsing with the shifts of light, a rigorously structured chord of the
smallest color differences appears and intensifies with prolonged viewing.