Bio:
Ron has been a metal artist for 49 years. After receiving a BFA and MFA from the University of Kansas, he participated in juried exhibitions and fairs throughout the United States.
Selected exhibitions include:
“Contemporary Metalsmith 1998,” Young and Constantin Gallery, Wilmington, Vermont.;
“Put a Lid on It,” National Juried exhibit of boxes at the Society of Arts & Crafts in Boston, Massachusetts.;
“Earth Views,” Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington D.C.;
The Philadelphia Craft Show, Sponsored by The Philadelphia Art Museum;
Washington Craft Show, Sponsored by the Women’s Committee of the Smithsonian Associates, Washington, D.C.;
Numerous American Craft Council Fairs throughout the country.
Ron’s sculptural container forms and wall sculptures have been represented in galleries from coast to coast, as well as by art agencies.
Selected installations include:
The Ann Arbor Public Library, Ann Arbor, Michigan;
One International Place, Dallas, Texas;
Waterford Park, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Nebraska Health Systems, Omaha, Nebraska;
Hiratsuka City Hall, Hiratsuka, Japan;
Data Systems International, Overland Park, Kansas;
One Meridian Crossing, Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Emprise Bank Corporate Headquarters, Wichita, Kansas.
Ron has always been active in related art activities. He is a past president of the Friends of Art, Spencer Museum of Art; the Lawrence, Kansas, Arts Center Board of Directors; and the Kansas Artist Craftsman Association. Ron lives and works in Olympia, Washington, where he has served on the Olympia Arts Commission and is Past President and a board member of the Olympia Artspace Alliance working to bring affordable live/work space for artists to Olympia.
Artist Statement:
My work melds the historical and traditional aspects of the metalsmithing craft with contemporary forms and modern technical processes. In each piece of art, I try to create a visual rhythm through the use of negative space and repeating angles. Space and weight are balanced and counterbalanced.
I draw on my academic training in metalsmithing from centuries-old techniques of soldering, forming, and fabricating. At the same time, I use photoetching, the industrial process that is the backbone of the micro-circuitry industry, as an integral part of the design phase.
Whether, I use my own computer-generated drawings, archival photographs, or satellite imagery, my goal is to achieve a timelessness in both form and image, while still retaining the warm and appealing qualities of the metal.
My continuing sources of inspiration are the artists and architects of the Russian avant-garde era in the 1920’s, who were known as the “Constructivists.” In particular, the work of Ivan Leonidov and El Lissitzky have challenged and influenced my design philosophy. I also see contemporary architecture as a fertile source of new expressions of space, line, and volume.