Description
Exchange No. 8
Ron Richmond, 2004
In the 20th and 21st centuries, conceptual works supplemented more traditional renderings of the Savior by focusing on ideas, rather than on objects or narrative representations. Often the figure of Christ is not even present in these works as shown above; signs and symbols replace the human form as in this painting by Ron Richmond. Conceptual art, such as this, encourages viewers to ponder and explore what meanings may be vested in the work.
For instance, as you observe the chairs and cloths in this painting, reflect on the manifold roles of Christ as Advocate, Judge, Intercessor, and Resurrected Savior. Consider the placement of the chairs and their relationship to each other. Contemplate the intense colors of the draped fabric that call to mind the Messianic words: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
This piece was displayed in our Beholding Salvation Exhibition.
Prints of Exchange No. 8 are available.
What’s Going On?
Two chairs appear on a square canvas. One chair is upright and covered in a white cloth. The other chair is on its back, covered in a red cloth, and directly in front of the upright chair.
More About Richmond
Ron Richmond (born 1941) is a contemporary American painter based in Utah who focuses on spiritual still lifes. Almost entirely devoid of the human figure, Richmond’s paintings speak a symbolic language that offer layers of meaning through allegory and metaphor.
His unique paintings are often reductive, even minimalist in form, yet rich in spiritual and metaphysical content. Richmond designed his paintings to “evoke a feeling of what should come next in the human experience.”
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