
Bette Ridgeway
(American)
Bette Ridgeway is best known for her large-scale, luminous poured
canvases that push the boundaries of light, color and design. Her youth
spent in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York and her
extensive global travels have informed her colorful palette. For the
past two decades, the high desert light of Santa Fe, NM has fueled
Ridgeway’s art practice.
Her three decades of mentorship by the acclaimed Abstract Expressionist
Paul Jenkins set her on her lifetime journey of non-objective painting
on large canvas. She explores the interrelation and change of color in
various conditions and on a variety of surfaces. Her artistic
foundations in line drawing, watercolor, graphic design, and oils gave
way to acrylics, which she found to be more versatile for her layering
technique. Ridgeway has spent the last 30 years developing her signature
technique, called “layering light,” in which she uses many layers of
thin, transparent acrylics on linen and canvas to produce a fluidity and
viscosity similar to traditional watercolor. Delving further, Ridgeway
expanded her work into 3D, joining paint and resin to aluminum and steel
with sculptures of minimal towers.
Ridgeway has gained a well-deserved international following in recent
years. In January 2020, she received the prestigious Leonardo DaVinci
Prize in Florence, Italy. In June of 2019, the 2019 International
Artist of the year Award was presented to her in Mantua, Italy. Other
awards include Top 60 Contemporary Masters, Michelangelo Prize, Rome and
Sandro Botticelli Prize, Museum of Florence.
The Mayo Clinic and Federal Reserve Bank are amongst Ridgeway’s many
permanent public placements. Numerous books and publication have
featured her work, among them: International Contemporary Masters and
100 Southwest Contemporary Artists.
She has exhibited globally including 80 plus museums, universities and
galleries, including Palais Royale in Paris, Embassy of Madagascar and
London Art Biennale.
Jones &
Terwilliger Galleries proudly represents Bette Ridgeway in Carmel and
Palm Desert, California.
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