Skidmore Contemporary Art | Through 3/12 | Santa Monica, CA

Slices of Life

Join Skidmore Contemporary Art in celebrating the new and vibrant works of Richard Baker.

Through March 12, Richard Baker displays seven new works for his show A Colorful World, at Skidmore Contemporary Art Gallery. As the title suggests, Baker utilizes color to enhance the world as he sees it and illuminates every day, common moments and scenes. Collector of his work, Bill Boggs, says, “Richard Baker’s command of light and color, combined with his subject matter and composition has led to years of fine work. His canvases take you on a journey…”

Having studied at the University of Pennsylvania, and heavily influenced by his teacher Rackstraw Downes, Baker’s technique has evolved over time, and yet, still resembles that of Downes’ work along with department head artist Neil Welliver. However, Baker is tackling more detailed compositions than he might have tried in the past. “I generally try to simplify compositions and don’t paint individual leaves or blades of grass,” he says. The more detailed paintings in the show are his floral show pieces Pansies and Wildflowers, featuring glorious flower displays. Hamptons Barn, oil on canvas, 36 x 48"

Such beautiful, sunny scenes are taken from brief snippets of Baker’s time on vacation or from his home in La Quinta, California. “I work from photographs that I take on my everyday travels that stick with me and I get a strong response from,” he says. “I saw wildflowers on a visit to the Hamptons next to Georgica Beach, and the pansies were in a bed of flowers in front of a housing development I noticed while walking my dog at home in the midday sun.”

The artist likes to refer to moments that he finds striking as “slices of life.” For example, on a bike ride in the Hamptons, Baker came across a barn that later inspired his aptly titled show piece Hamptons Barn. “[This painting] is the most abstract piece I’ve ever done,” he furthers. “I really flattened the picture surface and have some broad color fields with a very simplified barn. This one is on the borderline between representational and abstract.”Pansies, oil on canvas, 30 x 40"

While Baker usually responds to bright, sunlit scenes with vibrant color, he’s also incorporated darker lit paintings into the mix. This includes pieces like Rainy Day at the Whitney, showing rain drops on a window, with a hazy background. “This is a totally different palette than
I would normally do,” he explains. “Instead of looking at the art on my visit to the Whitney Museum, I was looking at the rain pouring down the window and saw a view of the Hudson River. Instead of taking pictures of the art and the museum, I took pictures of the view outside.”Wildflowers, oil on canvas, 30 x 40"Baker notes that his paintings are not meant to be conceptual in any way, and in fact, doesn’t even like the word. “I don’t try and make people think and don’t want people to have to have an extensive knowledge of art history to be able to appreciate my paintings,” he states. “My paintings are a response. They are intuitive, visual experiences that I had that I’m trying to enhance and communicate. I hope that people enjoy my motifs, derive a sense of calm and are somewhat bedazzled by the light and color.” —