Allegories of Common Experience
“Allegories of Common Experience”, now showing at the James Wegner Gallery, features the colorful pastels of Roxanne Richards. Richards’ work revolves around storytelling, specifically the stories all of us share. They represent events in the artist’s life that are so common as to be virtually universal: the search for something left behind, sharing an intimate space with someone, the sensation of being followed. All the small passing events of our lives are subject matter for Richards, who uses simplified, and often humorous figures, presented using a variety of vivid color relationships toexpress her emotional response to these events.
Pastels are the ideal medium for the artist as dry pastels are the most vivid of colors. Pastels are essentially pure pigment sticks, exceeding even fine artist paints for their color strength. To quote the artist:” I want people to unabashedly and unapologetically fall in love with color again”.
The show is a refreshing relief from winter’s bleakness, something like walking into a greenhouse full of flourishing tropical plants. “Allegories of Common Experience” is located in Riverland’s Austin West building.
