Desert Spring

About Desert Spring

This abstract contemporary painting by Milly Ristvedt is all about colour.

Milly Ristvedt is considered one of Canada’s finest abstract artists. A master colourist, Ristvedt’s decades-long career as a modernist has been spent in the investigation of colour as a potent language. During the 1970s, Ristvedt lived in Montreal, where her experimentation and exploration of colour continued. She already intuitively knew that colour had the power to evoke emotion and was on a path to create her own distinctive visual language. This is one of a series of evocative colour field paintings she created that display her intuitive use of colour in simple form. In this piece, a layered wash of rich colour in golden, melon and green hues covers the breadth of the canvas. It is framed by several bold strokes of vivid colours in orange, blue, green, yellow, red and black. At the bottom of the frame, the soft green layer is revealed.

"The nature of my art is to resist words; a consequence of the basic premise of freedom of interpretation offered by abstract art, and my enduring belief in colour in painting as a language that can speak to mind, body and soul." Milly Ristvedt

“Ristvedt’s history, replete with accomplishments and honours, still fails to prepare a viewer for the inventiveness, technical brilliance and dynamism of her canvases. The three works now part of the national collection show something of this uncommon degree of achievement.” Adam Welch, Assoc. Curator,
Modern Art, Art Gallery of Ont.

Milly Ristvedt was born in British Columbia and studied at the Vancouver School of Art (now the Emily Carr University). Her first solo exhibit was at the Carmen Lamanna Gallery in Toronto. In the late 1960s, Ristvedt shared a studio with famed Canadian painter Jack Bush, met art critic Clement Greenberg and was inspired by American painters Jules Olitski and Frank Stella. Her work has been included in many publications. She was elected to the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts in 2004 and honoured with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.
She has won seven Canada Council awards and two Ontario Arts Council awards, and has had over 50 solo exhibitions and been part of countless group shows. Ristvedt's work can be found in major public collections throughout North America, including the National Gallery of Canada.

Milly Ristvedt is represented exclusively by the Oeno Gallery.