May #2

About May #2

This abstract painting on paper by Milly Ritsvedt features spring-like colours.

The provocative power of colour is fully evident in the vivid hues of this painting by master colourist Milly Ristvedt. During the course of more than six decades, the Canadian artist has experimented with both colour and abstract form to suggest an image and convey a mood. A wash of melon provides the spring-like backdrop for expressive gestural brushstrokes of deep green, red, blue, and aubergine. A small orange-yellow sphere in the lower corner appears to resemble the sun.

“I am interested in the complexity of colour and its capacity to move us.” Milly Ristvedt

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.