Primary Sun

About Primary Sun

This contemporary acrylic abstract painting is one of Milly Ristvedt’s earlier works.

Known as a master colourist, this piece was painted in the 1970s when the Canadian artist was not only exploring the world of colour but also the energy found in gestural brushstrokes. Early in her six-decade-long career, Ristvedt began to understand the limitless potential of colour and abstract form to convey and evoke emotion. Against a backdrop of soft washes of sky blue, lilac, pink, and pale yellow, dashes in purple, deep blue and bright yellow dance across the canvas. A form rendered in lines of black reminiscent of a garden trellis provides a central visual anchor to the piece. Curated black and red markings—fine lyrical lines reside inside this form, offering detail and contrast.

“(my paintings became) intuitive, spontaneous, and visceral…a way of working that is more directly engaged with my life in the world – relationship to the land, the forces of nature, and a broader and deeper expression of thought and emotion.” 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.