The Dilemma

About The Dilemma

This modern abstract painting is by Milly Ristvedt.

For sixty years Canada’s Milly Ristvedt has been on an artistic journey that has explored the visual language of color and abstract form. Her intuitive, unique sense of color and expressive form has allowed her to find her own voice among the finest abstract expressionists in the world. Narrow, vertical, clean-edged columns roll out in a repeated pattern across the canvas. The palette is earthy, dark, and rich. The combination of color and shape adds visible dimension and dynamic movement to this piece.

“Because color resists language so successfully, it is easy for it to ‘disappear’ from conscious perception. This is what happened in the mid to late twentieth century, well after the birth of abstraction had upset the balance between color and form.” 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 Olitiski 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 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.