Untitled Collage (Cuba)

About Untitled Collage (Cuba)

In her own masterful way, Milly Ristvedt has explored the seemingly limitless world of colour and abstract form. Known for her intuitive use of colour, in the 1990’s the celebrated Canadian artist experimented with a classic form—the grid pattern that provided a sense of order. This painting displays the grid—each square in bright colours—blue, yellow, red, sienna, green and purple pop against white and a deep blue backdrop. Each square appears to have its own personality expressed with every brushstroke—blurry or hard-edge. The fine lines of the grid outlined in white extend beyond the ‘formal’ pattern accentuating the dynamic flow of the painting.

“The rhythm and flow of my paintings are the rhythm and flow of my life. The necessity is to show what I have seen, felt, understood and intuited. The latter is my grace. It’s my connection with all that is much larger than myself.”
Milly Ristvedt

“Ristvedt’s paintings are uncompromising in their formalism, their preoccupation with the primary elements of colour and space in art. They are cellular examinations of the visual experience of paintings, beyond the image, beyond its pleasing shape.” Jeff Mahoney, The Hamilton Spectator

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.

She is represented exclusively by the Oeno Gallery.