Western Sky Emma Lake (Diptych)

About Western Sky Emma Lake (Diptych)

This large acrylic abstract painting is a diptych by Milly Ristvedt.

The beauty of a vast prairie sky is suggested by the grand gestural brushstrokes of brilliant colour in this diptych by one of Canada’s finest abstract artists.
This was one of a series of paintings Ristvedt created, inspired by her time at the Emma Lake Workshops in Saskatchewan. For more than fifty years, these summer workshops held by the University attracted artists from around the world.
The palette for this joyful piece on paper is a vivid mix of greens, yellows, blues, purples and oranges. Early in her career, Ristvedt recognized the tantalizing potential of colour to define form and evoke a mood. Here, colour joins the two works together in one large, impressive horizontal piece.

“There are many reasons for choosing to make a diptych. An obvious one for me is the chance to play with how colour changes in relationships, as in this painting. Diptychs can also upset our notion of time and action within a painting. The two parts have their own integrity and are also in conversation with each other, slowing us down as we observe it.” 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.