Ring 1968

Curator: Ronald Davis’s “Ring,” dating to 1968. It’s constructed from acrylic paint and one can detect elements of Pop Art and hard-edge painting. Editor: My first thought? Playful! Like a geometric game board or a super-stylized sandbox. I love how the hard edges of each color block contrast with the translucent central plane. It gives the object a surreal kind of depth. Curator: Precisely, its material presence can not be overstated. The work is from Davis's exploration of three-dimensional space, achieved by pouring transparent, vividly colored acrylics. We might want to look into what specific processes were involved. Editor: I'm wondering if that poured, almost hazy quality wasn’t influenced by the California Light and Space movement bubbling around at the time, the feeling of a color you can almost reach into? It's inviting, no? Curator: The interplay of hard lines with poured mediums in geometric abstractions raises the question, doesn't it? Is this high art, or skilled industrial design? It reflects a period of great renegotiation of the traditional artistic media. Editor: Yes! The very essence of what “art” could be…breaking down the sanctified spaces, inviting mass production sensibilities right into the gallery. I’m suddenly obsessed with the seams; where those different planes intersect… Curator: Look for an awareness that’s as much about object making and labor as aestheticism. I suggest you delve into his broader investigations of space through manipulated industrial materials in order to gain greater appreciation. Editor: The "Ring" definitely proposes new ways of looking. Thank you, it does feel much larger now than I saw initially.