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Artworks
Ricardo Brey
Maidenhair, 2021Mixed media on paper22 x 30 in (55.9 x 76.2 cm)
26 1/4 x 33 3/4 x 2 in framed (66.7 x 85.7 x 5.1 cm framed)RBR301Further images
Unable to leave his home and studio in Ghent, Belgium, during the global Covid-19 pandemic, Brey turned to the color blue, which he associated with the sky and the sea,...Unable to leave his home and studio in Ghent, Belgium, during the global Covid-19 pandemic, Brey turned to the color blue, which he associated with the sky and the sea, symbols of an unattainable expansiveness and freedom. In his works from this period, Brey adopts an almost exclusively blue palette, a significant departure from the earth-colored ochres and rusty reds of previous works on paper.
Maidenhair (2021) uses pastels, oil, artificial leaves, copper, and a cut-out letter against a background prepared with ultramarine blue to create a dynamic, organically inspired composition that blends two- and three-dimensionality. While the bright and bold ultramarine blue in Maidenhair is characteristic of his recent predominantly blue works on paper, Brey’s use of cut strips of copper and oil stains in the background of Maidenhair recall the earth tones that predominated much of his previous work.1of 3
