Exploring The Grid: An Interview With Abstract Artist Ron Fortier

Artwork by Ron Fortier
Artwork by Ron Fortier

Ron Fortier is an American abstract artist. His grids can appear to be textiles, tapestries, or brick walls, showing the continuity of form across many linear systems of organization. He creates the lines between each quadrant either by adding or removing paint, playing with negative space to create the illusion of depth.

SAH: Where do you get your inspiration from? 

RF: Well, if the definition for inspiration is 鈥渢he process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something; especially to do something creative鈥 then, my inspiration comes from the process of composing a canvas. Since abstraction is subjective, I don鈥檛 replicate or duplicate nature.

My compositions create their own nature. Any features, whether inherent or, any characteristics of, or qualities in my work are purely compositional. I approach my work, each canvas, sangfroid. Although there are many who have argued with me on that point. I don鈥檛 express anything in my work. Not happy. Not sad. Not mad.

Yet, many acquainted with my work and even those closest to me, such as my soon-to-be wife Paula and my daughter Jennifer, feel that is not the case. Paula says that they are full of passion and emotion. Jennifer can read a state of mind that I鈥檓 in by just looking at a piece. If it is, as they say, it鈥檚 with no conscious intent on my part. And, although I admire the work of Cy Twombly and Mark Rothko, there is no conscious effort on my part, to emulate them. 

A critical review of my work by Don Wilkinson of Artscope Magazine (Boston) said that my work was, 鈥溾 testament to the marriage of chaos and order鈥 and nothing to suggest any connection to any other than the ephemeral.鈥

So, to me, inspiration is about being prepared to be overwhelmed by the sensation of fight or flight. Mary Esther Harding the psychoanalyst said, 鈥淐onflict is the beginning of consciousness鈥 and, perhaps that is why I paint; not so much about conflict but a struggle to make sense of the chaos that presents itself in my compositions.

SAH: What are you working on at the moment?

RF: Nothing, to be honest. Although I must admit, I鈥檓 always painting 鈥 in my head! Currently, I am packing twenty new pieces for a show in Germany () and, preparing to return to the States for an artist reception at the Colo Colo Gallery in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Paula and I are also getting married in Detroit in June! I go in spurts. When I enter a productive phase, I pretty much work non-stop. When I left off with the last piece for the show in Germany at the Galerie Atelier 35 in Landstuhl, I was entering a new phase and, for me, it鈥檚 sometimes best, to let it percolate.

In the nine months that I鈥檝e lived here in Figueira da Foz on the Portuguese mainland, I鈥檝e completed over a hundred works. Mostly in series of ten or twenty paintings at a time.

SAH: Is there a specific theme or concept you keep in all of your work or does it change with each series?

RF: The only theme that has remained in my work is that of the landscape. Since it is almost impossible to use horizontal lines without conjuring landscape. I鈥檝e pushed the horizontal to 鈥渞epresent鈥 a musical staff as a jumping-off point only because of the compositional rhythms that can be created.

It is only the compositional aspect I am interested in. Perhaps because of the lesson I learned from my undergraduate painting instructor, Herb Cummings, at the University of Massachusetts. The lesson was about the Six Persimmons, by Muqi Fachang a 13th-century Chinese monk who lived during the Song dynasty.

Most of the time, I go with the flow. When I approach the canvas, anything can happen. That鈥檚 why I like to work in series because it tracks how the work evolves during a specific period of time.

SAH: If you could own one work of art what would it be?

RF: The Mona Lisa! I could stare at it for hours. It鈥檚 constantly changing with the light in the room or, your distance from it or the angle you鈥檙e looking at it from.

It is by no means static! I think too many people never fully realize that they have never really looked at it or really seen it. It still holds a lot of mysteries and the answers to unasked questions. It truly is enigmatic! 

To me, my work is enigmatic. It holds secrets. I鈥檓 constantly seeing things I never saw before. That makes me happy.

SAH: What do you want your viewers to take away from your work?

RF: One reason why don鈥檛 I give my work real titles is, what is a 鈥渞eal title鈥 anyway? 

A clever turn of phrase, or whatever.  To describe an abstract piece of work is, to me, a waste of time and misleading.  I want the viewers to see the work as it is, not with a label. It鈥檚 the same for wine. Drink it. Enjoy it based on the pleasure it gives you.

Don鈥檛 rely on a label or title to tell you what you should expect or experience.

My 鈥渢itles鈥 are actually just catalogue numbers.

I still believe, as Picasso did, that I must be, 鈥溾lways doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.鈥

Pushing my limits. Not staying in a safe place. Allowing myself to fail! That is the only way to grow as an artist; to give up on the illusion of control and to understand that success comes from facing the conflicts existing between our desires and reality.

For me, painting is about being and remaining as authentic as possible. That is a worthy and worthwhile accomplishment. As for the viewers of my work, I don't manufacture art. I experiment and explore. I only exhibit to show you what I've discovered so far. Hopefully, what I made and what they鈥檝e seen and experienced wasn't a worthless pursuit for either one of us.

SAH: What advice would you give somebody who has just started their artistic career?

RF: Don鈥檛 stop. Don鈥檛 listen to anything other than your heart. Don鈥檛 stay discouraged.
You will be discouraged. It鈥檚 normal, natural and very human. A bunch of us who graduated 40-years ago with our BFA diploma had a reunion.

Two of the take-aways I found encouraging were:  If we had to do it all over again; we would. The other thing, even when we couldn鈥檛 paint physically; we continued to paint in our heads. That was a revelation we enjoyed sharing!

That says something about our training and our dedication. Painting is not a life, it is life. But, as for practical matters, such as selling our work, yes, you do have to trust the people whose job is to sell your art.

Previous
Previous

Exploring Abstract, Misty Landscapes: An Interview with Artist Iaysha Salih

Next
Next

Beautiful Abstract Landscape Paintings By NEELAM PADTE