Jean Richardson (b.1940)
"Into the Night"
acrylic on canvas
40" x 60"
"Confluence"
acrylic on canvas
36" x 48"
"Rhythmic Ramble"
acrylic on canvas
50" x 80" (SOLD)
About the Artist
Jean Richardson is an artist best known for her large, abstract paintings of horses. Using a palette of jewel tones and deep earthen hues, she splashes colors across a heavily textured background letting her image emerge. Almost hidden in an explosion of brush strokes, the hoses of Richardson’s imagination plunge and leap across her canvas.
A native Oklahoman, Richardson has had a lifelong interest in Western “myth.” Although she uses the contemporary vocabulary of modern painting, she finds deep connections to the frontier west.
“The image of the horse is the perfect vehicle to express my true subjects; motion and energy. The horse as a real being is lovely in itself and I enjoy the power, the speed, and the physical beauty of the animal. My paintings, however, take this real image and make it a symbol. The horse as a metaphor for the human spirit; unbridled, striving, sometimes heroic, often restless, full of energy, floating above us, calling us to other realms.
I propose that this is not a new theme. Every culture has had at the center of its stories about itself a mythical figure of the horse. From the incredible images on the walls of prehistoric caves, to the tales of Norse mythology, to the modern play “Equus,” the horse has been powerfully represented in the arts.
In this tradition, but in the contemporary vocabulary of modern painting, I have tried to explore my subject and find therein my own emotional response.” - Jean Richardson
