Linda Ridgway
Alice, the poet and the grasslands

Talley Dunn Gallery
March 2 – April 21, 2012

Dallas, February 24, 2012 – Talley Dunn Gallery is pleased to present “Alice, the poet and the grasslands,” an exhibition of recent drawings and bronze sculptures by renowned artist Linda Ridgway.  The exhibition will open March 2 and continue through April 14, 2012.  The artist will be present at the opening reception at the gallery on Friday, March 2 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Drawing inspiration from various works of poetry and literature, Linda Ridgway began her recent series for “Alice, the poet and the grasslands” over a year ago.  As a way to memorialize the words of authors such as Robert Frost, Carl Sandburg, and Lewis Carroll, Ridgway’s artwork celebrates the beauty and delicacy found within basic forms.  In works such as The Dreamer, Ridgway cuts hundreds of tiny pieces from the paper to have their hanging shapes open the surface of the picture plane and cast shadows over the composition. 

Creating a play of texture and depth within the surface, Ridgway’s poignant drawings invite the viewer to enter the artist’s world and experience form anew.  New bronze sculptures But the secret sits in the middle and knows and Mondrian’s Flower also express Ridgway’s ability to convey emotion through a minimal language that relies on the play of line and shadow.  With a series of drawings entitled The Alice Chronicles, Ridgway references the title character in Lewis Carroll’s beloved book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, as a means to explore the idea of personal journey, not only for the fictional character, but for the artist and viewer as well.   

Born in Indiana, Ridgway received her MFA from Tulane University, New Orleans.  Throughout her career, Linda Ridgway’s sculptures, drawings and prints have been featured in more than twenty-five one-person exhibitions.  The artist’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth; the Dallas Museum of Art; the El Paso Museum of Art; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.