Ron Griffin: Black Paintings

Ron Griffin’s abstract paintings actually aren’t abstract. While first glance suggests references to Kazimir Malevich or the early abstrac- tions of Dorothea Rockburne, closer inspection reveals a process of meticulous representation of flattened, found paper objects, painted with uncanny exactitude.

The most recent paintings are done on wooden panels finished with highly polished black gesso. Diaphanous white forms float, like jellyfish or vapor, through deep, watery space. However, the curving, sensuous shapes come not from the natural world, but are depictions of the crumpled and folded toilet-seat covers found in public restrooms.

Griffin lives and makes art in Los Angeles where his work was recently shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the legendary collection of Giuseppe and Giovanna Panza di Biumo.