Michael Rich
My paintings, drawings and prints derive from the landscapes of my experience. I grew up and live near the ocean and find endless inspiration from the light and surrounding waters of New England. I’m most interested in finding some approximation of the natural forces of sky and sea in color and mark of paint. I come to the canvas free of preconceptions and open to the possibilities of discovery. Pictures and images are not the aim so much as an orchestration of color and mark into an illuminated landscape with the resonance of memory. I look at my paintings as if I am looking across a landscape I could swear I once visited. I walk long distances without moving. It is my aim to probe the depths of an inner space through meditations in light and color. My work is an intimate moment of reflection through image, a search for a deeper connection to place and a consciousness of the present moment.
education:
1997 Masters of Fine Arts, Painting • Savannah College of Art & Design
1995 University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy
1991 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Illustration • Rhode Island School of Design
teaching:
2000 - present Professor of Art • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
1997 - 2000 Professor of Painting • Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
administration:
2017 - 2020 Chair, Visual Arts • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
2016 - 2017 Program Director, Visual Arts Studies • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
2005 - 2014 Program Coordinator, Visual Arts Studies • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
museum exhibitions:
2014 Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI
2008 To the Sea • Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI
2007 Nantucket Walkabouts • Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR
selected solo exhibitions:
2021 New Work • Hostetler Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2020 New Work • Hostetler Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2018 Blue • Providence Art Club
2018 The Water We Seek • Old Spouter Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2017 A Life in Color • Old Spouter Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2017 A Painter Makes Prints • Mary Castelnovo Gallery, Providence Art Club
2016 All the Dawns of Summer • Old Spouter Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2016 New and Large Paintings • Atrium Gallery, One Financial Plaza, Providence RI
2015 Large Scale • Candita Clayton Gallery, Pawtucket RI
2015 One not Like the Other, New Monoprints • Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI
2015 To Paint a Flower • Old Spouter Gallery
2014 A Season’s Journey, Not Far from Home • Old Spouter Gallery
2013 The Garden • Old Spouter Gallery
2012 Traveler • Chace-Randall Gallery, Andes, NY
2012 Restoration • Old Spouter Gallery
2011 Before Summer Rain • Old Spouter Gallery
2010 The Sea and Tulips • Old Spouter Gallery
2010 Intimate Landscapes • Patricia Carega Gallery, Center Sandwich, NH
2010 Sea, Sky and Land: Abstractions of Nantucket • ARC Fine Art, Fairfield, CT
2009 Taking Refuge • Old Spouter Gallery
2008 Like Seeds Upon the Sea • Old Spouter Gallery
2008 New Paintings • George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2007 New Paintings • Adler & Co. Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 New Paintings • George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Works on Paper • Patricia Carega Gallery, Center Sandwich, NH
2006 New Paintings • George Billis Gallery, NY
2005 Sea, Sky and Stone • Old Spouter Gallery
2004 Meditations • Old Spouter Gallery
2003 Works on Paper • Patricia Carega Gallery
2003 New Landscapes • 12 Orange Fine Art, Nantucket MA
2002 New Paintings • South Wharf Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2001 New Works • South Wharf Gallery
2001 Works on Paper • East End Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2000 Cool Waters • South Wharf Gallery
1998 Summer Jazz • South Wharf Gallery
1998 New Jazz, Old Funk • Gallerie Lumière, Savannah, GA
1997 Compositions • South Wharf Gallery
1997 Elements of Place • Gallerie Lumière
1996 My Places • South Wharf Gallery
1995 The X Gallery, Nantucket, MA
1991-92 Sun Gallery, Nantucket, MA
public collections:
The Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Smithsonian Institute
Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH
awards and honors:
2015 Artist’s Association of Nantucket, Award for Painting
2015 Edward Bannister Award, Providence Art Club
1996 The Basil H. Alkazzi Award (USA)
selected group exhibitions:
2020 Praxis: Abstraction, 4 Strategies, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI
2020 Art Capital, Salon des Independents, Trevisan Art International • Grand Palais, Paris, France
2017 Singular Repetitions • UMASS Dartmouth Gallery, New Bedford, MA
2017 Trevisan International Art • le Sm’Art Salon, Parc Jourdan, Aix en Provence
2016 Trevisan International Art • Salon Prado, Ateneo de Madrid, Madrid Spain
2015 EnergyColorLight: Theresa Girard, Michael Rich and Roberta Segal • Providence Art Club
2013 Nantucket Moderns, Contemporary Art 1945-2013 *• Artist’s Association of Nantucket
2013 Small Treasures • Galeria de Marchi, Bologna, Italy (curated by Paola Trevisan)
2013 No Boundaries: Three Views of Contemporary Art • Birnam Wood Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Curator’s Choice • Chace-Randall Gallery, Andes, NY
2011 Biennale • Chianciano Art Museum, Chianciano, Italy
2010 Adler & Co. at the LA Art Show
2009 Imaginary Journeys • Trevisan Art International, Ferrara, Italy
2009 Adler & Co, San Francisco • Obsessions
2009 Adler & Co. at the LA Art Show
2008 Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, Center Sandwich, NH • Itinerant Artists
2006 Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery • Summer Season Opening
2005 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI
2004 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI • New Works by Four Painters
2003 Caelum Gallery, New York, NY • Michael Rich Yasuhide Kagii, New Paintings
2002 Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY • Summer Selections
2002 Roger Williams University Art Gallery • Art Faculty Exhibition
2001 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI • First of the Season
2001 Roger Williams University Art Gallery • New Faculty Exhibition
2000 Sotheby's, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Vienna • Artlink International Young Art 2000
1999 Gallerie Lumière, Savannah, GA •Michael Rich •Suzanne Jackson
1998 Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA • Faculty Show
1998 The Broome Street Gallery, New York, NY • Selections, Savannah College of Art & Design
1997 Sylvia Schmidt Gallery, New Orleans LA • The Abstract Show
1997 Main Street Gallery, Nantucket, MA • An Exhibition of Drawings
1997 Sarah Bain Gallery, Fullerton, CA • Jewels of the South
1996 Sylvia Schmidt Gallery • The Landscape Show
1996 Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA •South Wharf Gallery at the Danforth Art Fair
1996 Savannah College of Art & Design • MFA Painting Exhibition
1996 Earth & Fire, New Orleans, LA • Michael Rich, Sherre Wilson-Rae
1994 The Artists Association of Nantucket, Nantucket, MA
1993 Julie Gifford Fine Arts; Perrysburg, OH • Nantucket Exports
1993 Edward Hopper House, Nyack, NY • Visiting Exhibition
1990 Sun Gallery, Nantucket, MA
selected bibliography:
Wolberg Weiss, Marion, Cover Artist: Michael Rich (Interview) Dan’s Papers, April 19, 2013
Norris, Doug, Michael Rich: To The Sea (Review) Art New England; August/ September 2008
Kuspit, Donald, Abstraction and Nature in the Paintings of Michael Rich,
(Exhibition Catalog Essay), 2005, Basil Alkazzi Publications
Neville, Beth, New Work by Four Painters (review), Virginia Lynch Gallery
Art New England, December 2004/ January 2005
Craven, Robert; Michael Rich: Work on Paper (review)
Art New England, December 2003/ January 2004
education:
1997 Masters of Fine Arts, Painting • Savannah College of Art & Design
1995 University of Georgia Studies Abroad Program, Cortona, Italy
1991 Bachelor of Fine Arts, Illustration • Rhode Island School of Design
teaching:
2000 - present Professor of Art • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
1997 - 2000 Professor of Painting • Savannah College of Art and Design, Savannah, GA
administration:
2017 - 2020 Chair, Visual Arts • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
2016 - 2017 Program Director, Visual Arts Studies • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
2005 - 2014 Program Coordinator, Visual Arts Studies • Roger Williams University, Bristol RI
museum exhibitions:
2014 Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI
2008 To the Sea • Newport Art Museum, Newport, RI
2007 Nantucket Walkabouts • Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR
selected solo exhibitions:
2021 New Work • Hostetler Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2020 New Work • Hostetler Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2018 Blue • Providence Art Club
2018 The Water We Seek • Old Spouter Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2017 A Life in Color • Old Spouter Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2017 A Painter Makes Prints • Mary Castelnovo Gallery, Providence Art Club
2016 All the Dawns of Summer • Old Spouter Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2016 New and Large Paintings • Atrium Gallery, One Financial Plaza, Providence RI
2015 Large Scale • Candita Clayton Gallery, Pawtucket RI
2015 One not Like the Other, New Monoprints • Roger Williams University, Bristol, RI
2015 To Paint a Flower • Old Spouter Gallery
2014 A Season’s Journey, Not Far from Home • Old Spouter Gallery
2013 The Garden • Old Spouter Gallery
2012 Traveler • Chace-Randall Gallery, Andes, NY
2012 Restoration • Old Spouter Gallery
2011 Before Summer Rain • Old Spouter Gallery
2010 The Sea and Tulips • Old Spouter Gallery
2010 Intimate Landscapes • Patricia Carega Gallery, Center Sandwich, NH
2010 Sea, Sky and Land: Abstractions of Nantucket • ARC Fine Art, Fairfield, CT
2009 Taking Refuge • Old Spouter Gallery
2008 Like Seeds Upon the Sea • Old Spouter Gallery
2008 New Paintings • George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2007 New Paintings • Adler & Co. Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2007 New Paintings • George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Works on Paper • Patricia Carega Gallery, Center Sandwich, NH
2006 New Paintings • George Billis Gallery, NY
2005 Sea, Sky and Stone • Old Spouter Gallery
2004 Meditations • Old Spouter Gallery
2003 Works on Paper • Patricia Carega Gallery
2003 New Landscapes • 12 Orange Fine Art, Nantucket MA
2002 New Paintings • South Wharf Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2001 New Works • South Wharf Gallery
2001 Works on Paper • East End Gallery, Nantucket, MA
2000 Cool Waters • South Wharf Gallery
1998 Summer Jazz • South Wharf Gallery
1998 New Jazz, Old Funk • Gallerie Lumière, Savannah, GA
1997 Compositions • South Wharf Gallery
1997 Elements of Place • Gallerie Lumière
1996 My Places • South Wharf Gallery
1995 The X Gallery, Nantucket, MA
1991-92 Sun Gallery, Nantucket, MA
public collections:
The Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY
The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Smithsonian Institute
Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, OH
awards and honors:
2015 Artist’s Association of Nantucket, Award for Painting
2015 Edward Bannister Award, Providence Art Club
1996 The Basil H. Alkazzi Award (USA)
selected group exhibitions:
2020 Praxis: Abstraction, 4 Strategies, Bristol Art Museum, Bristol, RI
2020 Art Capital, Salon des Independents, Trevisan Art International • Grand Palais, Paris, France
2017 Singular Repetitions • UMASS Dartmouth Gallery, New Bedford, MA
2017 Trevisan International Art • le Sm’Art Salon, Parc Jourdan, Aix en Provence
2016 Trevisan International Art • Salon Prado, Ateneo de Madrid, Madrid Spain
2015 EnergyColorLight: Theresa Girard, Michael Rich and Roberta Segal • Providence Art Club
2013 Nantucket Moderns, Contemporary Art 1945-2013 *• Artist’s Association of Nantucket
2013 Small Treasures • Galeria de Marchi, Bologna, Italy (curated by Paola Trevisan)
2013 No Boundaries: Three Views of Contemporary Art • Birnam Wood Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Curator’s Choice • Chace-Randall Gallery, Andes, NY
2011 Biennale • Chianciano Art Museum, Chianciano, Italy
2010 Adler & Co. at the LA Art Show
2009 Imaginary Journeys • Trevisan Art International, Ferrara, Italy
2009 Adler & Co, San Francisco • Obsessions
2009 Adler & Co. at the LA Art Show
2008 Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery, Center Sandwich, NH • Itinerant Artists
2006 Patricia Ladd Carega Gallery • Summer Season Opening
2005 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI
2004 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI • New Works by Four Painters
2003 Caelum Gallery, New York, NY • Michael Rich Yasuhide Kagii, New Paintings
2002 Denise Bibro Fine Art, New York, NY • Summer Selections
2002 Roger Williams University Art Gallery • Art Faculty Exhibition
2001 Virginia Lynch Gallery, Tiverton, RI • First of the Season
2001 Roger Williams University Art Gallery • New Faculty Exhibition
2000 Sotheby's, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Vienna • Artlink International Young Art 2000
1999 Gallerie Lumière, Savannah, GA •Michael Rich •Suzanne Jackson
1998 Savannah College of Art & Design, Savannah, GA • Faculty Show
1998 The Broome Street Gallery, New York, NY • Selections, Savannah College of Art & Design
1997 Sylvia Schmidt Gallery, New Orleans LA • The Abstract Show
1997 Main Street Gallery, Nantucket, MA • An Exhibition of Drawings
1997 Sarah Bain Gallery, Fullerton, CA • Jewels of the South
1996 Sylvia Schmidt Gallery • The Landscape Show
1996 Danforth Museum of Art, Framingham, MA •South Wharf Gallery at the Danforth Art Fair
1996 Savannah College of Art & Design • MFA Painting Exhibition
1996 Earth & Fire, New Orleans, LA • Michael Rich, Sherre Wilson-Rae
1994 The Artists Association of Nantucket, Nantucket, MA
1993 Julie Gifford Fine Arts; Perrysburg, OH • Nantucket Exports
1993 Edward Hopper House, Nyack, NY • Visiting Exhibition
1990 Sun Gallery, Nantucket, MA
selected bibliography:
Wolberg Weiss, Marion, Cover Artist: Michael Rich (Interview) Dan’s Papers, April 19, 2013
Norris, Doug, Michael Rich: To The Sea (Review) Art New England; August/ September 2008
Kuspit, Donald, Abstraction and Nature in the Paintings of Michael Rich,
(Exhibition Catalog Essay), 2005, Basil Alkazzi Publications
Neville, Beth, New Work by Four Painters (review), Virginia Lynch Gallery
Art New England, December 2004/ January 2005
Craven, Robert; Michael Rich: Work on Paper (review)
Art New England, December 2003/ January 2004