September 2005
RANDY VRALSTED
Urban Abstractions
First Thursday Reception -
September 1st, from 6 to 9 pm.
Gallery hours are Tuesday through
Saturday, 11-6 and by appointment
SPECIAL RECEPTION WITH ARTIST: SUNDAY, September 11,
12:00-4:00 p.m.
Broderick Gallery presents “Urban Abstractions,” a show of large abstract
paintings by artist Randy Vralsted
Randy Vralsted was born and raised in Billings, Montana in 1958. He began
painting as a youth with his grandfather who was a landscape painter and had
studied at the Chicago Art Institute before moving to Montana. Randy received
his BA in art from the Montana State University and a MFA from the University of
Montana, Missoula. He also did graduate work in sculpture and printmaking at the
University of Iowa, Iowa City.
Most of Vralsted's body of work focuses on abstract expressionism although he
has always took pleasure in painting plein-air. A love that his grandfather
instilled in him at an early age. “Painting plein-air for me is a way to relax
and enjoy the out-doors in an intimate way.Painting the landscape was also my
first introduction to art and I used it as a vehicle for learning the language
of painting. I learned how to see values, simplify form and master composition
and design elements. However, I think of myself mainly as an Abstract
Expressionist. There is an emotional necessity and drama that drives my impetus
for painting abstract work. Painting in general, for me, has more to do with the
act of a visual investigation and a spiritual search...it fulfills a
inarticulate need.
Painting involves believing in the forms enough so that they begin to
have the same presence that objects and people have in real life. I want to
inject energy into layers of paint, and I want the result to be as clear as
possible. My new paintings I believe have this presence.
They have a certain rawness and spontaneity which I respond to. They’re more
direct and sincere. I’m more sincere about painting them.
For me painting has always been about paint. I am much more concerned with the
ability to make a painting about painting than I am with critical concerns. My
concerns about painting tend to be in the painting itself and what is happening
on the surface of the canvas. It is a matter of experience, not of principles,
and what counts is quality.
In the end, painting is just what I do regardless of what ever else is happening
in my life. Regardless of how, I paint almost every day. Some days are better
then others. Painting forces me to trust myself and what I am creating. I trust
the creative act and it is my grace.”
Vralsted's artwork has been featured in over 25 regional and national exhibits
and is in private and corporate collections across the U.S., including, Binney
and Smith, Inc., in Easton Pennsylvania and the Montana Museum of Art and
Culture, in Missoula, Montana.
Selected Solo and Group Exhibits:
2005 Solo Exhibit, “Urban Abstractions,” Broderick Gallery, Portland,
Oregon
2004 Solo Exhibit, "Design: Form from Chaos," Art Institute of
Portland, Portland, Oregon
2003 Group Exhibit, Art Institute of Portland, Portland, Oregon
2002 Group Exhibit, Art Institute of Portland, Portland, Oregon
2001 Group Exhibit, Art Institute of Portland, Portland, Oregon
2000 Group Exhibit, Art Institute of Portland, Portland, Oregon
1999 Group Exhibit, Art Institute of Portland, Portland, Oregon
1998 Group Exhibit, Art Space, Billings, Montana
1997 Group Exhibit, Alternative Gallery Iowa City, Iowa,
1996 Places and Spaces, Richland Gallery, Iowa City, Iowa.
1995 Artist Who Teach, Paris Gibson Square Museum of Fine Art, Great
Falls, Montana
1995 Allegories of the West, Constructions Art Space Billings, Montana
1994 Landscapes, Billings Studio Theater, Billings, Montana
1994 Rhythms and Redirection, Works on Paper, ArtSpace Billings,
Montana
1994 Passages, Montana State University Gallery, Billings, Montana
1994 Bountiful Bowls, Sutton West Gallery, Missoula, Montana
1994 Growth through Art Annual Art Auction, Billings, Montana
1994 Spirit of the Youth Auction, Helena, Montana
1993 Reclaiming Memory, Thesis exhibit, Paxson Gallery, University of
Montana Missoula, Montana
1993 Day of the Dead, Sutton West Gallery Missoula, Montana
1993 Annual Christmas Exhibition, Sutton West, Missoula, Montana
1993 Growth through Art Annual Art Auction, Billings, Montana
1993 Abstract Drawings on Mixed Media, Art Space, Billings, Montana
1992 Montana Abstract, Sutton West Gallery, Missoula, Montana
1991 Selected Paintings, University of Montana, University Center
Gallery, University of Montana
1991 Visions, A Selection of Contemporary Drawings, Missoula, Montana
1990 Ten views, Toucan Gallery, Billings, Montana
1989 Ten Views, H.G. Merrian Gallery, Montana Institute of the Arts,
Billings, Montana
1989 Graduate Exhibit, B.A. Liberal Arts Gallery, Montana State
University, Billings, Montana
1989 Allied Arts Association National Painting Exhibition, Richland,
Washington
1989 Lewistown Art Auction, Lewistown, Montana
1989 Garrison Juried Art Show, Billings, Montana
1987 Thirteenth Annual Eastern Montana Juried Art Exhibit, Mondak
Historical and Art Society, Sidney Montana
1987 Women's League Art Auction, Billings, Montana
1987 Ten Views, H.G. Merrian Gallery Montana Institute of the Arts,
Billings, Montana
1982 Landscapes, Billings Studio Theater, Billings, Montana
1981 Landscapes, Billings Studio Theater, Billings, Montana
Corporate and Private Collections:
Binney and Smith Inc. Easton Pennsylvania
Montana Museum of Art and Culture, Missoula, Montana
Galleries represented by:
Broderick Gallery- Portland, Oregon
Education:
1999
Bachelor of Art, Graphic Design
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon
1994
Entry Level Secondary Certification
Art K-12, Montana State University
Billings, Montana
1993
Master of Fine Arts, Painting
University of Montana,
Missoula, Montana
1990
Master of Arts Candidate
sculpture/ painting
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
1989
Bachelor of Art, Fine Arts with extended major in painting
Montana State University
Billings, Montana
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