Cultural Transformation
Rip Cronk
Cultural Transformation combines Cubist and Futurist composition devices with cartoon and graffiti motifs in a crossover that brings vibrance and a sense of movement to the canvas. The half-animal, half-human figures are symbols of an implied but undefined cultural mythology. They are attempts to communicate with a cognitive faculty in the viewer, distinct from ego consciousness. The idea is to evoke personal transformations in viewers through their identification with the composition. The paintings are meant as symbols of actualization myths in this period of cultural change at the end of late modernism
Opening Reception:
Thursday, May 28th, 5-7pm
Featuring light refreshments, music, and an artist talk at 5:30pm
This exhibit runs May 28 – Summer ’26
Olive Street Gallery, Newport
(777 W Olive St)
Gallery open Tues-Fri, 10am-3pm
To help ensure an enjoyable experience for all, we kindly encourage guests to consider attending fragrance-free in support of those with allergies and sensitivities.
Rip Cronk graduated from the University of Florida in 1969 with a Bachelor’s in Fine Art, and from the University of New Mexico in 1972 with a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts. Disappointed with the direction of postmodern art in the 1960-70s, he pursued a career as a street artist, producing suites of murals in Hawaii and Switzerland, and settling on the West Coast. For Rip, studio art was never painted as a maketable product; it was his opportunity to ‘follow the muse’ and study the psychology of the art experience.