Topic: Ronald Davis

Ronald Davis (a.k.a. Ron Davis), born 1937, is an American painter whose work is associated with Geometric abstraction, Abstract Illusionism, Lyrical Abstraction, Hard-edge painting, Shaped canvas painting, Color field painting, and 3D Computer Graphics. He is a veteran of nearly seventy solo exhibitions and hundreds of group exhibitions.

Born in Santa Monica, California, he was raised in Cheyenne, Wyoming. In 1955-56 he attended the University of Wyoming. In 1959 at the age of 22 became interested in painting. In 1960-64 he attended the San Francisco Art Institute. Abstract Expressionism, the prevailing artistic movement of the time, would have an influence on many of his future works. In 1962 he was a Yale-Norfolk Summer School Grantee. In 1963 his paintings became hard-edged, geometric and optical in style, and by 1964 his works were shown in important museums and galleries. Lived and worked in Los Angeles, CA, 1965-71; Malibu, CA, 1972-1990. Moved to Arroyo Hondo, New Mexico on the outskirts of Taos, New Mexico in 1991-present.

Ronald Davis from the earliest days of his career had a significant impact on contemporary abstract painting of the mid-1960s. According to art critic Michael Fried: Ron Davis is a young California artist whose new paintings, recently shown at the Tibor de Nagy Gallery in New York, are among the most significant produced anywhere during the past few years, and place him, along with Stella and Bannard, at the forefront of his generation. He had his first one person exhibition at the Nicholas Wilder Gallery in Los Angeles in 1965.