EricRippert
Photograph by Michael Levy
About the Artist:
Eric Rippert is a visual artist working with photography to create beautiful, yet often unsettling imagery intended to stimulate collective memory while asking the viewer to help complete a merely suggested narrative. His work is exhibited internationally and resides in the permanent collections of Cleveland Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Progressive Art Collection and Cleveland Clinic. He received his MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Arts and his BFA in Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. For years, Eric practiced commercial photography in New York before relocating to the Midwest where he taught photography at University of Akron, Oberlin College and Baldwin-Wallace University.
Eric's Curriculum Vitae
Eric Rippert is a visual artist working with photography to create beautiful, yet often unsettling imagery intended to stimulate collective memory while asking the viewer to help complete a merely suggested narrative. His work is exhibited internationally and resides in the permanent collections of Cleveland Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, Progressive Art Collection and Cleveland Clinic. He received his MFA in Visual Art from Vermont College of Fine Arts and his BFA in Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology. For years, Eric practiced commercial photography in New York before relocating to the Midwest where he taught photography at University of Akron, Oberlin College and Baldwin-Wallace University.
Eric's Curriculum Vitae
EricRippert
Full of Promise
September 2nd - October 16th, 2016
Full of Promise
September 2nd - October 16th, 2016
EricRippert - Full of Promise
In the Main Gallery & Native Cleveland Annex
September 2nd - October 16th, 2016
"I’m not content to make images that are merely pretty, nor am I content to
examine the scratches on the surface of cultural and psychological topics.
Rather, I’m mining poignant personal imagery in order to trigger immediate
understanding. Some of the references are obvious and others are
intentionally barely perceptible, kind of like the parts of our memories that
never come into full focus.” - Eric Rippert
(Below, excerpted from Douglas Max Utter's review in CAN Journal, Fall 2016 issue)
"...Rippert has emerged over the past decade as a notable Midwestern artist. He holds his own with contemporary photographers elsewhere in the world. His new works follow long trajectories of imagery from remote childhood into the present, urgently contacting viewers with a hard-won sense of personal truth."
Everyone is talking about Eric Rippert. And why not? There's much to talk about with his new body of work. Heavy with nostalgia - both in concept and imagery - we as the viewer are going on a unique journey into the unknown. For Rippert, this is the most personal journey yet. Photographs are re-photographed, scanned, enlarged, and manipulated in an effort to bring the viewer into the artist's mind. Never before have we been permitted to enjoy something so intimate. This is what many artists strive to achieve. This is the experience we've been waiting for.
Our Main Gallery isn't the only opportunity to experience the unexpected. The installation in the Native Cleveland Annex showcases Rippert's transformational mindset in ways never before executed. "Blanket Fort" takes center stage accompanied by a completely wallpapered Annex space. Ceramics and photography merge to create a unique yet familiar setting. Explore this beautifully arresting mental landscape in the intimate Annex.
Press:
CAN Journal - Elephants and Winnebagos : Eric Rippert Takes Memories Down a New Road
CoolCleveland - Interview : Eric Rippert is "Full of Promise" with New Exhibit at Maria Neil
Akron Beacon Journal - Art Review : Emotions and Nostalgia on Display
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Cleveland Artist Eric Rippert Explores 'Promise' of American Dream
