“As Thomas Merton, Trappist monk and writer says, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” I feel as if the last couple of years have presented an opportunity to do just that. My work has taken a myriad of directions. It seems to have mirrored what’s going on in the world, i.e. the pandemic, the fires, the weather, the nasty politics; bringing on an exuberance for the collective fight, an angst about the unknown, a quiet contemplation while being alone, AND the extraordinary resilience of humans and nature in the face of what can be quite frightening.

No matter what, the seasons come and go, the tide goes out and comes in again… at least for now.

I hope that my paintings… through marks, color, vantage points, assemblage, show my response to this time in our lives. Sometimes these paintings come from something specific that I’ve seen and sometimes they start from deep within with layers of color and marks which slowly develop into a mood or feeling which is emotionally familiar.”

– Mimo Gordon Riley