Intimate glimpses the art of Steven Ricks
The works of Steven Ricks make us part of an intimate moment of
two people loving each other. We don't get to see the whole
scene, we have to continue the visual story ourselves. Make it
complete with our own fantasy's and experiences.
You see body parts teasing each other but the the act of sex is
never shown. Intimate glimpses of the body that during the act
of sex we, the participants, don't get to see. The sights that
only one partner might have the pleasure to see. The usage of
warm colors and shadows gives us the suspense of heat and
passion, never explicit but almost touchable.
The last works shown in the gallery are a small example of his
later work. For me it's a combination of the surrealistic
landscapes and attributes from old grandmaster Salvador Dali and
computer manipulated images. It has the same illusionistic
approach and playfulness. In my opinion it's more about this
illusion and creating unreal worlds then the erotic tension he
has displayed in the earlier works.
Artist background
After finishing high school Steven Ricks attended the American
Academy of Art in Chicago. After two years of school, he began
working as an assistant in Chicago photography studios There he
worked with a variety of clients. At the age of 24, Steven
opened his own studio in the River North section of Chicago
where he acquired clientele such as. Christ Hospital, Hope
Childrens Hospital, Quaker Oats Chicago, Chicago Magazine,
Sears, JCPenny, WBBM Channel 2 Chicago. Five years ago The
Studio went completely digital and Steven became acquainted with
Adobe Photoshop. "I have always loved to paint and draw but I
was always limited by my artistic ability Through Adobe, I can
now create on paper the places that I long to visit in my head.
I love the female form and almost always draw my creativity from
the sexuality of the photos.
Steven Ricks will be exhibiting in New York at the Agora Gallery
The 8th of December 2004.