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Ric Conn, an American expressionist painter, focuses primarily on figurative depictions of the female experience. He is inspired to empower and look into the realities women face in Western culture. Utilizing oil, acrylics, gouache, charcoal, and ink to exhibit the many forms and textures of the female body and often portraying women with symbolic animal motifs and applying a soft and muted palette, creating space for his audience to entirely focus on his subjects. Conn’s work is a modern take on expressionism, using his unique method of evoking emotion, and reaction as he tackles relevant topics through subtle additions to each canvas.  Conn explores the opposition between reality and perception. Layers of female characteristics are captured in each one of his paintings- focusing on the essence of courage and beauty in women.

                                                                                        -  Art Tour International Magazine

                                                                                                                               Fall 2019

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“Ric Conn is a leading voice in speaking up about inequality and social issues women often face. Inspired by expressionist methods, both traditional and contemporary, he exhibits bold textures and calculated use of light in carrying the symbolic imagery in each visual narrative. Conn explores the opposition between reality and perception. His fascination and motivation are amped by realties that appear invisible in our everyday lives, cutting into the core of the hearts of his subjects and exposing hidden emotion. Layers of female characteristics are captured in each one of his paintings- focusing on the essence of courage and beauty in women.”

                                                                   - Art Tour International Magazine
                                                                                                   Spring 2020

write up from the upcoming exhibition in Milan:

Ric Conn is an internationally known award winning expressionist artist, on the occasion of his new participation in the international art exhibition "Phìlo-Poèm" hosted by the M.A.D.S. he exhibits five works of great inspiration and depth. "Breaking the glass ceiling" has a woman as its protagonist, represented in a surreal way, the green skin is completely detached from reality, the face has no features, this leads to a total absence of identity. The absence of presence, remembers Giorgio de Chirico and his work "Il Trovatore", the absence of the face, of the expression, and with them of the emotion is emblematic and very strong, as in the case of Matisse and the face without face, there is therefore a denial of the ego, of the presence. Another very particular element is the absence of hands, the absence, therefore, of the gesture. “No more eggshells” depicts a woman in the foreground, the surreal and expressionist stylistic line is not abandoned, in fact her flesh is represented in blue and the other subject in green. In the background there is a man, with his arms folded and a frowning expression, the anger is perceptible, the representation captures a moment of tension, restlessness, but the face of the woman in the foreground is relaxed, almost relieved. "Opening doors" leads back to the negation of the face, in this case the direct reference is Magritte with "La reproduction interdite", in "opening doors" women turn their backs intent on going through a door and entering another room, the sense of openness is livable, despite the closure due to the view from the back. In this context it is interesting to consider Salvador Dalì's “Girl at the Window”. As spectators you feel restless, and this is due to the awareness of never being able to know the identity of the subjects, the sense of mystery is however accompanied by a sense of freedom and possibility. "The sky's the limit", on the other hand, offers a close-up view of the face of a girl intent on moving upwards, as if she were intent on reaching something above her. There is no effort in the woman's eyes, only intention and confidence. "The unwanted visitor" is in line with Conn's communicative style which aims to express and lead to profound reflections from both a psychological and social point of view. Also in this case, faces and hands are not present, absence is the denial of identity, a sense of non-recognition of oneself that is transmitted to the viewer who feels involved in the discomfort that the protagonists of the works experience