Mark Ritchie
Artist Statement

Cultivated gardens and their native edges, wild / feral horse populations with domestic horse neighbors, wild hares sharing a salt lick in a paddock, and the ubiquitous tumbleweed that is native to central Asia, but solidly and inescapably part of the North American landscape, serve as meditations for me on the complex and challenging issues of place, belonging, and naturalizing in the American West.

Drawing and printmaking are companions in both the conception and execution of my work. The integrity of the experiential drawn mark and the energy of the observed experience are sustained throughout the field drawings and studio-based printmaking processes that allow for multiples and variations. I seek a middle ground between objective description and the lyrical with an intention to evoke rather than describe a specific narrative.