Light, heavy, thick, thin, viscous, sticky, runny, blotchy, luminous: these terms are the descriptions of paint and what paint does, and I am interested in pursuing abstract paintings problems through a process of transformation with a multiplicity of forms and materials. The disjuncture between the modern and the postmodern consciousness remains a furtive arena of exploration to me where the fragments of painting play out in an endless complex game of image making. My interest in the sign, or signifier as a communicative device has a strong impact on the on surface, shape and form of the painting.

Over time, I have found that my work can be seen in series of production. These batches of context are useful in that each piece works its way into the next, and vice versa as they develop together. I find it interesting to cross-transplant ideas from canvas to canvas, from paint to photograph, and from the found object to the abstract shape. I see extensions to paintings workings beyond the brush through collage, silkscreen, photography and even hardware tools, and these devices expand my explorations of visual material through a painterly process of investigation. My love of abstraction, of its sensibility of form, line and space sees the connections between these differing changes of material and register.

Brent Ridge was born and raised in Flint, MI, USA. He attended Michigan State University and was awarded a BFA (cum laude) in Studio Art in 1998. He spent the subsequent decade as an artist in New York City, where he frequently exhibits his work, before traveling to Scotland to attend the Glasgow School of Art.

Brent Ridge currently Lives and Works in Massachusetts, USA.