Carter Ratcliff

Johnnie Winona Ross Carter Ratcliff

Johnnie Winona Ross's quiet, contemplative and painstakingly produced paintings have created a stir in the contemporary art world. Often compared with Agnes Martin for both his Minimalist sensibility and his connection to New Mexico, Ross's reputation has grown swiftly in recent years. The paintings are reductive, but evidently process-oriented in their layering. Ross begins by pouring thin rivulets of paint down tilted canvases with the streams of paint branching out as they flow towards the bottom to create organic forms. He then scrapes away most of the pigment, leaving faint traces of color, so that sometimes as many as 30 sanded and repainted layers will accrue. Ross's paintings convey a spacious and tranquil palette grounded in these highly worked surfaces. This first major publication on Ross's work also features an essay by Carter Ratcliff.