A Gay Collection: The Works of R. Chris
August 18 – October 6, 2022
The Chez
458 Wethersfield Ave.
Hartford, CT 06114
In part one of the A Gay Collection series, we explore unknown and unseen pieces by Provincetown Gay Artist R. Chris (Rick Chris). His gay-themed illustrations feature bold colors and high-contrast scenes that celebrate gay male bodies, gay sexuality, and gay lifestyle.
A Gay Collection is a three part exhibition series of the private collection of a Connecticut gay man who anonymously donated his entire art collection to the New Haven Pride Center. Works in the collection span over 50 years of collecting and include works from both prominent gay artists, sketches, posters, and collectible artwork. All artwork sales will benefit the New Haven Pride Center’s programming and a Hartford based animal rescue as requested by the donor.
Thank You to Our Sponsors
About the Artist
Rick was born and grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He received his artistic training at the Fine Arts school of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee and the Colorado Institute of Art. Early on in his career, Rick provided some cartoons for the GPU News, a publication of the Gay Peoples Union. Rick later moved to Colorado, working as a staff artist and technical illustrator for aerospace, defense and research companies. As Rick himself notes, working as a tech illustrator greatly influenced his fine art, leading him towards a precise realism that still characterizes his work today: “Among my favorite artists are Rip Colt, Delmas Howe, Norman Rockwell, Bev Doolittle and some of the contemporary Japanese illustrators such as Hideaki Kodama. Rip Colt was a very good illustrator of the male form in addition to his now famous photography and I purchased some prints of his illustrations in the early 70’s and was determined to draw just like him. I admire Rockwell because of his craftsmanship and his ability to tell a story in his paintings. I like Howe’s imagery which seems to jump out of his paintings and the hearty Southwestern spirit which thrives in his paintings. My own art was influenced by my years as a technical and commercial illustrator which demanded that I produce realistic illustrations of things which often times did not yet exist. I got to be pretty good at this and finally it became a second nature for me to be able to produce images which appear photo realistic but yet are purely fantasy. Sometimes it is an enjoyable challenge for me to see just how much of a realistic image I can produce from an idea and my pencil sketches.”