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Text Box: Ritch Gaiti Evokes the Equine Spirit with Vigorous Virtuosity         Sept/Oct 2008       The New Jersey painter Ritch Gaiti’s recent exhibition, “Horses in Motion,” at Ward Nasse Gallery. 178 Prince Street, in Soho, happened to coincide auspiciously, if briefly, with “The Horse,” the ongoing historical survey at the American Museum of Natural History, made it all the more relevant and enjoyable. “The Horse” explores “the fascinating bond between horses and humans,” a theme that was also prominent in some of Gaiti’s paintings depicting cowboys or Native Americans traversing bodies of water on horseback, among other scenes that highlighted their mutual dependence. Particularly affecting was a darkly dramatic oil called “Destiny’s River,” in which an Indian rider and his mount seemed to meld into a single entity, as they forged through splashy water that offered Gaiti and opportunity to display a gestural flair akin to Abstract Expressionist “action painting” within a figurative context. While no other contemporary artist captures the human/equine bond more sympathetically than Gaiti, some of the most beautiful canvases in the exhibition at Ward Nasse were those evoking the freedom of wild horse on the open range. One of the most striking for capturing the palpable presence of these magnificent creatures at their ease in a natural setting was called “Horses of a Different Color” —an especially apt title, since the painting sang chromatically, with a full spectrum of colors and markings in the horses lined up frontally in row against a turquoise sky. The pregnant stillness of the moment enabled Gaiti to concentrate on anatomical particulars in a worked up realistic technique, lending each animal a portrait-like individuality, even while achieving a formal balance that lent the composition a striking overall unity. Another oil on canvas called “The Turning Point,” combined a variety of different techniques within a single composition in a manner akin to Larry Rivers, albeit with the sensitivity to the subtle nuances of equine behavior that sets Gaiti apart as the master of his own realm. The three horses on the left side of the composition gazed out alertly, as though just becoming aware of the intrusion of the visitor’s gaze into their space. They were fully fleshed out in sculptural volumes, while their counterparts on the right side of the canvas had already turned away, their departing rumps rendered linearly in a sketchy blue grisaille. The contrast between the worked up realism of some of the animals and the spare delineation of the others added to the tension of the moment and endowed the painting with a virtuosic vigor. By contrast, Gaiti adopts an altogether more impressionistic gestural technique in his paintings of horses in action, which comprised a good percentage of the works on view. A small, lushy textured gem of a canvas called “The River Where Time Stands Still,” depicted a herd of horses splashing frontally through a luminous body of water lit by fiery reflections, while in another painting, a frieze of spirited steeds raced across a golden plain, all but dissolving into abstraction. In both, Gaiti achieved a somber radiance that can only be termed “Turneresque.” Along with a mythical dimension redolent of the romance of the Old West, the paintings of Ritch Gaiti provide a plethora of skillfully realized effects, ranging from refined glazes to rugged areas of impasto, that transcend genre to distinguish him as a painter’s painter.  Ed McCormack Gallery and Studio magazine September/October 2008  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Trenton Times                 Text Box: `Returning to the Spirits'                                   February 28, 2003     By Janet Purcell                                                       Probably one of the last things you'd expect to see in downtown Trenton is galloping horses, sweeping views of canyons with pictographs on their walls, pensive American Indian women and whispering Navajo girls. This is the East Coast. It's Trenton. Inner-city Trenton, as a matter of fact, where we're more used to thinking of horses bearing Revolutionary War generals and our modern-day wall paintings come in the form of graffiti. But Martha Fischer, owner of RF Gallery on Lafayette Street across from the War Memorial Building and the new Marriott Lafayette Yard hotel, says she chose "Returning to the Spirits - A Painted Journey of the West" for its first solo exhibit in 2003 because it is not typical of what we see in this area. This exhibit of paintings by Hopewell Township artist Ritch Gaiti will open with an artist's reception from 6 to 9 p.m. tomorrow. Not only is the subject matter a refreshing and interesting change, but so is Gaiti's viewpoint and style of expression. There are several aspects of the show - and the artist - that are surprising. First is the fact that Gaiti, born and raised in Brooklyn, was in the corporate world for almost 30 years, retiring as a first vice president and senior director of advanced technology at Merrill Lynch. "I decided I wanted to pursue my right brain," he says. "I always wanted to be a filmmaker and to paint and decided to get serious about both." To prepare himself, Gaiti enrolled in a film school "to see if I liked it and could really do it." He made short films and now is working on a feature film starring film and television comedian Harry Anderson, which he wrote and will direct. His company, Liquid Films, temporarily is based in Hopewell Township. Gaiti is also a strategic partner in Manex Entertainment, the film company that hopes to be headquartered in Trenton. The whole time Gaiti was learning to be a filmmaker, he also was indulging his inclination to paint - experimenting, stretching, learning. "I started with abstract because I knew I needed to build confidence," he says. "If you're doing a (representational) painting of a duck, people might look at it and say, `What's that?' But when it's abstract, it doesn't have to look like a duck. "I just wanted to get colors and feelings out and it wasn't going to be compared to anything," he says. "But then, as I built my confidence, I moved to more realistic painting." As for subject matter, why the Southwest? Gaiti says he has always been passionate about the simple life and the colors there. Inspired by the work of photographer Edwin S. Curtis, who chronicled Indian life in the 19th and 20th centuries, Gaiti says he started reading about American Indians in their everyday life and began painting them. "The more I read, I understood what they have been through and the passion built up. It became a cycle. The more I painted, the more I read." The underpinning of this exhibit is Gaiti's painting titled "Generations," which depicts six American Indian figures in their cultural dress and face painting. They stand lined up shoulder to shoulder across the canvas, staring somberly into the future. The overall tone is a mystical gray-blue, into which two of the figures begin to fade. Gaiti describes this collection of his work as a journey through time, "beginning with petroglyphs (stone carvings) found on cave walls and He speaks of there being a "before and after" element in all his paintings. "When I'm developing a painting, I'm seeing a story," he says. Referring to his most recent painting, "Secret," which captures a circle of Navajo girls with their shiny black heads together, he says, "They're sharing a secret. It could have been 100 years ago or it could be teenage girls in a mall today." "White House" is a recent painting of a canyon he visited a few years ago. With emotional sweeps of golds and oranges, he expresses the spiritual beauty he found in a place where the Navajo lived hundreds of years ago. When he shows pictographs found in cliff dwellings, Gaiti uses a palette knife to thickly apply his pigments, which sometimes are combined with resins and sand to give the canvas a textural surface. His paintings of figures, however, are smooth and show no brush strokes. "Pueblo Girl" is a lovely 3/4-view portrait of a pensive young woman. The quiet, virginal mood of the painting is further conveyed in Gaiti's decision to cover her head with a blue shawl and to place her against a blue background. Magenta-toned shadows bring a feeling of warmth to the composition. Another surprise in this exhibit is Gaiti's ability to convey the spirituality of the Native American people and the Southwest. While some of his paintings are quiet and reverent, others depict big and bold action scenes that could well be stills from a motion picture. Take "Horse Crossing," for example, where he shows several horses running in chest-high surf. Strong light shines on their backs and their reflections in the water that churns around them and splashes up. It's a moment in time, as is "Caballos," where we see only the hindquarters of a herd of brown horses stirring up clouds of burnt sienna dust. The filmmaker's eye is evident in "High Road," which is a close-up of the legs and hooves of horses running in golden grass. "You're not watching the action, you are inside it," Gaiti says. "You are under the horse." Another surprising element of this show is that while horses, of course, are very much a part of the American Southwest, these horses could be anywhere. They could just as easily be found at the Mercer County Equestrian Center in Hopewell Township. Gaiti's painting "Fall Run," is a tour de force in horse painting. In it, a brown-and-white spotted horse is seen - almost heard - thundering through the woods. The thrust of its massive body is emphasized by the gentle floating fall of a few golden leaves that have been shaken from the trees. Gaiti says he prefers to work in the late afternoons while listening to music. "When I'm painting I'm in a zone somewhere else," he says. "I'm lost in the paintbrush. Finishing a painting is a letdown. I go looking for the next one and it's a little bit of anxiety that goes on until I find the subject matter and then that new adventure starts." He works from found photographs, his own photographs and from his imagination where, he says, he knows where he's starting but not where he'll end up. "That's a catharsis and totally relaxing." Gaiti's art has been exhibited in galleries in Manhattan, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Aspen, Colorado and Scottsdale, Ariz. For now, he says he is not yet done telling his Southwest story. And he plans to just keep on painting. "There are times when I don't want to finish a painting," he says. "It doesn't matter how long it takes to paint - the means is the end. In most things in life, you just want to get done with a project. With art, you just want to stay with it." "Returning to the Spirits - A Painted Journey of the West" will continue through April 26 at RF Gallery, 46 W. Lafayette St., Trenton. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Artist's Reception 6-9 p.m. tomorrow. (609) 695 0061 or visit www.rhinehart-fischer.com    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  Friday 28 February, 2003   Home > Entertainment > Content

Princeton Packet/ Time Off

 

 

Entertainment News

 

 

 


Ancient Voices

 

By: Susan Van Dongen , TimeOFF

02/24/2003

 

 

 

In paintings inspired by the American Southwest, Hopewell artist Ritch Gaiti finds his hand guided by spirits.

"Maricopa Girl," by Ritch Gaiti.

 

"With many of my paintings that have Native Americans as subject matter, I'm trying to tell a story about a disappearing way of life," says Ritch Gaiti. Above, "Maricopa Girl."

 

 

   The cowboy boots are what give Ritch Gaiti away. The artist, who grew up in Brooklyn and currently lives in Hopewell, says his body may be in the East, but his spirit is in the Old West.
   "I don't know, I guess I watched too many cowboy movies as a kid," he says with a chuckle. "I've always been interested in the West. There's just something about the colors, the simplicity and the sense of expansiveness.
   "When I started painting, I was looking for subject matter. The more I painted the West, the more I read about it. The more I read, the more interested and empathetic I became with the culture, especially Native American history. With many of my paintings that have Native Americans as subject matter, I'm trying to tell a story about a disappearing way of life."
   Several dozen of Mr. Gaiti's most evocative oil and mixed media paintings are on view at the RF Gallery (formerly the Rhinehart-Fischer Gallery) in Trenton from Feb. 25-April 26. The exhibit, titled Returning of the Spirits, is a visual journey through the history of the American West, celebrating the ways and rituals of Native Americans, the magnificent wild horses and buffalo that roamed the West and the natural beauty of the land.
   Mr. Gaiti, who is also a budding scriptwriter and filmmaker, taught himself how to paint. Employed very successfully for nearly 30 years in corporate systems and technology, he was getting fed up with the bureaucracy of the business world when he decided to pursue his dreams of painting and making movies.
   "I had been first vice president and senior director of advanced technology at Merrill Lynch," he says. "I decided it was time for a shift to the right side of the brain."
   After retiring, Mr. Gaiti studied briefly at the New York Academy of Film and launched Liquid Films, a small feature-film production company based in Mercer County. He enjoys writing and directing, but especially loves the creative control he feels wielding a paintbrush.

 

"Caballos," by Ritch Gaiti.

 

"I get so engrossed in my paintings, I feel like I'm actually living the story on the canvas," says Mr. Gaiti. Above, "Caballos," and below, "Horse Crossing."

 

"Horse Crossing," by Ritch Gaiti.

 

   Totally self-taught as a painter, Mr. Gaiti began creating abstracts about 15 years ago, but gradually evolved into the more realistic style he employs today. He only does very rough sketches to set the parameters of the painting, then creates the image while he works.
   "I get so engrossed in my paintings, I feel like I'm actually living the story on the canvas," says Mr. Gaiti, seated among his warmly colored works which grace the walls of the gallery's newly renovated downstairs. "I'm in a zone when I'm doing a painting. When I'm very focused, I can probably complete a painting in 20 to 50 hours, but I never try to rush because I enjoy doing it so much. I almost hate to finish them. Even though I look forward to the next piece, there's a kind of post-partum depression."
   Many of his portraits of Native Americans are inspired by the works of photographer Edward S. Curtis, who chronicled Indian life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. One such painting is "Indian Princess," which portrays a noble woman with jet black braids who seems to gaze directly at the viewer, as though she is granting an audience.
   "There's something about her that's very exquisite," Mr. Gaiti says. "I had her hanging right over me in my studio, and it was like she was looking down on me while I painted. Of course, I had a picture of my wife on the other side, just to keep things in balance."
   Mr. Gaiti also has a special affinity for horses. He laughs when asked if he was around many equines in Brooklyn.
   "No, not at all," he says, "I just think they're magnificent, beautiful animals, especially when they're running free. I paint a lot of bison and wild horses, which are symbolic of this sense of freedom you feel out west. I've tried to paint them in a variety of moods and settings and capture different parts of their bodies."
   With "Five Horses," he even manages to make horses' rear ends look elegant. The painting accents the subtle differences in the colors and textures of their coats and tails.
   "There's also the fact that they were great companions to Native Americans," Mr. Gaiti says. "In one of my paintings called ‘Companion,’ an Indian brave on the plains is tending to his dying horse. There's a sense of sadness — it really is like his best friend is dying. He's out there in the middle of nowhere, but that's not his concern. His concern is for his horse."

"Prairie Bull," by Ritch Gaiti.

 

One of the most revered animals in Native American culture is the buffalo. The creatures, called "tatonka" by the Lakota Sioux, also appear frequently in Mr. Gaiti's works. Above, "Prairie Bull."

 

 

   One of the most revered animals in Native American culture is the buffalo, herds of which once darkened the landscape. The creatures, called "tatonka" by the Lakota Sioux, also appear frequently in Mr. Gaiti's works.
   With "Infinite Winter," the artist shows buffalo plowing through a blizzard on the rugged Western plains. The wooly head of the lead animal is caked with frost and ice, as it uses its massive legs to plow a path through the snow. The rest of the herd trails behind in single file. The line between the sky and the ground is obscured by swirling snow. The artist layers subtle shades of white to give the wintery landscape a realistic texture.
   Mr. Gaiti remarks that buffalo were known to bully their way through the drifts in search of less harsh terrain and his painting honors the animals' determined spirit.
   Several of the paintings re-create the time of "the Elders" in Native American history. For example, Mr. Gaiti pays homage to cave paintings done by the Anasazi. In fact, two interpretations of ancient petroglyphs hang just inside the front door of the gallery.
   With "Emergence," Mr. Gaiti has painted a maize-colored double spiral against a ruddy background — representing the interior "travels" a Native American would take seeking spiritual awareness, then emerging back out again into the everyday world. A blood-red handprint floats above the geometric form. Mr. Gaiti remarks that the ruddy colors in the cave paintings were often mixed with real blood. The sister painting is titled "Thunderbird" and shows a half-human, half-avian deity, painted maize-yellow against the sunset red background.

 

"Generations," by Ritch Gaiti.

 

"Generations," above, is "symbolic of the journey the Native Americans have gone through, showing the various generations and the history that has disappeared," Mr. Gaiti says.

 

   He continues his modern interpretations of cave paintings with "Bird on Hand." The large, abstract oil features a medicine man figure standing in profile with a silhouetted bird on his upraised hand. Interestingly, if you back up or just glance at the painting, it almost looks like a sun-whitened buffalo skull.
   "About two years ago, my wife and I traveled to the Four Corners area, where New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado and Utah come together," Mr. Gaiti says. "We were especially fascinated by the ancient cave dwellings at a place in eastern Arizona called Canyon de Chelly. I had only seen photos of it before, so to go there and touch the spot where people lived 1,000 years ago was just awe inspiring."
   "The ‘White House’ is one of the most prominent and massive dwellings in the canyon," he says. "I've painted it many times, and I've found that it was as though my hand was being guided while I was trying to follow the contours and re-create the physical appearance of the rocks. I got lost in (painting) the rock formations. Something took over in a very strange way."
   One of the most stunning of Mr. Gaiti's images is "Generations," which shows half a dozen solemn Native American men draped in muted blue blankets, fading in and out of focus, like a present-day generation shadowed by its grandfathers and great-grandfathers.
   "It's symbolic of the journey the Native Americans have gone through, showing the various generations and the history that has disappeared," Mr. Gaiti says. "There's also the idea of the ancestors always being there in spirit.
   "With this work — as well as many of my (Native American) paintings — I've tried to capture the essence of a time, place and culture that will never happen again. We're glimpsing a moment of time, just like Edward Curtis did with his photography."

Returning to the Spirits, oil and mixed media paintings by Ritch Gaiti, is on view at the RF (Rhinehart-Fischer) Gallery, 46 W. Lafayette St., Trenton, Feb. 25-April 26. Reception: March 1, 6-9 p.m. Gallery hours: Tues.-Sat. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. For information, call (609) 695-0061. On the Web: www.rhinehart-fischer.com. Mr. Gaiti on the Web: www.gaiti.com

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