Cameron Wilson Ritcher

CAMERON WILSON RITCHER

Mixed Media

The aesthetic of my work is born of the industrial and household materials I am using, and the playful and often nonsensical manner in which I have approached them. My works are constructions of individual pieces of materials that have been attached together. This process allows me to synthesize disparate ideas to create works that are simultaneously spontaneous, yet entirely within my control.

Some of the marks made are purely non-objective: derived only from ambiguous instincts. Yet some of the marks become more illustrative: direct descriptions of things I’ve seen. Either way, what’s most important to me is the character of the marks, not what they are depicting. Sometimes realism is a means to that end.

​I know a painting is finished when it feels balanced and is not dominated by a single element. Just like the rest of my process, this is a meditative decision and is based entirely on intuition. I ask questions and present new possibilities, leaving the viewer with a trace of familiarity, but less information than is needed for a concrete conclusion.

​Of course, my work does not exist within a vacuum and it is only responsible of me to think of what impact my work may have on the world. I know, at my core, that I was designed for a very specific job: making paintings, simply for the sake of making paintings. I feel an intense and spiritual excitement and curiosity while making my work. Maybe it is a glimpse of heaven. My hope is that the viewer would feel at least a fraction of that.

BOJUart donates a portion of each piece sold to this artist’s cause the Friends of the Earth International to emphasize the need to have a peaceful and sustainable world based on societies living in harmony with nature.

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Ritcher began receiving commissions and gaining acceptance into notable gallery shows his freshman year of college. He graduated from James Madison University in May 2017 with a Bachelor of Science in Studio Art as well as a Pre-K-12 Visual Arts Teaching Licensure, and won the school’s award for a graduating senior with a concentration in painting. Since graduation, he has won numerous awards in art fairs and juried shows. He is currently represented by TEW Galleries, Atlanta, GA, Axiom Fine Art, Winter Park, FL, The Vault at 1930, Jacksonville, FL, Magnolia, Roanoke, VA, and BOJUart, VA Beach, VA. Among his clients are The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The JMU School of Integrated Science and Technology, Della Watkins, Director of the Columbia Museum of Art, and Braden Holtby, Goalie of the Washington Capitals.

Ritcher lives, works, and plays in Richmond, VA. He plays the trumpet, coaches a local youth mountain bike team, jumps on the trampoline, and is involved with extracurricular art programs for inner-city K-12 students.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 Immediate Gratification, BOJUart, Virginia Beach, VA
2018 Calvin Ball, Spitzer Art Center, Harrisonburg, VA
2017 Stanley Hudson, 292 N. Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA
2015 Everything is a Cat, Artworks Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA
2014 Gluttony, Artworks Gallery in Harrisonburg, VA

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS AND SHOWS
2020 Boundaries and Edges, BOJUart Pop-Up, Richmond, VA
2019 Art Inspired, BOJUart Pop-Up, Richmond, VA
2019 CURRENT Art Fair, BOJUart, Richmond, VA
2019 Hung Juried Show, Glave Kocen Gallery, Richmond, VA
2019 Winter Park Art Festival, Winter Park, FL
2019 Arlington Art Festival, Arlington, VA
2019 Rittenhouse Square Fine Art Show, Philadelphia, PA
2018 The Other Art Fair, Mana Contemporary, Chicago, IL
2018 All-Media Juried Show, Crossroads Art Center, Richmond, VA
2018 Kansas City Plaza Art Fair, Kansas City, MO
2018 Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Boardwalk Art Show, VA Beach, VA
2018 Companion Planting, Arts Council of the Valley, Harrisonburg, VA
2018 Arlington Festival of the Arts, Arlington, VA
2018 Lake Norman Festival of the Arts, Huntersville, NC
2018 Taubman Museum of Art Sidewalk Show, Roanoke, VA
2018 Crocker Park Fine Art Fair, Cleveland, OH
2018 Beaux Arts Festival of Art, Miami, FL
2017 Chastain Park Arts Festival, Atlanta, GA
2017 Ocala Arts Festival, Ocala, FL
2017 Leesburg Fall Fine Arts Festival, Leesburg, VA
2017 Stockley Gardens Fall Arts Festival, Norfolk, VA
2017 National Juried Show, The Bower Center for the Arts, Bedford, VA
2017 Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Boardwalk Art Show, VA Beach, VA
2017 Taubman Museum of Art Sidewalk Show, Roanoke, VA
2017 LOCAL, The Shenandoah Valley Art Center, Waynesboro, VA
2017 Welcome, 292 N. Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA
2017 6x6x30, Spitzer Art Center, Harrisonburg, VA
2017 Incarnation, 292 N. Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA
2016 Riverview’s Artspace Annual Juried Show, Lynchburg, VA
2016 Regional Juried Exhibition, Hill Center Galleries, Washington, DC
2016 Edna Curry/John Bower Exhibition, Bower Center for the Arts, Bedford, VA
2016 6x6x30, Spitzer Art Center, Harrisonburg, VA
2016 Larkin Arts Regional Juried Show, Harrisonburg, VA
2016 Exploring Lent in Black and White, 292 N Gallery, Harrisonburg, VA
2016 Taubman Museum of Art Sidewalk Show, Roanoke, VA
2016 James Madison University Undergraduate Juried Show, Harrisonburg, VA
2016 Two: Too, Madison Union, Harrisonburg, VA
2015 The Gallery U Invitational, The Alternative Gallery, Allentown, PA
2015 James Madison University Undergraduate Juried Show, Harrisonburg, VA
2014 James Madison University Undergraduate Juried Show, Harrisonburg, VA
2013 6×6 Juried Show, Larkin Arts, Harrisonburg, VA
2013 P. Buckley Moss Invitational, Waynesboro, VA

AWARDS
2019 Award of Excellence, Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Winterpark, FL
2018 Thomas A. Felton Jr. Award of Distinction in Fine Art, Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Boardwalk Art Show, VA Beach, VA
2017 Randy Harris Memorial Award, Stockley Gardens Fall Arts Festival, Norfolk, VA
2017 James Madison University Studio Art Achievement Award – Painting Concentration
2016 Award of Merit, Riverview’s Artspace Annual Juried Show, Lynchburg, VA
2016 Award of Merit, Edna Curry/John Bower Exhibition, Bedford, VA
2016 Juror’s Award, James Madison University Undergraduate Juried Show
2015 Juror’s Award, James Madison University Undergraduate Juried Show

HONORS
2019 Jay D. Kain Scholarship in Art Education
2013 – 2017 Marion Park Lewis Foundation Scholarship
2014 Disassembled Clock – Home Sweet Home accepted into Gardy Loo Arts and Literature Magazine

TEACHING
Art Educator, West Point Elementary School, West Point, VA, 2017-19

EDUCATION
James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA, Bachelor of Science, Studio Art and Pre-K-12 Visual Arts Teaching Licensure