Ronald Davis
(American, b. 1937)
Paolo, 1968.
Polyester resin and fiberglass.
60 x 144 inches.
Gund Gallery Collection; gift of Mr. and Mrs. Graham Gund ’63.
Ronald Davis began painting as an abstract expressionist but as he continued his art education, he translated the abstract into a hard, geometric style that heightened the effects of optical illusions. He used colored polyester resins and fiberglass to craft illusionistic paintings like Paolo from 1966 to 1972. He does not view the world and abstract it like the Cubists, but instead seeks to make minimalist, meaningless abstractions with high aesthetic appeal. He is inspired by the painterly perspectives of the Renaissance and those of Duchamp.
Title should be spelled:
“Paolo”, 1968 as in Paolo Uccello
___the artist
![[+]](https://www.thegundgallery.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Davis_Paulo.jpg){kind=link}
Clarification: This piece is named “Paolo,” not “Paulo” — it references Renaissance painter and mathematician Paolo Uccello, the perspective illusion studies of whom have inspired Ronald Davis for decades.