- Ron Fundingsland; Half Life, 2009; intaglio; 24×18 inches
- Ron Fundingsland; Lucky Strikes, 2013; intaglio; 18×12 inches
- Ron Fundingsland; De Novo, 2010; intaglio; 24×18 inches
Fundingsland’s intaglio prints wend their way around the world, mainly the United States and Europe, through exhibition after exhibition. And the AP/RC fortunately holds a large cache of these richly bitten, mezzotinted, aquatinted iconic images. Recently the artist added to his collection eleven additional works that he completed between 1994 and 2014.
Fundingsland tends to isolate some modest facet of material culture–an ashtray, a tube of lipstick, a postcard-like image of the White House, a charm from a bracelet, a heart-shaped Valentine’s Day candy, a ribbed radiator hose, a souvenir sea shell, a flower’s bloom, a pair of baby shoes–and enhances each with poignant words in Latin or English, directional arrows arching toward movement or chaos, repeated messages in braille, dramatic bulletins of color, or richly sensual and seductive grounds. His icons guide us toward questions that dangle on the tip of our tongue, un-uttered and easily dissolved inquiries. The intellectual richness of the work resides in liquid confrontations between a simple object and an occluded meaning, uncertainty about the “right” question about this obvious “thing” in front of us. The sensual quality of each print provides moments of relief from these conundrums.
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