about. | Hriccardi Fine Art

About

Heather Riccardi

Heather Riccardi is a Philadelphia-based abstract artist whose work delves into the intangible realms of human experience. With a focus on dreams, memories, emotions, and the interplay between light and darkness, Heather's art serves as a visual exploration of the soul and the ever-shifting nature of perception.

Education

Heather holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA, where she honed her skills and developed her unique artistic voice. Her academic journey provided a strong foundation in various techniques and art history, which continue to inform her work today.

Artistic Vision

At the core of Heather's work lies a fascination with the distortion of clarity over time. Her paintings serve as a bridge between the conscious and subconscious, inviting viewers to explore the liminal spaces where reality blurs into abstraction. Through a nuanced use of color, texture, and form, Heather creates pieces that resonate on an emotional level, evoking feelings and memories unique to each observer.

Process and Techniques

Heather's artistic process is intuitive and exploratory. Each piece begins as a dialogue with the canvas or paper, with layers of paint applied, scraped away, and reapplied in a rhythmic dance of creation and deconstruction. This technique mirrors the way memories and emotions evolve and transform over time, resulting in works rich with depth and hidden narratives.

Incorporating elements of collage, Heather often integrates fragments of text or other materials into her paintings. These elements add both visual texture and conceptual depth, serving as whispers of half-remembered thoughts or echoes of past experiences.

Exhibition History

Heather's work has been featured in galleries throughout the Philadelphia area and beyond. Heather is currently taking a hiatus from exhibiting, however was active 1992-2020 and plans to continue in 2025. Her pieces can be found in private collections across the United States and Italy, speaking to the universal appeal of her abstract explorations.

Influence and Inspiration

Heather's artistic vision is shaped by a rich tapestry of art historical movements and pioneering artists. Her work draws significant inspiration from post-impressionism, modernism, expressionism, and German expressionism. These movements' emphasis on emotional intensity, subjective perspectives, and innovative approaches to form and color deeply resonate with Heather's artistic sensibilities.

Key artists who have profoundly influenced Heather's artistic journey include:

Vincent Van Gogh: His bold use of color and emotive brushwork
Edvard Munch: The raw emotional power and psychological depth in his works
Egon Schiele: His expressive line work and unflinching explorations of the human form
Käthe Kollwitz: Her poignant depictions of human suffering and resilience
Chaim Soutine: His intensely expressive style and distorted forms
Alberto Giacometti: The existential quality of his elongated figures
August Macke: His vibrant color palette and fusion of expressionism with abstraction
Marcel Duchamp: His conceptual approach and challenge to traditional artistic norms
Salvador Dalí: The dreamlike quality and symbolic richness of his surrealist works
Jackson Pollock: His revolutionary approach to abstract expressionism and action painting
Andy Warhol: His exploration of popular culture and the nature of art itself
Erich Heckel: His bold, angular forms and expressive use of color in German Expressionism
Cy Twombly: His integration of gestural abstraction with elements of writing and symbolism

Heather also draws inspiration from numerous groundbreaking female artists, including:

Gabriele Münter: Her bold use of color and simplified forms in German Expressionism
Paula Modersohn-Becker: Her innovative approach to self-portraiture and expressive style
Helen Frankenthaler: Her soak-stain technique and lyrical abstract expressionism
Lee Krasner: Her dynamic compositions and evolution within abstract expressionism
Joan Mitchell: Her energetic brushwork and emotive use of color in abstract landscapes
Elaine de Kooning: Her fusion of abstraction and representation in vibrant compositions

These artists, each revolutionary in their own right, have collectively shaped Heather's approach to art-making. Their influence can be seen in her fearless exploration of emotion through color, her willingness to distort form in pursuit of deeper truths, and her constant push against the boundaries of abstract expression.

Heather's work synthesizes these diverse influences, filtering them through her unique perspective and experiences. The result is a body of work that honors its artistic lineage while forging new ground in the exploration of memory, emotion, and the subconscious. Her art stands as a testament to the ongoing dialogue between past and present, tradition and innovation in the world of abstract expressionism.