Opening reception for art works of Professor Emeritus Ron Kroutel draws large crowd [PHOTOS]

A large crowd gathered at Ohio University’s Kennedy Museum of Art on Jan. 19 for the opening of the “50-Year Journey: Ron Kroutel Paintings” exhibit, which runs through March 25.

The retrospective exhibition traces the artist's personal journey of self-discovery and sense of place after coming to Athens to live and work in 1966. Each piece is a variation for what Kroutel wants to do.

Kroutel, professor emeritus of art at Ohio University's School of Art + Design, recently moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, after teaching at the University for 48 years.

The exhibition, which includes 36 of Kroutel’s works, was initiated by his close friend and guest curator Rajko Grlić, Ohio University eminent professor of film.

Jeff Carr, KMA’s collections and exhibitions manager, said “Rajko wanted the exhibition to be a personal story, down to writing Ron’s memoirs on the wall to a replica of Ron's art van sitting in the gallery.”

During his walk and talk on Friday, Kroutel explained how he created his charcoal drawings and paintings of scenes in Athens and beyond.

“I would drive around in my van and look for something that is intuitively right,” Kroutel said. “I would draw that scene and then find another one that would work and draw that one.”

Kroutel laughed about sometimes being confronted by someone at the house or business where his van was parked. He said they always wanted to know what he was doing in front of their property or place of business, before he explained that he was just a harmless artist drawing a picture. He said they would usually be OK with his explanation and leave him alone.

To create the final pieces, Kroutel said he would combine two scenes into one.

“Sometimes one part was going up and the other part down,” Kroutel said. “They were two scenes that don't go together. In some of the drawings, the picture plane is sort of warped or twisted and that sense of space is another part of the emotional meaning of the work. It was a completely intuitive process.”

Kroutel said most everything in his paintings came from Athens Township except the scenes have been exaggerated and distorted. He said it was an elastic process and once he got the image he was interested in, he adjusted it.

“The idea of doing a bunch of sketches and putting them together after adjusting them has been going on for a long time and is not a new idea,” Kroutel said.

When asked if he had done any of his drawings or paintings as part of a series, he said that was never the case.

“They were not done in a couple of years,” Kroutel said. “I wasn't interested in doing a series of paintings; I was interested in creating a masterpiece.”

Kroutel also described how he created his humans in landscape paintings. He said he was inspired to create these paintings during his teaching days in Europe, which included stints in Italy and Germany.

“I wanted to try something very challenging, so I decided to paint a person doing something significant in landscapes,” Kroutel said. “The person would have to be performing a timeless emotional act like anger, hate, eroticism, happiness, etc.”

Carr said Friday’s larger than normal crowd at the exhibition opening was a byproduct of the popularity of Kroutel’s works and teaching career.

“Ron mentored generations of students, and his work has gone through considerable transformations during his career,” Carr said. “This was one of our best attended openings in recent memory. There is something here for everyone to relate to. It is a very personal exhibition.”

The Kennedy Museum of Art is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the website at https://www.ohio.edu/museum.

undefined"Animus I: Anger," 1973, Acrylic on canvas.

undefinedRon Kroutel drawings, 1970 (L-R) -- "Rhyme: Hand and Hand, Hand and Rake, Hand and Pincers."

undefinedArtist Ron Kroutel speaks with a Kennedy Museum of Art patron during the Jan. 19 opening reception of "50 Year Journey: Ron Kroutel Paintings." After more than 50 years of living in Athens, Kroutel moved to Fort Collins, Colorado.