Within Conversations Between Women
A solo exhibition by Rita Duris
“Originally from Montreal, I relocated to the city of Erie and have been deeply impressed by the openness, generosity, and strength of the cultural community of this regional city. Since relocating, I have formed meaningful connections through conversations with women of my artistic community. I have found that women express feelings and personal histories easily, with a genuine desire to share, communicate, and connect.
These conversations, some brief, others more sustained, have left me with a sense of shared experience and helped me feel at home in a new city.
These exchanges have become the foundation for a major body of work. My goal for ‘Within Conversations between Women’ is twofold: first to acknowledge and celebrate the creative contributions of these women and secondly; to explore conversation as a window into human expression and presence.
The inspiration for this exhibition comes from a David Hockney exhibition I saw in Los Angeles. Each work was the same size, large in scale, and framed in the same way. This uniformity allowed the focus to rest on the unique presence of each subject. As I moved through the space, the works shifted from individual portraits to a collective installation—one that conveyed the beauty, dignity, and individuality of each person. This experience deeply moved me and inspired my own effort to express the subtle, yet expressive nature of the human presence within my own style and sensitivities as an artist.
My process began by photographing each woman during conversation. Through this animated interchange between myself and my subject, I was trying to reveal moments that were natural and more reflective of the person themselves. The goal was not to achieve the most flattering pose but to reveal expressions that revealed inner life.
I initially envisioned my exploration as paintings. I began with what I thought would be studies of my subject which would then develop into large scale paintings. Yet, as I progressed the larger than life depictions became works on their own. I found that drawing, with its immediacy and responsiveness, allowed me the ability and ease to explore the emotionality of my subjects. Each of these portraits has its own unique marks, incorporating line, shadow and subtle veils intuitively formed to best communicate the uniqueness of each subject. Some are more finished than others. It is always an issue for an artist; when is a work truly finished? With these works it is when I felt I grasped the expression I was looking for. They are all of the same size and monumental in scale. Shown together as a collective installation, my goal is to celebrate and showcase their human presence.
As I have always been responsive to understanding and portraying expressions that hold a range of feeling, this exploration will continue and grow with the understanding that there are others to include over time.”
- Rita Duris