The Academy in Peril is a solo exhibition inaugurating new oil paintings by New York, Paris, Miami artist, Ritchard Rodriguez.

 

The first three are an answer to casual moments during his gestural paintwork of an abstract geometrical approach, each following the title of music compositions. They go as follows: ‘The Academy in Peril’, an improvised piano composition by John Cale; ‘Dub Housing’, from eclectic rock band, Pere Ubu, and likewise a tribute to their founder, David Thomas, who passed away in 2025; and ‘By Kind Permission Of’, a piece performed on the piano by rock band Jethro Tull’s John Evan.

 

The other two pieces in the show were painted in 1989 in Paris where the artist resided at the time, his final works painted representationally before diving into his own abstraction. The series, ‘L’Élue’, were nine pieces in all. However, these two works were singled out and embellished in 2025 creating a fusion of the then with his gestural work of today to his own personal satisfaction.