Biography

Biography

Born Redondo Beach California, 1978.
Richard Ellis has always considered himself a special visionary. Born with a genetic condition that resembles albinoism, he was often considered the "odd-man-out' , having to control the syndrome by the constant wearing of protective eye glasses that shielded him from the harsh rays of the Californian sun.

This could be one reason why he is so concerned with the human condition and the idea of isolation and alienation. However when questioned about this he denies his work resembles such referencing. Ellis is more concerned with creating beautiful paintings that work visually as well as producing an emotive response with in the viewer.

He also wants to challenge the sensibilities of contemporary art in so much as questioning the cheapening of art through curatorial rheteroic. Richard wants to bring back the technical skills of art making. He admires Cezanne, Caraveggio and Vermeer. He has destain for commercial reproduced production line work where the artist doesn't actually do the art and the so called "nothing-in-the-gallery syndrome" that preveiled in the nineties. Ellis also rejects the artstist-as-celebrity and the drugged up, misfit artist, that was so apparent in the eighties. Richard Ellis just wants to produce an artwork that is honestly engaging.
John Cechulski

MY PERSONAL DIALOGUE:

My own existence was formed by two main individual situations. -The first being a genetic disorder (somewhat like photophobia). This condition was diagnosed early in my childhood while in California. My eyes do not function well in bright light so I need special glasses to shield them from harmful external forces. As a boy migraines developed from this condition causing my whole self to reconfigure and existentialize with my surroundings, a very odd almost detached feeling. After it was diagnosed, I was never allowed to go outside unless I had dark glasses on and I used to get quite a bit of attention at Parkway, the school I attended. Unfortunately kids can be pretty cruel so I was the brunt of being different and therefore resented the condition and the situation. Having been traumatised, bullied and alienated I think this was the grounding for my relationship with art, not only giving me an outlet for channelling the resentment, but also reconfiguring my positioning within the social realm. This gave rise to the second formation in that I therefore had to come to terms with "difference" and had to acknowledge the process of relationships between bodies and context. "My Philosophy was moving its attention to bodily perception on the basis that the human mind is not a predetermined system, and that our experience of the world is actually determined by perception".
From Patricia Belli Web site: http://www.oocities.org/patricia_belli/home.html

Trick or treat

I left for NY in 1998 to begin the process of redefining who I was and started the journey of establishing my presence in the big apple with a firm conviction. This has come about simply because I believe in an art form that is TOTALLY honest and not constructed with an agenda or is critiqued. I would produce the greatest art the city has ever seen. I do believe I have done just that and will continue to do so in the future...
Richard Ellis Studio Diary 2000

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where I grew up: Flat at Pecala DeLa Conca, Redondo Beach ,CA