We live in a fractured world of diametrically opposed viewpoints, cultural mores, and political ideologies. Ripley Jackson's recent paintings confront the proliferation of distinctive tribal values, through depicting divergent aspects of love through a representational visual context. At this point in history, We find ourselves in a pluralistic period of art where anything goes. Currently there is a plethora of abstraction taking place with new generations of artists mainly rehashing tired concepts that have devolved to the point where painterly gimmicks and implied expressionism have become the norm. The tradition of figurative painting, which was highlighted during great periods of the Renaissance, Baroque, Neo Classical and early Impressionism, has its own cadre of dedicated artists and followers. This being the case, how do we then define newness and originality in art, especially in painting? Is it perhaps the artist’s choice of subject matter, style and technique, or does originality in art even matter anymore?
