Halle Rittgers
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BIO
Halle Rittgers is an abstract painter living and working in Minnesota. Her abstract paintings explore the dynamic relationships between chance and intention, meditation and play, and color and texture. While studying at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. She began using natural dyes and second hand textiles, which led her to her unique style of stained washes and a lexicon of marks and shapes on canvas. After moving to Minnesota and receiving her BFA in visual arts in 2021 with honors, she immersed herself within the Minneapolis art community. Her professional art career has developed steadily since being in Minneapolis, with solo and group showings throughout the Midwest in spaces such as the Minneapolis International Airport, Gamut Gallery, Minnesota State Fair Fine Arts Competition, Supercharged Printmakers Gallery, On View Gallery, and the Kolman and Reeb Gallery. Halle has received distinguished awards such as the Cameron Booth Memorial Painting Award in 2020, the 2021 Raspberry Monday Purchase Award, and has studied under the mentorship of internationally acclaimed artist Ty Nathan Clark. She is a member of the Northeast Minneapolis Art Association and a former member of the Casket Arts Steering Committee, a testament to her enduring exploration for artistic community and collaboration. Her professional experience includes speaking on the Bethel University Art & Design Alumni Panel, co-curating a 16 person show in Minneapolis, working as a Gallery Sales Associate, and working one-on-one with collectors around the U.S. to create custom work for their spaces. Her paintings have been purchased by the Mayo Clinic, Martha Dayton Design, various health clinics in the Twin Cities area, and many individual collectors.
Artist Statement
My work is a visual narrative of life expressed through abstracted color and form on raw canvas. My paintings explore the dynamic relationships between chance and intention, meditation and play, and color and texture. While studying at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. I began using natural dyes and second hand textiles, which led me to my present style of using stained washes and a lexicon of marks and shapes on canvas. Growth and contemplation are present in the process as I make compositional choices, working in layers on paper and raw canvas. Each painting starts with playful experimentation as the brush meets the canvas, and advances into more refined exploration. My choice of mark making and my use of recycled materials from past work hint at distant memories in many of my final pieces. Through my painting practice, I am constantly striving to become more present and to find intrigue in the repetitive and familiar, noting that each small mark and moment in the process plays an important role in the final piece. These ideas run parallel to my exploration of daily life through liturgy, small practices, and the ordinary habits that form us as humans. I want to articulate these mundane moments of life as sacred occasions and celebrations that form us and become part of our story. The overlapping methodology in my work tells a dynamic story through the process of the painting itself.
