R Dugger Houston

Artist Statement

Beauty, in both the real and philosophical sense has always been my interest and focus in art.

Beauty in art over the last century, has moved from a supreme ideal, to become oddly a trite and even offensive concept. A notion that art could only be valuable and important if it was focused on social or political ideas and concerns took hold and the word beauty was re-cast to mean decoration in the most pejorative sense.

While a focus on concept is a powerful role that art can play, the abandonment of beauty is a tragedy for art and society at large. Without artists to lead the charge for beauty our entire culture has lost sight of how beauty can be wrapped into all aspects of our daily lives.

I do not believe that I hold special knowledge or power to see beauty where others do not. Rather, my role is to be a catalyst and to encourage others to reawaken this power within themselves. Beauty, and a focus on it, creates more beauty.

My painting focuses on color. I use color to describe light and space, but even more importantly, to create emotion and energy. I use color to play with the space often flattening or flipping foreground and background spaces, based on feeling and the mood the painting calls for, rather than the desire to illustrate data about an image.

I have been heavily influenced by the art and style of the Nabis, specifically Edouard Vuillard. While painting figures and scenes they saw their work less as depiction and more as the exterior display of metaphor and symbols native to themselves as artists.

I paint with egg tempera, a centuries old technique where pure pigment is mixed into fresh egg yolk as a binder. Because the paint is mixed in small quantities as I paint (it dries very quickly) immediacy is called for in decisions about color, making the paintings more like a dance that happens in the moment. The finished work remains fresh and vibrant, speaking to the way it was created.

Biography

R Dugger grew up in a family of artists where there was a constant focus on art, music and culture. Being raised with an emphasis on these qualities allowed him to keep his natural focus on beauty and not have it washed out by mother culture, which was moving in the opposite direction. His parents were both painters, his father was also a professional photographer and his Mother made sculpture and worked as a graphic designer.

R Dugger moved every three years or so as a child. This exposure to constant change made him adaptable and created a desire for new experiences. R Dugger’s own interest in being an artist did not begin until he hit 16 when he suddenly began painting in oils and making sculpture. His mother immediately enrolled him in night school for life drawing and set him on his path.

He went to the Minneapolis College of Art and design where received a BFA in Fine Art. During this time he spent a semester in Florence Italy, this had a huge impact on his life and work and he would return to Italy to live multiple times over the next few years. Italy had a particular effect on R Dugger’s understanding of what beauty in art can be and what it means to live with beauty in practical daily life and as an ideal in society.

R Dugger received his MFA from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. He switched from oil painting to egg tempera painting when he married his wife. She had a reaction to the fumes associated with oil painting and water based egg tempera fixed this while creating a new challenge R Dugger in his painting. The switch was beneficial and created more fresh look which fit his vision better than the glossy smoothness of oil.

While R Dugger has been a life long artist he only recently developed an interest in showing his work and making his focus as a career.

Since the beginning of 2024 R Dugger has appeared in multiple shows through the country including:

2024 "Interconnecting Lines" juried international group show, Artio Gallery, April, New York City, Juror Bisa Bennett, www.artiogallery.com

2024 “Mountain Plains Contemporary Art Biennial”, juried group show, Salina Art Center, May-Sept, Salina KS, Juror Jane Burke, www.salinaartcenter.org

2024 “Finest Art Showcase San Diego” juried international group show, Art Scene West Gallery, June 1 – Aug 31, San Diego CA, www.artscenewest.com

2024 “Open Theme Annual 2024”, juried group show, Webster Arts, June 28 – Aug 2, Webster Groves MO, Juror Jane Everett, www.webster-arts.org

Afternoon in The Library_2024_Egg Tempera on Canvas _36 x 36 inches
Anna in The Green Chair_2024_Egg Tempera on Canvas _48 x 30 inches
Portrait of The Artists_2024_Egg Tempera on Canvas _24 x 20 inches
The Covid Shot_2024_Egg Tempera on Canvas _30 x 24 inches
The Last Hotel_2022_Egg Tempera on Canvas _48 x 30 inches
Thursday's Walk_2023_Egg Tempera on Canvas _40 x 30 inches
Victory of General Aaron_2024_Egg Tempera on Canvas _48 x 30 inches