Upper West Side+

Roger Winter
August 26–September 30, 2023
Opening reception Saturday, August 26, 5:00-7:00 pm
Artist will be in attendance virtually

Artist's statement

The Upper West Side, like most New York neighborhoods, is in a constant state of reconstruction and maintenance. One block of apartments might house as many people as a small town in Texas. And the population changes steadily. It is this restless, evolving nature of my adopted home that I love the most. And I'm not alone. Fences around building sites often have diamond shaped holes cut in them so that we can safely watch the progress of change.

As a teacher I often asked my students to take photos of things seen that were not identifiable as objects. In the present group of paintings at Kirk Hopper's gallery, I may not go that far, but I emphasize the geometry, the unpredictable colors, the shapes that have my eye. Sometimes it's a window or a wall or a night view out one of our apartment windows. Briefly, something I see that might become a form-conscious painting.

Multiple Levels, 2022, oil on museum board, 29" x 39"

Roger Winter's career spans over six decades. His work transforms tremendously due to his determination to continually experiment and his openness to change. Through his mastery of color and line, the artist creates paintings with a premeditated complicity that encourage the viewer to explore the canvas in a rhythmic motion.

Winter's works are a testimony of his keen awareness of his surroundings. He tends to combine direct observation with memories and dreams to create engaging and expressive images. He juxtaposes photographic representations with unexpected elements, causing the image to take on a deeper reality.

During his tenure at Southern Methodist University, Winter mentored some of the most important contemporary artists in Texas, including John Alexander and David Bates.

Roger Winter was born in Denison, Texas. He holds a BFA from the University of Texas at Austin and a MFA from the University of Iowa. His works are included in permanent collections of the Dallas Museum of Art, the El Paso Museum of Art, the Meadows Museum of Art in Dallas, and the McNay Museum in San Antonio.

He currently lives and works in New York.