Ron Zito

In some respects, I have become a chronicler of empty spaces. I don't believe that a place ever loses its human presence. People live, die, or move on, but their spirit remains. We leave something of ourselves behind in the spaces we inhabit, either in the physical changes we make, or because of the dings and dents of time. Therefore, in a sense, there are no real empty spaces.    

I also paint the western landscape in all its boundless variety, from distant peaks to the sparse plains of eastern Colorado, with their mixture of use and abuse. In my work in contemporary realism I try to capture the meaning of the Latin phrase: finitum capax infiniti, -- the finite is capable of the infinite -- which means that there is no access to the infinite except through the finite. It is an apt description of how I feel about our connection to the material world, especially our changing western landscape.

For a good explanation of my artistic thought process, please read this interview in The Denver Dart:






Awards:


3rd Place Juror's Award, 2019 All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts - Greenwood Village, CO
Honorable Mention, 2018 Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Forney Museum - Denver
Merit Award, 2015 Governor...

I have taken a circuitous route to art. I grew up around artistic uncles, aunts, and cousins in the New York/New Jersey area. My high school art teacher, Lawrence Schroth, was a wonderful teacher and artist and an encouraging mentor. Traveling out west to Flagstaff, Arizona I majored in commercial art, but soon switched to the study of english and history. With the gentle persistence of my former wife I finally found my way back to drawing and painting after a fifteen-year hiatus.    

At first, I was attracted to the color and directness of pastels, and I immediately took to the medium. After my initial exposure to pastels with Tony Ortega at the Art Students League of Denver, I took workshops with Bruce Gomez, Molly Davis, and Mark Nelson. Now painting in oil, I concentrate on interior scenes and more symbolic urban and rural landscapes.

2019
All Colorado Art Show, Curtis Center for the Arts - Greenwood Village, CO
Greeley Stampede Western Invitational, Island Grove Event Center - Greeley, CO
Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show Expo Hall - Denver

2018
Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show Expo Hall - Denver
Open Space: The Finite Frontier - Curtis Center for the Arts, Greenwood Village, CO
Greeley Stampede Western Invitational, Island Grove Event Center - Greeley, CO

2017
Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show
Expo Hall - Denver
Greeley Stampede Western Invitational, Island Grove Event Center - Greeley, CO
3-Person Show with Joyce Coco & Tom Mazzullo, Spark Gallery - Denver
Own an Original Arts Exhibition, Littleton Museum - Littleton, CO

2016
FOPAS Art Auction for the Denver Art Museum
Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale, National Western Stock Show
Expo Hall - Denver
Governor's Art Show, Loveland Museum - Loveland, CO

2015
Wild Things: animal portraits, with Katy Charles, Cake Crumbs - Denver
Art & Soul, Space Gallery - Denver
Governor's Art Show, Loveland Museum - Loveland, CO

2014
Holy Moly: Religious Commentary in Contemporary Art, Niza Knoll Gallery - Denve...