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Paradox & Conformity
Paintings, Prints & Planes by Richard Deon
The Exhibition: Paradox and Conformity—
Paintings, Prints & Planes by Richard Deon
Richard Deon’s work is deeply inspired by his childhood
education when he was taught history from outdated
American social studies textbooks that included
illustrations reflecting the so-called “consensus
history” of the 1950s in the United States. A major
influence for the artist has been the book Visualized
Civics, published to teach—through illustrations and
text—social behaviors and concepts to the young
generation of American citizens of the time.
Through Deon’s contemporary use of imagery found
in Visualized Civics, the original scenes from the book
lose their rational, didactic meaning. What remains are
isolated figures and structures assembled into new
scenarios through visual and conceptual collages that
can be defined as a sort of social surrealism. Deon’s
works reflect a language based on recursive imagery,
and while always identical in form, the key figures change
meaning in relation to the context of each new work.
The conformity promoted in the 1950s through
familiar and reassuring images is deconstructed in
Deon’s work and represent paradoxical conditions of
today’s society, where relativism and individualism have
become the new and uncertain principles of our lives.
—Bartholomew F. Bland, Curator of Exhibitions,
Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York
Contact:
Richard Deon
7 Berkshire Road
Dover Plains, NY 12522
845.877.3445
deonr@aol.com
www.richarddeon.com
Cover: Reseller, acrylic on canvas, 6’ 5½” x 8’.
Overleaf: “Paradox and Conformity” Installation view
at Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY.
Richard Deon: A Short Biography
The work of Richard Deon has been featured in solo
and group exhibitions in museums and galleries in the
United States and in Europe, including the Rosemary
Duffy Larson Gallery at Broward College, Davie,
FL; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia,
MO; the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY; the
Housatonic Museum of Art in Bridgeport, CT; and
CCC Strozzina at the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy.
In addition, his public art commissions include: the
NY Metropolitan Transit Authority; the Department of
Transportation/Public Art Fund, and The Urban Center
in New York City; the Norton Museum of Art in West
Palm Beach, FL; and SGC International, Washington
University in St. Louis. In addition, Deon’s work is in
public and corporate collections, including those of the
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, MO;
the Museum of Modern Art /Franklin Furnace Artist
Book Collection, and Pfizer, Inc., in New York City;
and the Roland Gibson Collection, State University of
New York, Potsdam.
www.richarddeon.com
Left: Writ Large, billboard installed above Good Citizen
Gallery, Saint Louis, MO, 14' x 48'. Photo by Jordan Seiler.
Center: The Quick Response Squadron, Mixed media.
Group of five. 8' x 13½' each. Installation view, Foreman
Gallery, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY.
Right: “Paradox & Conformity: Paintings, Prints & Planes by
Richard Deon,” installation view at Rosemary Duffy Larson
Gallery, Broward College, Davie, FL. Center: Mal Occhio,
acrylic on synthetic canvas, 20' 6" x 10' 5". Right: Untitled
Volcano (Birth by Averaging), acrylic on synthetic canvas,
10' 11" x 20' 6". Peace Deal on Wheels, acrylic on wood,
42" x 34" x 8". Photo by Herb Yeates.

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Deon Visual Art

  • 1. Paradox & Conformity Paintings, Prints & Planes by Richard Deon The Exhibition: Paradox and Conformity— Paintings, Prints & Planes by Richard Deon Richard Deon’s work is deeply inspired by his childhood education when he was taught history from outdated American social studies textbooks that included illustrations reflecting the so-called “consensus history” of the 1950s in the United States. A major influence for the artist has been the book Visualized Civics, published to teach—through illustrations and text—social behaviors and concepts to the young generation of American citizens of the time. Through Deon’s contemporary use of imagery found in Visualized Civics, the original scenes from the book lose their rational, didactic meaning. What remains are isolated figures and structures assembled into new scenarios through visual and conceptual collages that can be defined as a sort of social surrealism. Deon’s works reflect a language based on recursive imagery, and while always identical in form, the key figures change meaning in relation to the context of each new work. The conformity promoted in the 1950s through familiar and reassuring images is deconstructed in Deon’s work and represent paradoxical conditions of today’s society, where relativism and individualism have become the new and uncertain principles of our lives. —Bartholomew F. Bland, Curator of Exhibitions, Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York Contact: Richard Deon 7 Berkshire Road Dover Plains, NY 12522 845.877.3445 deonr@aol.com www.richarddeon.com Cover: Reseller, acrylic on canvas, 6’ 5½” x 8’. Overleaf: “Paradox and Conformity” Installation view at Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, NY. Richard Deon: A Short Biography The work of Richard Deon has been featured in solo and group exhibitions in museums and galleries in the United States and in Europe, including the Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery at Broward College, Davie, FL; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, MO; the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY; the Housatonic Museum of Art in Bridgeport, CT; and CCC Strozzina at the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy. In addition, his public art commissions include: the NY Metropolitan Transit Authority; the Department of Transportation/Public Art Fund, and The Urban Center in New York City; the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, FL; and SGC International, Washington University in St. Louis. In addition, Deon’s work is in public and corporate collections, including those of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia, MO; the Museum of Modern Art /Franklin Furnace Artist Book Collection, and Pfizer, Inc., in New York City; and the Roland Gibson Collection, State University of New York, Potsdam.
  • 2. www.richarddeon.com Left: Writ Large, billboard installed above Good Citizen Gallery, Saint Louis, MO, 14' x 48'. Photo by Jordan Seiler. Center: The Quick Response Squadron, Mixed media. Group of five. 8' x 13½' each. Installation view, Foreman Gallery, Hartwick College, Oneonta, NY. Right: “Paradox & Conformity: Paintings, Prints & Planes by Richard Deon,” installation view at Rosemary Duffy Larson Gallery, Broward College, Davie, FL. Center: Mal Occhio, acrylic on synthetic canvas, 20' 6" x 10' 5". Right: Untitled Volcano (Birth by Averaging), acrylic on synthetic canvas, 10' 11" x 20' 6". Peace Deal on Wheels, acrylic on wood, 42" x 34" x 8". Photo by Herb Yeates.