'Pentimento' by Max Rippon

For the body of work presented in 'Pentimento' Max Rippon painted each canvas 5 times with 5 layers of texts. After completion each layer was masked off in sections and re painted to make way for the next layer, destroying most of what was there before. Comprised of illustrated texts taken from news headlines discussing recurring themes in the media, Rippon compares the act of painting over and destroying something precious to the way we are constantly fed news, propaganda, and advertising. Language and images are used to demand our attention in a subject that may or may not have any bearing on our lives, then in no time we are bombarded with the next story. Over time our memories and opinions on these subjects, like the paintings themselves, become fragmented and abstract.

Max Rippon (also known by the pseudonym Ripo) is a multi-disciplinary artist whose work explores the impact and nuances of textual communication through language, forms, and symbols.

Born and raised in NYC. After graduating from art school in the United States in 2005 he left for Barcelona, Spain where he has since dedicated himself to painting and creating artwork both in the streets and the studio. In recent years his work has become primarily text-based, exploring and communicating through typography, calligraphy and other hand-painted elements. His works often offer more questions than answers, always with a sense of sarcasm and humour laying beneath the surface. His influences are rooted in his upbringing in NYC, his current life in Barcelona, as well as his extensive travels across Europe and Latin America.

Rippon has shown his work internationally with solo exhibitions in San Francisco, Barcelona, Cologne, Brussels, and London as well as participating in curated group shows from Brazil to Romania. He has created murals and other public works in cities, remote villages, and abandoned structures across 36 countries in three continents.