Ross Racine, a native of Canada, received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Université de Québec à Montréal and his Master of Fine Arts and a Graduate Diploma in Computer Science from Concordia University, Montréal. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries throughout Canada and the United States including Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Edmonton, New York, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Baltimore, and Kansas City.

Drawn freehand directly on the computer and printed on an inkjet printer, Racine’s drawings do not contain any photographs nor scanned material. The works are completely drawn in Adobe Photoshop, with pen and tablet, aside for some preparatory work in Adobe Illustrator. In Photoshop, Racine starts from a blank ground and builds up the work with a small set of basic tools and commands, such as selection, painting and cloning, copying and pasting, layers, luminosity and contrast, grain and smoothness, and automation. In short, the process is a combination of drawn material and various transformations done to this material with the help of the software.

Racine’s work is a commentary on today’s ever expanding suburban environment. It highlights the threshold between city and country and between so-called ‘progress’ and ‘preservation’. Racine’s work also draws attention to the increasingly dissolved edge between the virtual and the real, where our understanding of the truth is always in question. Racine brings to light the growing paradox of everyday living where we seek to balance issues of community, convenience, and conservation with privacy, self-reliance, and integration. Racine’s digital drawings are a reflection of both the fears and the dreams expressed in suburban culture. But perhaps more than anything, his work encourages us to simply smile and enjoy the patterns of our existence.

larger sizes of all prints available upon request

commissioned & site specific works are available from each artist; please call the gallery for details.

education

Concordia University, MFA,  Montréal, Québec

Université du Québec á Montréal, BFA,  Montréal, Québec

Graduate Diploma in Computer Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

solo and two-person exhibitions

2013     Solo exhibition, Musée des Beaux-Arts de Liège, Liège, Belgium
2011     Flatlands, (with Olalekan Jeyifous), Skink Ink Editions, New York
2011     North of Piney Acres, The Front Room Gallery, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York
2008     There, There, (with Peter Feigenbaum), Like the Spice Gallery, New York, New York
2001    Two of My Favorite Machines, Fly Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2001    Close Up, Open Space, Victoria, British Columbia
2000    Bois-de-Boulogne College, Montréal, Québec
1999    Strange Attractors, Harcourt House, Edmonton, Alberta
1998    Fictions, Maison de la Culture, Amos, Québec
1997    Red Head Gallery Showcase, Toronto, Ontario

group exhibitions

2012     Mount Airy Contemporary, forthcoming, Artists Space,  curated by Colin Keefe, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2011     Révision périphérique, Projective City, curated by Benjamin Evans, Paris, France
2011     New Prints 2011/summer, International Print Center, New York, New York
2011     Biennale Internationale de Gravure contemporaine (International Biennial of Contemporary Prints), Musée d’Art Moderne et d’Art Contemporain, Liège, Belgium
2011     An Exchange with Sol LeWitt, MassMoCA, North Adams, Massachusetts
2011     Fuseworks: Alarums and Excursions, The Front Room, New York, New York
2011     Aipotu: Visions, Mikhail Zakin Gallery, curated by John McGurk, Demarest, New Jersey
2011     Fuseworks: Multiples and Editions, Central Connecticut State University, New Britain, Connecticut
2011     New Prints 2010, Visual Arts Center, University of Texas, Austin, Texas
2011     Synesthesia, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2010     Kill Them Before They Multiply! Art in the Age of Spam, Des Moines Art Center, curated by Amy Worthen, Des Moines, Iowa
2010     The Ties that Bind, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2010     New Prints 2010, VisualArtsCenter, Universityof Texas, Austin, Texas
2010     Considering the City, Work Detroit, Schoolof Art& Design, Universityof Michigan, Detroit, Michigan
2010     Lost Horizon, Artjail, New York, New York
2010     BURB: Zones of Living, Manifest Creative Research and Drawing Center, Cincinnati, Ohio
2010     How Good Are Your Dwelling Places, Koffler Centre Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2010     Common Purpose, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2010     Multiple Matters – Grafische Konzepte, Künstlerhaus, Vienna, Austria
2010     Land Use Survey, Jen Bekman Gallery, New York, New York
2010     Environments, Cain Schulte Gallery, San Francisco, California
2010     (S) edition: Prints as Activism, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2010     Rock, Paper Scissors, IrvineFineArtsCenter, Irvine, California
2010     Drifting Away, Like the Spice Gallery, New York, New York
2010     Shared Response, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2010     New Prints 2010/autumn, International Print Center, New York, New York
2010     New Prints 2010/winter, International Print Center, New York, New York
2010     Delta National Small Prints Exhibition, ArkansasStateUniversity, State University, Arkansas
2010    Art Chicago, with eo art lab, Chicago, Illinois
2009     International Print Triennial, Rondo Sztuki Gallery, Katowice, Poland
2009    Give and Take, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2009     Fuse Works, The Front Room, New York, New York
2009     (S) edition: Prints as Activism, Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2009     New Prints 2009/autumn, International Print Center, New York, New York
2009    New Prints 2009/Winter, International Print Center, New York and Columbia College, Chicago
2009     In the Middle, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2009    North American Print Biennial, The Boston Printmakers, Boston University, Boston,     Massachusetts
2009    4th International Drawing Annual, Manifest Creative Research and Drawing Center,     Cincinnati, Ohio
2009    Delta National Small Print Exhibition, Arkansas State University, State University, Arkansas
2008    From Above and Beyond, Christinerose Gallery, New York, New York
2008    New Prints 2008/Summer: The Artist’s Commentary, International Print Center, New York,
New York
2008    New Prints 2007/08 Benefit Exhibition, International Print Center, New York
2008    The Ballot Show, The Front Room, New York
2008    Slow Art – Hybrids, Siggraph, Los Angeles, California
2008    Multiples and Editions, The Front Room, New York, New York
2008    Group Dynamics, eo art lab, Chester, Connecticut
2008    Have You Seen The Horizon Lately?, Leo Kesting Gallery, New York, New York
2008    Paper in Particular, Columbia College, Columbia, Missouri
2008    National Print Exhibition, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey
2008    Delta National Small Print Exhibition, Arkansas State University, State University, Arkansas
2007    Drawn and Quartered, Like the Spice Gallery, New York, New York
2007    New Prints 2007/Spring, International Print Center, New York, New York
2007    New Prints 2007/Winter, International Print Center, New York, New York
2007    Beyond Printmaking, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
2007    North American Print Biennial, The Boston Printmakers, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
2007    National Print Exhibition, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey
2007    National Print Exhibition, University of Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri
2007    National Drawing and Print Exhibition, College of Notre Dame, Baltimore, Maryland
2007    National Small Print Exhibition, University of Wisconsin, Kenosha, Wisconsin
2006    Inklandia, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
2006    Drawing No Conclusions, UICA, Grand Rapids, Michigan
2003    Wegway Magazine Exhibition, Spin Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2002    Wegway Magazine Exhibition, Propeller Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2001    Surprise, Archive Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
1998    More Than the Sun, Belgo Building, Montréal, Québec
1998    Rapid Eye Movement, Modern Fuel Gallery, Kingston, Ontario

awards and grants

2012     Project Grant, Canada Council for the Arts
2011     Biennial Prize, Biennale international de Gravure contemporaine, Liège, Belgium
2009    Chucki Bradbury Purchase Award, Delta National Small Print Exhibition, Arkansas State     University, State University, Arkansas
2008    Johnson & Johnson and Hunterdon Museum Purchase Prizes, National Print Exhibition, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey
2007    Legion Paper Award, North American Print Biennial, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
2000    Creation/Production Grant, Canada Council
1993    Exhibition Assistance Grant, Ontario Arts Council
1989    Québec Ministry of Culture
1988    Project Cost Grant, Canada Council
1987    B Grants, Canada Council
1985    B Grants, Canada Council
1984    Project Cost Grant, Canada Council
1983    Project Cost Grant, Canada Council
1981    Québec Ministry of Culture

publications

2011     Howard, Christopher, Critics’ Picks: Ross Racine, The Front Room, Artforum.com (New York), May: www.artforum.com/archive/id=282512011     Sarah Gerard, Ross Racine, BOMBlog (New York), June 16: www.bombsite.com/issues/1000/articles/5220 (interview)2011     Éloy, Céline, Des hommes et des histoires, FluxNews (Liège, Belgium), n°55, April 2011, p. 8
2011     Un(known) Cities, STUDIO (Milan), issue 01, November: 40-45,
www.rrcstudio.com/studiomagazine
2011     Inspiration, L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui (Paris), issue 381, January: cover, 69-72,
www.larchitecturedaujourdhui.fr
2011     Lieberman, Claire, When Bad is Good: Creativity and the Downturn, Art Experience: NYC, no. 3, Summer: 26-35, www.artexperiencenyc.com (article on artists and the recession)
2010     Worthen, Amy, Kill Them Before They Multiply! Art in the Age of Spam, Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa (exhibition catalog)
2010     Parsley, Tim, BURB: Zones of Living, (exhibition catalog) Manifest Creative Research and Drawing Center, Cincinnati
2010     Reade, Cyril, How good are your dwelling places, (exhibition catalog), Koffler Centre Gallery, Toronto, Ontario
2010     Klanten, R., Bourquin, N., Ehmann, S., Tissot, T., Eds, Data Flow 2, Gestalten, Berlin, 240
2010     Fictional Suburbia, Urban Spacemag (Hamburg, Germany), issue 3, December: 6-9,
www.spacedepartment.de/spacemag/category/ausgaben/ausgabe-3
2010     O’Connor, Josh, Interview with Fictional Suburbia Artist – Ross Racine”, The Urban Times, December: www.theurbn.com/2010/12/interview-fictional-suburbia-artist-ross-racine
2010     Seely, Thomas, Ross Racine, Art Uncovered, Breakthru Radio, New York, October:
www.breakthruradio.com/index.php?show=11678 (interview)
2010     Frost, Andrew, Beyond the Edge, The Art Life and Science Fictional, February:
www.artlife.blogspot.com, www.sciencefictional.wordpress.com (interview)
2010     Pande, Tejas, Ross Racine, Rising Wisely, October: http://blog.cstep.in/?p=795 (interview)
2008     Herting, Nora, Interview with Ross Racine, Proof of Concept, April: www.con10ny.com/proofofconcept.html

collections

Print Collection, New York Public Library, New York, New York
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Hunterdon Museum of Art, Clinton, New Jersey
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Bradbury Gallery, Arkansas State University, State University, Arkansas
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
International Print Triennial Society, Krakow, Poland
Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey
Fidelity Investments, Boston, Massachusetts
Hallmark, Kansas City, Missouri
Krause Gentle, West Des Moines, Iowa
Loto-Québec, Montreal, Canada
Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa. Musée du Québec, Quebec City. Air Canada, Steinberg, Montreal, Canada
Other private collections