Opening Reception: The Artwork of Richard Goulis and Paul Everett

Join us to celebrate the opening of Artwork by Richard Goulis and Paul Everette. During the opening there will be a one of a kind, original interactive performance by Richard Goulis.

Richard Goulis is a multi-media artist and came to Providence in 1980 to attend the Rhode Island School of Design. During his studies in the Film/Animation/Video department he became aware of the local artistic community due to his frequent forays into the mysterious city and his development of various artistic projects outside the RISD community. His earliest performance art pieces have become part of the lexicon within the Rhode Island and RISD community and beyond. He was the recipient of the RISCA Fellowship for New Genres and numerous RISCA project grants, as well as research and development grants from The Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. His performance work has been seen at festivals around the world and his video pieces are in the collection of The Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Corning Museum of Glass, and many private collections.

Through his video work on the NetWorks series (a Rhode Island-based arts project co-created with Umberto Crenca and produced annually by Joseph A. Chazan, M.D. since 2008) he has showcased the work of selected artists who have played vital roles in shaping the contemporary visual arts community in Rhode Island. The collection of brief video portraits, which is currently being shown on public television, provides a window into the lives, practices, and cultural contributions of professional artists.

He is currently working with Sheryl Kopel on a documentary project about the Artist Space, AS220 in Providence, RI.

He is the Founding Artist Director of The Worcester Artist Group, in Worcester, MA and was the Founding Artistic Director of The Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, NM.

About Paul Everett

I grew up in an artistic, creative family. From an early age, I was enrolled in various art classes. I had a cup of coffee at RISD, which was interrupted by a brief tour with the band I was singing with at the time. Thus ended my higher education in the arts. I’ve been singing for various bands (including Coat of Arms, Plan 9, and currently Hope Anchor), have toured most of this continent playing music, and was recently inducted into the R.I. Music Hall of Fame. All the while, there has been engagement in the visual arts, as well.

Early on, I painted watercolors and drew the figure and landscape. This grew into a love for printmaking and eventually shifted to a focus on painting. I paint primarily in acrylics, but will use whatever is at hand for applied and surface media.

The work is typically non-representational and abstract, but is informed by land-patterns and cityscapes with merging vantage points, as well as an attention to design aesthetic. Nature versus industry is a common thread throughout most of my work.

I paint at night, usually in poor light, and this adds a degree of natural spontaneity and surprise to the process. Painting is a cathartic process for me, and so each piece conveys its own emotionality. Working in the abstract allows me to engage honestly in the cathartic whim, or moment.