Photo by Jo Thompson.
Click HERE for Artist's complete bio.
Artist Statement:
“My paintings are a spontaneous occurrence, born of experience, but maturing reflexively in the process of creation. My technique is controlled improvisation. Gravity is my medium. Images are caught with intent."
Working in both 2D and 3D suits my temperament, and the many facets of my creativity. Beginning with drawing and graphic design in advertising, then painting in oils, finding my way into acrylics, and along the way, realizing I was a sculptor as well. Then came cell cast acrylic (which looks and feels like glass), mysterious and translucent, another lens to look through. Joining paint and resin to aluminum and steel, plexiglass, designing and fabricating minimal towers of welded aluminum. Fusing color and layers of gloss. Reflective. Meditative.
Everything connects. Aluminum bends, torches heat, paint flows, plexiglass fuses into a new substance.
Movement translated to form.
The left side of my brain demands deep dives into online branding and marketing. Dabbling in code. Bringing new language to another aesthetic. Designing custom websites fuels the opposite side of the brain.
Office – studio. Studio – office. The Computer has made friends with the paint and pigment.
Complete balance. Harmony. Satisfaction. Rewards, very deep rewards.
About the Artist:
Since 1996 I’ve maintained an art practice in Santa Fe, NM, where the high desert light fuels my spirit. My career began in the sweatshop of Reuben Donnelley Advertising as a young graphic artist and over many decades taken me to the outdoor marketplaces in Tananarive, Madagascar, the urban dynamism of Santiago, Chile and the modern youthful capital of Australia in New South Wales…Canberra. And many places in between.
Stimulated by the variety of the colors and customs on 5 continents, along with growing up in the beautiful Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, I have come to know this: I love making things. I love color.
A “dance” with cancer has given me some perspective on the creative part of my life, to notice what I notice. I look deeply into my creative impulses and see clearly now that my joy is color. I am in love with the movement in my work, sometimes kinetic and full of emotion, sometimes bold and masterful, sometimes languid and tentative.
My work is how I process life and find my balance. It is no surprise that I am drawn to the computer and the artistic avenue it affords me. I explore digital design and study film making. I love designing an innovative online presence for myself and clients. The computer and the studio bring me balance and rewards.
My journey has not been an easy one. But there are moments in the studio, when everything is working so well, the music is playing and the creative wheels are turning. Time does not exist. Only the piece of art unfolds under my strong hands. I am only the channel. And, like a child, it comes through me but it is not mine. It goes out into the world – to have a life of its own.
Biography
Pushing the boundaries of light, color, and design, Bette Ridgeway is celebrated for her large-scale, luminous poured canvases, which have garnered international recognition over a career spanning more than six decades. A master of contemporary Abstract Expressionism, Ridgeway’s artistic authority was forged through a pivotal thirty-year mentorship with the acclaimed painter Paul Jenkins. Under his guidance, she transitioned from subject-driven work to a profound exploration of color, space, and time—an evolution that shifted her practice from what Jenkins famously called "chaos" to "controlled chaos." This enduring partnership cemented her place in the lineage of mid-century masters and continues to define her approach to the canvas today.
Central to Ridgeway’s work is her signature "Layering Light" technique. By applying dozens of thin, transparent acrylic glazes onto unstretched canvas, she achieves a visceral depth and ethereal transparency that evoke the fluidity of watercolor. This mastery of luminosity has earned her some of the art world’s prestigious honors, including the International Prize “The Universal Genius” – A Tribute to Leonardo da Vinci for her four-part masterwork, "Dancing With Time" and the 2025 Artist of the Year Award from Rome’s Effetto Arte Foundazione. Her influence is truly global, with work held in major private and public collections and are presented by prestigious galleries across the United States and abroad.
The foundation of this expansive career began in Tupper Lake, a small village in the Adirondack Mountains of northern New York. Inspired by the pristine beauty of that six-million-acre natural habitat, Ridgeway began painting as a young child, eventually studying at the Albany Institute of History and Art, Russell Sage College, and the Art Students League. Her perspective was further broadened by decades of studying and teaching across Africa, Australia, and South America; global experiences that eventually led her to the art mecca of Santa Fe, New Mexico where her creativity is fueled by the high desert light.
As Ridgeway reflects on her sixty years of painting: "The best artists learn by themselves. Painting is a solitary experience, and to achieve excellence requires time and patience. We accumulate valuable life experiences and friendships that touch our souls. I chose the greats to be my teachers—Turner, Matisse, Monet, and Gauguin. Twentieth-century masters such as Mitchell ,Rothko, Diebenkorn, and Frankenthaler inspired me to dive deeply into my signature style. Paul Jenkins and Helen Frankenthaler, the consummate masters, continue to be a beacon of achievement that I strive for each day."
Ridgeway’s work remains a constant presence in renowned exhibitions and public commissions worldwide, standing as a testament to a lifetime spent "chasing the light."
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Exhibition History (selected)
2025 Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, Nm.
2025 Walter Wickiser Gallery, NYC
2024 Anticus Gallery, Scottsdale, Az.
2023 Southwest Gallery, Dallas, Tx.
2022 NYB Gallery, Kirkland, Wa.
2022 MAC Fine Art, Delray, Fl. Group show: Women
2020, 2021 and 2022 Solo exhibition, Ventana Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2019 Hanson Gallery, Sausalito, CA
2019 Anticus, Scottsdale, AZ
2018 "Large Works" MAC Fine Art, Ft. Lauderdale, Fl.
2017 Desert Mountain Fine Art, Scottsdale
2015 "Layering Light" The Signature Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2014 "The Language of Color" Legends Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2013 Gagliardi Gallery, London, UK “Art of the Mind II” Exhibition
2013 London Art Biennale (Inaugural Edition)
2012 Galerie Joyce, Paris, FR, "Color of Butterfly"
2012 Chianciano Art Museum, Tuscany, Italy "Art of the Mind"
2012 Rio Grande Gallery, Albuquerque, NM
2010 The McDaniel Collection, Rancho de San Juan, NM
2008 Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM
2007 M Gallery of Fine Art, Sarasota, FL
2007 Edmund Craig Fine Art, Ft. Worth, TX
2005 — 2006 Tadu Contemporary, Santa Fe, NM "Surface + Rhythm"
2004 Jordan Road Gallery, Sedona, AZ
2001 Expressions in Fine Art, Santa FE, NM
2000 ArtMerge Gallery, Dallas, TX "The Color of Jazz"
1999 Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, NY "Milennium Exhibition"
1996 Waxlander Kadouri Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
1989 FOTA Gallery, Alexandria, VA "Emerging Light"
1988 Windows Gallery, Beverly Hills, CA
1986 Kobiashi Gallery, Kyoto, Japan "Watercolors on Paper"
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COLLECTIONS (selected):
The Sammons Trauma Center, Methodist Hospital
Dallas, TX
The Foxwoods
Resort and Casino
Mashantucket, CT
The Mayo Clinic
Scottsdale, AZ
The Waterstone Spa and Resort
Boca Raton, FL
The John Deere
Corporate Art Collection
Moline, IL
The Federal Reserve Bank
Corporate Collection
Richmond VA
The Wynfrey Hotel
Birmingham, AL
Criterion Communications
King of Prussia PA
VonLehman CPA & Advisory Firm
Cincinnati, Ohio
Maryland National Capital
Park & Planning Commission
Rockville MD
Northwestern University
St. Paul, MN
Stratecom
Corporate Collection
Boulder CO
Kostmayer Associates
Corporate Collection
Washington DC
Dane Penland
Director of Photography
Smithsonian Institution
Dr. William G. Melson
Curator Emeritus
Dept. of Mineral Sciences
Smithsonian Institution
Mr. & Mrs. John Warren
Albuquerque, NM
Mr. & Mrs. Michael Lederer
Richmond, CA
Matthew Reese
National Democratic Institute
Mr. & Mrs. Leonardo Abrussezi
Abrussezi Collection
Rome Italy
Lynne Russell, Director of Education
National Gallery of Art
Washington DC
Dr. Jack Kukuk
Director of Education
John F. Kennedy Center
for the Performing Arts
Marcello Nisi
The Nisi Foundation Collection
Rome, Italy
Ambassador Ronald Palmer
George Washington University
Washington DC
Dr. John Syphax
Washington DC
Anne May
Santa Fe, NM
Julie & Jary Shimer
Rancho de San Juan
San Juan Pueblo, NM
Dudley McDaniel, M.D.
Rancho de San Juan
San Juan Pueblo, NM
Rebecca Copeland, M.D.
Johnson City, TN
Mr. & Mrs. Steve Leer
Boca Grande, CA
Mr. & Mrs. Peter Marshall
Toronto, Ontario, Canada