Ron Gorchov: An Interview

Ron Gorchov (b. 1930) is an American artist who has been working with curved surface paintings and shaped canvases since 1967. He paints on convex/concave saddle-shape canvases with recurring pairs of symmetrical, oar-like images. These unique frames have become the basis for a wide range of experimentation through the use of color, surface, form, and shape. He uses simple paired strokes to create images that play with asymmetry within a basically symmetrical design, creating his emblematic doubled or mirrored image. Gorchov's paintings are included in many prominent collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Guggenheim. 

“It wasn’t until 1970, when the first real photographs of the planet Earth astounded everyone, … [that] you could say objectively that never before was an object seen that was so beautiful. Then, I thought, ‘That’s what we have to compete with’,” Gorchov says in this interview with Kate Horsfield.

A historical interview originally recorded in 1979.