Olly Olly, In Come Free!
Hymn Singer
oil
24"x36"
On Friday, November 3rd, Kyle Ragsdale’s 20th annual show opened in the Harrison Gallery and Gallery Annex titled, Olly Olly, In Come Free!
Ragsdale’s work and life reflect his love of community. For more than 15 years, Ragsdale gathers with all of the families on his Fountain Square block every Sunday for dinner. He considers his neighbors to be like family and has enjoyed commemorating this sense of community through his figurative paintings, which depict the children on his block interacting with each other and the landscape.
This collection of new work references Ragsdale's 2017 show titled, “Other People’s Children.” This exhibit centered around Ragsdale’s experience of being involved in these children’s lives. Six years later, he decided to paint the same individuals as they grow up and leave childhood behind.
The title, Olly Olly, In Come Free! refers back to Ragsdale’s own childhood and his memories of playing hide and seek. When the game ended and the players were safe, someone would yell, “Olly olly, in come free!”
Asher's Vision
oil
4'x5'
Ragsdale reflects on the meaning of that phrase: “Those words and that concept is something that only kids do–that grace, the truce– but adults don’t do that. Where you’re not punished. It relates to grace and also to me.”
Ragsdale sees the phrase “Olly olly, in come free!” as a call to cross divides that come between people; it is a call to be together with one another in community. The paintings are imbued with this sense of kinship and innocence.
For Ragsdale, process is key to the physicality and the meaning in the paintings. “My works are not premeditated. I find the work as I go. Oftentimes, the meanings come out without me knowing or telling. There is a sense of community or relationships, a closeness of being together even though there are differences in the people and subjects.” Says Ragsdale.
Fallen Tree
oil
3' x 4'
Many of the works in Olly Olly, In Come Free! are inspired by Ragsdale’s recent painting residency with the Indiana Dunes National Park, where he worked from the landscape en plein air to capture the quality of light found in the work. The paintings were made using combs, knives, and trowels that give the work a variety of textures.
The show can be viewed anytime during the month of November during Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The works can additionally be viewed and purchased on our online gallery through December.