Jerry Ross

Jerry Ross (born May 11, 1944, in Buffalo, New York) is an American painter.

Early life and work He was born Gerald Gross to first-generation Jewish parents, Sidney and Jeanette Gross. The family moved to the suburbs (Kenmore and the town of Tonawanda, New York). An art teacher recognized his talent and recommended that he be enrolled at the Art Institute of Buffalo, which he attended from age seven until age eleven.

His art teacher, a Mrs. Beagleman, favored an impressionist style of painting, and she continued as his mentor until the art institute closed several years later. No institution was established to replace the art institute, and as a result Ross had no further formal training. (Eisen 2001, The Torch, p. 10). Ross's work is influenced by the Italian I Macchiaioli and verismo schools of art. He has had exhibitions in Italy, Las Vegas, and Oregon.

Activist years Following high school Ross studied at State University of New York at Buffalo. He became an activist opposed to the Vietnam War (he was one of the "Buffalo Nine" group of defendants), and worked on behalf of the political prisoner Martin Sostre. He was granted a B.A. in philosophy in 1968.

Life in Oregon

After graduation Ross moved to Arizona and changed his surname to Ross. While in Arizona, Ross lived in the Hotel Pancho Villa in Naco but traveled to Tucson on weekends. Eventually moving to Tucson, he founded the Tao Te Ching Society and taught tai chi in city parks. Ross had studied Kung fu from Wong Ting Fong in Buffalo and Master Liu in London. Adopting taoism as his outlook, Ross emphasized the four taoist virtues ("remote, foolish, cranky, and poor") and the five excellencies ( Chinese medicine, martial arts, calligraphy, painting, and philosophy).

He later moved to Oregon where he met his wife Angela Czyzewski at Ken Kesey's Poetic Hoohaw in Eugene in May, 1977. He continued teaching tai chi at Hayward Field, at the University of Oregon. His marriage to his first wife, Pamela Fore Tyree, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, ended in divorce. Pamela died accidentally in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2008.

Shortly afterward, Ross was juried into the New Zone Art Collective and helped to found the Downtown Initiative for the Visual Arts (DIVA) in Eugene, Oregon.

Arts activism In 1991, Ross founded the popular Salon des Refuses art show. After his work was rejected from the annual Mayor's Art Show in Eugene, Ross planted an easel outside of the exhibition's reception as a gesture of public protest. He was joined by other artists whose works were similarly rejected and who ultimately formed their own alternative exhibition, the Salon des Refuses, which has been held every year since 1991.

Influences

Ross's painting style has been influenced by Abstract Expressionism, particularly the work of Willem de Kooning and Richard Diebenkorn. This influence is revealed in his bold use of color and his expressive, experimental handling of pigment. His painterly style utilizes a technique borrowed from Francis Bacon (mild distortions) but, as seen in the Portrait of Carlo Bianchi, it also references photography and computer imagery. Ross has also been influenced by Umberto Coromaldi (Rome 1870–1948, Telemaco Signorini (Florence, 1835–1901), and most recently, Domenico Morelli (Napoli, 1823–1901).

Exhibitions 1988 New Zone Art Gallery—two-person show, group shows 1989 Hult Center, Mayor's Art Show -- Portrait after Oreshnikov 1991 Founding Salon des Refuses Show -- Portrait after Frans Hals 1995 Hult Center, Mayor's Art Show -- Portrait of Bob Devine 1999 Comune di Loiano, Italy (June 17-July 3) 1999 American Consulate in Milan, Italy 1999 Collier House (Faculty Club), University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon 2000 American Consulate in Milan, Italy 2000 Cafe Cabiria, Florence, Italy (Piazza S. Spirito) 2000 Comune di Loiano, Loiano (Bologna), Italy 2000 Mayor's Choice Award, Mayor's Show, Eugene, Oregon -- La Mamma 2001 Provenance Gallery, Eugene—solo show 2001 Jacob's Gallery -- Art in History, Science, and Culture 2001 31st Annual Willamette Valley Juried Show, Corvallis, Oregon 2001 Rome, Italy, Galleria d' Arte La Borgognona 2002 Rome, Italy, Galleria d' Arte La Borgognona 2003 Chetwynd-Stapleton Gallery, Portland 2003 Marghitta Feldman Gallery—solo show 2004 "Connections" Contemporary Arts Collective, Las Vegas, Nevada 2004 Barrios Cafe, Milan, Italy 2004 Salon des Refuses at DIVA -- Portrait of Carlo Giuliani 2005 Adam's Place and Luna's Jazz Center 2006 Le Loggia della Fornace, Rastignano, Italy -- Colori d'Europa 2006 Milano Opening Centro Foscolo, Comune di Corsico 2006 Comune di Loiano Sala Fantazzini di Loiano 2006 Mayor's Art Show, Eugene, Oregon 2006 Jacobs Gallery Eugene, Oregon 2007 The Springfield Museum, Springfield, Oregon—solo exhibition 2008 TrackTown USA—Maude Kerns—Eugene, May 30 2008 Olympic Trials Exhibit—Eugene Airport, June–July 2008 Eugene Mayor's Art Show September-Oct 2008 November - DIVA Gallery One—Nov 25 thru December 2009 "Uprising" Springfield Museum January 30-February 21 2009 20th Annual Juried Show Las Vegas, February 5 - March 27 2009 World Art Expo 2009: June 7–14 Orange County, CA 2009 Grand Salon Des Arts gallery. (Brea Galler, Orange County, CA 2010 LaFollette Gallery, One Person Show, April and May 2010 Open Studio American Academy in Rome, Italy, Dec 12th 2011 The Eugene Jazz Station 124 W. Broadway Two month exhibit 2011 "La Poetica del vero"—Eugene Yoga Center, Sept-Oct 2011 Eugene Mayor's Show 2011, Sept-Oct 8th 2011 Visual Arts Showcase—Beaverton, Oregon, Nov 4–13 2012 Runyan Gallery, Nye Beach Newport, March 2 - April 2 2012 August 1 - August 15 Buffalo, NY: "RELATED" a 4-person show at Queen City Gallery, Buffalo, New York 2012 Eugene Mayor's Show, Sept-Oct 2012 October Brownville Art Association, Brownsville, OR "Club Macchia" exhibit 2013 March 27 Open Studio, American Academy in Rome 2013 April 25-May 15 Terni, Italy Comune di Terni Centro Via Aminale 2013 August 1 - August 31 - Club Macchia Group Show, Brownsville Art Center, Brownsville, OR 2013 Sept 1 - Sept 30, Out on a Limb Gallery, E. Broadway, Eugene 2014 Feb-Mar Randy's Cafe in Brownsville: 13 paintings 2014 March Eugene City Bakery: 10 paintings 2014 August - October 4 Eugene Mayor's Show 2015 March 27-May 2 "The Macchia Six" group show at the Jacobs Gallery 2016 April 23 at Villa San Carlo Borromeo in Senago (near Milan) the painting "La Tavola Italiana" by Jerry Ross and sculpture: "La Tavola Italiana" by Giovanni Smeraldi. 2017 Here for All Exhibit Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, OR 2017 Jim Tronson Gallery 740 Main Street, Springfield, OR Oct-Nov Tues-Sat 1-4 pm 2017-2018 November–April US Federal Building, Eugene, OR "Faces and Places" 2019 July-Oct Cafe Soriah, Eugene, Oregon 2019 Nov 9 - Dec 21st About Light 700 SW Madison Ave Corvallis, OR 2020 January Emerald Art Center 500 Main Street Springfield, Oregon 2026 (forthcoming) Retrospective exhibition, Gordon Hotel, Eugene, Oregon

Awards and recognitions Jerry Ross has been honored in Eugene, Oregon, with many local awards for his paintings, including Mayor's Art Show awards for La Mamma: Portrait of Stephania Mastrocinque and Vedova di Guerra: War Widow. In 2001, he received a Juror's Award at the 31st Annual Willamette Valley Juried Show in Corvallis, Oregon. In 1996, he came in second place in a painting competition held in Livergnano, Italy. In 2005, he won a gold medal and one-person show in Milan, Italy, as a result of a competition held in Corsico (Milan), Italy, sponsored by "Il gruppo cesare Frigerio." The Milan jurors wrote that Ross's work represented "un naturalismo di matrice novecentesca ed un cromatismo tonale di forte effetto plastico costruiscono un'atmosfera compostamente poetica" ("a sort of naturalism founded upon a twentieth-century matrix and a tonal type of chromatism with a strong, sculptural effect, to construct a composed, poetic atmosphere." Selected to give a presentation (in Italian) for "La Tavola Italiana" and the unveiling of the painting "La Tavola Italiana" 2016 April 23 at Villa San Carlo Borromeo in Senago, near Milan. Jerry Ross was juried (2020) into Galerie Sonia Monti 6, avenue Delcassé 75008 Paris, France that now represents his work. The Burchfield Penny Art Center (Museum) in Buffalo, NY accepted "Portrait of Martin Sostre" into its permanent collection after it was donated by the author, Ron Ford (December, 2020).