Page 5 - Richard Kenton Webb: Vol.5

The Albers Series
July in Bethany, Connecticut, is warm and leafy. The sun is out more often
than not, and the forest and nearby pond are alive with birds, squirrels,
and deer. Occasional thunder storms give way to gentle days filled with
dap pled light. Richard Kenton Webb arrived at this ideal setting in the
summer of 2022, taking up residence for two months in one of the two
artist studios of the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation.
Webb’s intelligent and evocative paintings and drawings had been
brought to the attention of the Albers Foundation by Dr. Richard Davey
a few years earlier. The vitality of Webb’s use of colour and form and his
obvious dedication to his craft made him a natural fit for the Albers
Foundation’s residency program.
In his time in Bethany, Webb was incredibly productive, working from one
idea to the next at a remarkable clip and with steady focus. He arrived with
no set agenda, but with a range of materials. Coming off an all-encom pas -
sing teaching schedule with little time for his own studio work, Webb was
brimming with ideas and energy. Immed iately understanding the oppor -
tunity with which he had been pres ented, he wasted no time in get ting
started, settling on charcoal on paper as his primary medium. The first few
drawings were a recali bration and focusing of energies. Scores of ideas
that vied for his attention appeared as clouds in the drawings. Figures were