ichard Orient has been painting for the last twenty years. “Landscapes,” his new exhibition in March 2007, is a show of the artist’s recent paintings of Eastern Long Island. Orient continues to explore and paint landscapes that capture the light and terrain of the familiar and places traveled to. There is the immediacy of plein air painting in his work and a depiction of light and air that is impressionistic and evokes meditations of Turner. The exhibition contains large scale work on paper and paintings on wood panel.

Though the paintings are traditional in form -- the landscapes are specific and recognizable -- the artist’s interpretive input and ability to capture atmospheric quality infuse these paintings with an expression of mood. Orient has great reverence for nature and records moments of stillness, tranquility and awe. Yet, the ever changing dynamic of nature is also captured in Orient’s dramatic works.

Richard Orient has exhibited throughout the United States and his work is included in many prestigious private and corporate collections. A native of Pittsburgh, PA, Orient studied at Carnegie Mellon University, receiving his degree in Fine Art Painting. Born in 1954, the artist lives and works in New York City and Amagansett, New York.