Eric Rippert (b.1963)
Twilight Campfighter, 2017
Materials: Mixed media on canvas (acrylic, gesso, charcoal, oil pastels, paint markers, and graphite)
Dimensions: 50” x 40”
Location at Summa Health: Dr. Gary B. and Pamela S. Williams Tower on the Akron Campus (141 N. Forge St.), Blue Neighborhood, Sixth Floor, outside the family lounge overlooking downtown Akron.
About the Art
Eric Rippert’s Twilight Campfighter is a dynamic exploration of form, color, and texture. This abstract composition resists direct interpretation while evoking a sense of movement and play. The artist layers a combination of traditional and contemporary materials, including graphite, pastels, paint markers, and acrylics, to create a richly textured surface that invites close observation. The dominant use of primary colors (blue, red, and yellow) interacts with gestural lines and patterns, guiding the viewer’s eye across the canvas. Each material Rippert uses leaves a distinct mark, adding to the overall energy and rhythm of the painting.
Rippert describes his work as deeply intuitive, shaped by memory and sensation rather than by a specific narrative. He encourages viewers to focus not on what the piece means, but on how it feels. The combination of colors, shapes, and textures is meant to evoke an emotional response. The title Twilight Campfighter offers a suggestion of imagery that might be interpreted as either celestial or earthbound, but the forms remain intentionally open to interpretation, allowing each viewer to bring their own meaning to the work.
About the Artist
Originally trained in photography, Rippert earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a Master of Fine Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Art. After working as a commercial photographer in New York, he relocated to Ohio, where he has since been an active artist and educator. His work has been exhibited across the U.S. as well as internationally in Prague and Budapest.
Where You Can See More of This Artist’s Work
Rippert’s mixed media and painted works are held in the collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Columbus Museum of Art, the Cleveland Clinic, and the Dalad Collection at Worthington Yards. His most recent works can be viewed on his website, as well as through his active presence on social media.