The New Abstractionists exhibition opened on January 3, 2009, at Walter Wickiser Gallery in New York’s Chelsea gallery district. The 4-man group show, promoted internationally with a full-page ad in the January issue of ARTnews magazine and a review in an upcoming issue, includes the work of Ron Clark, Peter Hoss, James Jenkins and Michael Pinchera.

According to art writer Jonathan Goodman, “In the era of post-Modernism, a certain eclecticism prevails; artists may appropriate any style available, and can be considered successful if they have mastered the dictates and effects of whatever convention they may have chosen to hold up to the public. It is particularly interesting to see work that continues within the domain of abstraction. Its structures and nuances are elaborated in ways that push the language of non-objective art forward according to contemporary lights. As a result, this group exhibition points out the strengths of a style that continues to yield to the determined painters currently on exhibition, who reveal gestures taken in new directions.”

The Walter Wickiser Gallery has received numerous awards and recognition, including reviews in ARTnews, Art In America and many other internationally recognized publications. Work by many of the gallery’s artists has been exhibited at American museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the High Museum of Art in Georgia, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut, and works by the artists featured in The New Abstractionists are in negotiation for inclusion at The 2009 Toronto International Art Fair and The 2010 Los Angeles Art Fair.

Museum of the Southwest opened its Contemporary Artist Series 2008 with an exhibition of Ron Clark’s Impending Presence & Recent Works, a dramatic series of 18 newly completed oil-on-canvas paintings. This inaugural show of the season, organized by Katharine T. Carter & Associates of New York and jointly funded by The Texas Commission on the Arts and the Arts Assembly of Midland, opened on March 7 for an eight week run through April 27.

The museum, located in the historic district of Midland, Texas, houses over 12,000 works of art in its permanent collection, including sculpture, early and contemporary Southwestern art, rare Native American art and artifacts, and works by current contemporary artists. The museum also hosts up to ten exhibitions a year that feature the paintings, pottery, and sculpture of well-known national and international artists.

The Friday evening opening and artist’s reception featured cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and the festive crowd included several noted West Texas art collectors and many of Midland’s most recognized art patrons, including the mother of First Lady Laura Bush, who visited cordially at length with the artist during the evening. Museum director and curator Tom Jones took the podium and delivered a formal and in-depth introduction of Mr. Clark, after which the artist gave a gallery talk about his work and his history, followed by a 20-minute Q & A forum.

Ron Clark’s Impending Presence & Recent Works opened on Saturday, January 26, at the Parkersburg Art Center in Parkersburg, West Virginia, for an 8-week exhibition. The weekend’s events began Friday morning in a meeting with Clark and twelve museum docents, followed by an interview with a local newspaper print journalist, then an on-camera appearance on the local PBS television program featuring Art Center events. The formal opening and reception on Saturday evening saw a very large crowd of patrons packed into the main gallery space to view Ron Clark’s paintings, along with works by Florida sculptor Carol Cornelison.

According to museum curator Abby Hayhurst, “Of the many artists who have graced our walls with their work – and our openings with their presence – Ron Clark clearly made the most immediate connection with our patrons. His persona seemed to say, "Look closely. Follow your instinct. Question. Here's how, and this is why. Tell me what you think. What is your interpretation?

”The point is that long after Mr. Clark returned to Texas after his opening, the works of Impending Presence themselves continued the dialogue that began with his own physical presence interacting with the works and with the viewers. It could hardly be more evident that high-level art such as this might be considered, in every sense, both an extension and embodiment of the individual who created it. That, to me, is the reality at the heart of this art and of this artist.”

The overflow crowd of invited guests (plus attendees from the general public), as well as the presence of a local affiliate television crew filming the event, kept everyone thoroughly entertained throughout the evening with interviews, group discussions and a closing personal statement by each artist.

In early 2006, Ron Clark was presented with a rare opportunity for a working fine artist; an offer to become managing director and 'artist-in-residence' of a sophisticated new contemporary art gallery, The Main Contemporary, located in the new Dallas Roof Gardens building in downtown Dallas. Dallas Roof Gardens was a high-visibility 4-story building at the corner of Main & Field streets that would include a gallery at street level, a 2nd floor corporate meeting and banquet facility, the upscale Luqa Restaurant and Petrus Lounge on the 3rd and 4th floors, and a European-styled open-air garden on the roof, replete with cocktail bar, flowing fountains, palm trees, al fresco dining and a spectacular view overlooking the heart of the central Downtown Dallas Business District.

With the opening scheduled for November 11, 2006, Clark was brought into the project with responsibility and overview of the entire architectural design of the raw space; lighting, interior design and window partitioning, corporate identity/business name and logo design, and all interior/exterior signage and graphics.

HIs professional background in architecture and visual communication, plus his emergence as an exhibiting artist into the national dialogue since 2003, greatly influenced his willingness to accept the duties of this demanding position. This included responsiblity for portfolio reviews and artist selection, exhibition scheduling, marketing/promotion, public relations, media communication, special event coordination, curating shows and designing installations. The assistance of a gallery manager to attend to general daily affairs allowed Clark to maintain the production of his own work and personal exhibition schedule across the country.

Through the relatively short life of this challenging and ambitious venture (a 2-year contractual commitment), he was granted the privilege of functioning on both sides of the artist/gallery relationship. His tenure as director of The Main Contemporary resulted in a profound appreciation and understanding of the myriad problems and complexities, as well as the social experience, excitement and hard work involved in successfully running a retail gallery in a vibrant urban market such as Dallas.