Richard Ozanne

Richard Ozanne (Marsh), American artist. Recipient of European prizes for art: Michelangelo Buanarotti (Senato) Accademia Internazionalle Santarita (Turin Italy), Europa-prize for art, painting Medal of Gold for art, First Prize award Chautaugua Society for Peace, Bestor Plaza Festival, 1985; Helen Tempe Logan scholar, 1984, Division Related Arts Traveling scholar, 1990. LifeMember Art Students League New York, New York Art Equity Association.

Background

Richard Ozanne was born on May 20, 1959, in St. Louis. He is the son of Ozan and Patricia (Benkman) Marsh. He began his interest in art at a very early age of 4, during which he became a student of a storyboard artist at a television studio (out of Greenville North Carolina) and continued on with his studies and output of interests in art and music. At the age of 8, he began to take classes at Chautauqua Summer School in upstate New York with Revington Arthur, and a young artist specialist from New York City. In 1968 he was beginning to achieve notice with local television and art exhibitions, taken later to a more serious interest in painting and drawing through High School in his native Tucson Arizona. In 1977 he continued on with his studies at Chautauqua, under Arthur and matriculated through his BFA degree at the University of Arizona, Tucson (1982) where he studied both music and art, receiving a commission for a solo exhibit at the University of Arizona’s Hall of Fame Gallery 1982. The artist studied in France at the atelier of Gustav Nebel, a known artist in the southern city of Cannes, and a student of Edvard Vuillard, That same year he had traveled to the Peoples Republic of China and was invited to attend graduate school at the Central Arts Academy by Wo Zouren, a notable Chinese Artist of the period. Later the next year, 1983, (after a semester in graduate school pursuing his MFA) he was provided with a scholarship to the Art Students League of New York and commenced study with Robert Beverly Hale and David A Leffel. Over the next several years he would be involved in exhibitions in New York City as well as graduate study at Columbia University Graduate School in Art under Leon Goldin. In 1987 the young Ozanne began to receive commissions out west for his artwork and exhibit frequently. He gave a solo exhibit in Christchurch New Zealand (Canterbury Society of Fine Arts) in 1988 after a tour of the country doing live plein air work (work from life). Other subsequent art exhibits abroad were given overseas as well as around his native town of Tucson Arizona, filling the artist time with commissions and demonstrations of his artwork. He studied intermittently at Arizona State University in pursuit of his MFA as well as gaining commercial work and exhibitions. 1990 he had his New York debut, at a well-known gallery of the period in SOHO, receiving notices and publications. In 1992 he received the MFA Master of Fine Art at ASU. His principal instructors were Earl Linderman, Dan Britton, Rip Woods as well as others. Shortly after he received his degree he was offered another exhibition in New York City and contracted for a Solo Exhibit of his work the next year. In 1995 he was offered an exhibit in Turin Italy and traveled to Europe in pursuit of art, its riches, and history. He became a resident of the Czech Republic from 1996 to 2002, exhibiting in Europe in many exhibits in several countries. He taught as a professor at Charles University Faculty of Pedagogy, AMU Academy of Art (FAMU, DAMU, HAMU) those years during his residence, as well as taught

English art and music (piano) in a busy life. In 2003 he returned to the USA briefly and returned on towards an artist in residence in Italy in the city of Turin (Venaria Reale). His life was busy with art, and exhibitions as well as teaching until 2006 when he returned to America on a rather personal note, but invited back, and even receiving notice of possibly becoming an Official Italian Citizen during his residence, along with many notices and exhibits. Ozanne returned to a changed America in 2006 and traveled, across the country in numerous ventures for the artist in appearances in Texas, Iowa, California…finally ariving in Sedona Arizona in 2009 where he made his residence.