Education
Richard "Von" White studied at the Jamaica College of Art, then went on to study at Goldsmiths College of Art in London, under the tutelage of Professor Harry Thubron.
Richard "Von" White studied at the Jamaica College of Art, then went on to study at Goldsmiths College of Art in London, under the tutelage of Professor Harry Thubron.
Richard "Von" White is an abstract expressionist artist. "Von" is the stage name of Richard White, an artist who specializes in pastel tropical scenes inspired by nature and the female form
Graduating with honors from Goldsmiths Von went on to develop his own style of abstraction, with a keystone on the masters that have gone before. Particularly Pablo Picasso, Paul Gauguin and Georgia O"Keeffe.
Von"s themes are an approach to abstract expressionism as embodied by the Tao.
Von is of the Christian faith. Von"s paintings have been said to have a prevailing message of tranquility.
Von"s art also finds great inspiration from the rock and roll era of the 1960s and 1970s. Von was born in Kingston, Jamaica on 24 August 1951 at Nuttall Hospital just after Jamaica had been devastated by Hurricane Charlie (1951).
All telecommunications were downed due to the hurricane, so his birth (among others) was announced on the national radio to get messages of births and deaths to respective families island-wide.
He began painting and drawing from an early age of 3 years old. Von Grew up in Oracabessa, and attended Oracbessa Primary as a youth, and then at eight years old went to dèCarteret College in Mandeville where he completed his secondary education with a primary focus on the visual arts, finishing with A level Art and A level English Literature. Following this Von attended the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (formally Jamaica School of Art) in 1970, where he was tutored by professor Harry Thubron who was contracted to work with Jamaica School of Art at that time.
He then applied to Goldsmith"s College London where he was accepted to complete a Bachelor of Fine Arts, and again under Professor Harry Thubron tutelage he graduated First Division honors in 1977.
Upon return to Jamaica in 1978, Von has had several exhibitions throughout the decades. He has devoted a lifetime to the development of his style of art and produced many works of art
His work is owned by people worldwide, with original paintings in locations from Australia to the far east, and from Europe to North America. Solo exhibitions
1977 Olympia Arts Centre, Kingston, Jamaica
1979 Bolivar Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
1981 Diplomat Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
1982 Harmony Hall, Ocho Rios, Jamaica
1983 Mutual Life Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
1987 Gallery Makonde, Wyndham Hotel, Kingston, Jamaica
1998 New Mutual Life Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
2004 Grosvenor Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
2011 Studio 23 Bay City, Michigan, United States of America
Group exhibitions
1978 Tom Redcam Library, Kingston, Jamaica
1974 London Hilton, England (In Honour of Lord Pitt)
1978–2010 Annual National Exhibition, National Gallery of Jamaica
2012 Cat Works Galley Michigan, United States of America.