Earlier this year I visited with ransome at his studio in Rhinebeck, and during our time together it became clearer to me how his artistic practice borders on shamanic. To be clear, shamanism is broadly understood as a sacred practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) who interacts with the unseen world through altered states of consciousness—in ransome’s case, the altered state of deep artistic exploration. The shaman is able direct the spirits or spiritual energies into the physical world for the purpose of help and healing. As I stood within ransome’s robust environment laden with African objects, patterned fabrics, rare ephemera and other magical effects, I felt a strong sense of a spirit world that he actively invites into his work.
“Pass the Salt” at the Sketchbook Gallery in Saugerties through October 24 is ransome’s first solo show there and features paintings and collage works that reveal his continued celebration of his African American lineage (one that traces back to sharecroppers of the American South) and his simultaneous investigation into unbridled realms of abstraction. Known for bright representative paintings that consider broader complex issues surrounding his heritage—including social, racial, ancestral, economic and political histories—this exhibition also presents an expanded view of ransome’s tendencies as an artist, one the suggests his natural potential as a quasi-shamanic interpreter of unseen essences.
Traditionally, the shaman acts as conduit for the community and in this regard a series of collaged heads speak to ransome’s roots. Here we encounter nine beautiful Black faces composed of colorful cut-out shapes: some of the faces are profile, while others look at us straight on. The red-haired Willie (2026), for example, holds our gaze with his cobalt-hued eyes, purple nose, and pink lips. Jamal (2026) is a fierce looking bearded fellow who ponders a scene to our right, while Angel (2026) looks longingly in our direction, her eyes slightly downcast as the white doily collar above her sky-blue top accent her plum-colored hair. These stoic fictional characters exist by way of their creator, their spiritual father.
While the cut-out portraits are a mini show within the show, other artworks in “Pass the Salt” are bold inquiries into abstraction through assemblage and collage. Incorporating paper, acrylic, and other mixed media, works such as Outsider (2023) and As Quiet as It’s Kept (2022) are layered compositions that invite deeper states of rumination. Works such as Two eggs (2026) and Home (2024) are mashups of colors and shapes that hint at representation but ultimately abandon this sphere for some other. Com’on in my Kitchen (2024) is ransome at his finest as embodied in a radiant abstract style that is equally adventurous and assured.
The masterwork of this show is Purple Rectangle and a Piece of Rosie’s Dress (2022). This dynamic painting doubles as a portal into imagined dimensions, where blocks of color and floral themed fabrics create a conceptual geometry with a rhythmic mesmerizing aura. Lastly, a series of delightful ‘footnotes’ to the larger paintings are 10 smaller collaged sketches titled Jane Street (1–10) (2026), each one bursting with playful energy and enthusiasm.
Looking all the way back to the beginnings of human civilization on this planet, the shamans have always been the guardians of fire, story, and memory. With ransome’s artistic-cum-shamanic practice, we see through this world into another, where his combinations of primitive colors, symbolic shapes and layers of meaning reveal a presence this is simultaneously here and beyond.
“Pass the Salt” is on view through October 24 at the Sketchbook Gallery in Saugerties.
