A one-man exhibition of paintings called “Romantic Realism,” of mostly traditional nudes with several still-life works. This show is not a return to the figurative, as the artist’s approach is academically classical. Ralph has never left the figure; the canvases leave one with the impression that this is an honest endeavor by a man who enjoys what he is doing. The small oil of a young woman awakening is both tender and sensitively done.

There is nothing ugly here, and there is no evidence of exploration or development of a modern idiom. For those who want their art “straight,” representational and what they are familiar with, Dick Ralph’s paintings offer pleasing fare.

—Betje Howell