Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2017 i American Art Collector

How do you really know what is happening in the art market? Well, you reach out to the people who make the market happen and you talk to them. The artists, dealers, gallery owners and collectors who are on the frontlines of all this and making things happening on a daily basis. Well, we’ve spent the last month talking to people across the country. Gallery owners in Dallas, Santa Fe, Scottsdale, Boston, Cape Cod, Florida, New York City and Los Angeles, and what we’ve heard is quite promising. While 2016 was down for most people, the first four months of 2017 have been a flurry of activity. People are going to galleries, visiting cities and art destinations and, even better, purchasing work like never before. This is what we like…

May 3-7 NEW YORK, NY Collective Design Fair Skylight Clarkson Square www.collectivedesignfair.com May 3-7 NEW YORK, NY Art New York Pier 94 www.artnyfair.com May 3-Sept. 10 NEW YORK, NY Kaari Upson: Good thing you are not alone New Museum www.newmuseum.org May 4-7 NEW YORK, NY Superfine! 459 W. 14th Street www.superfine.world May 5-Aug. 13 ST. LOUIS, MO Creative Stimulus Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis www.camstl.org Through May 7 RALEIGH, NC Mathew Curran: Without War Paint Contemporary Art Museum, Raleigh www.camraleigh.org Through May 7 NEW YORK, NY The Shape of Things: Photographs from Robert B. Menschel Museum of Modern Art www.moma.org May 12-13 SANTA FE, NM Canyon Road Spring Art Festival Canyon Road www.visitcanyonroad.com May 12-Jun. 24 CINCINNATI, OH Oil Painters of America 26th annual National Juried Exhibition Eisele Gallery of…

One of my favorite walks and swimming places when I was growing up was Rivermoor, the sand dunes at the mouth of the North River between Scituate and Marshfield, Massachusetts. The river had once witnessed the maiden voyage of the ship “Columbia,” the first U.S. ship to circumnavigate the globe and the source of the name of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest. The shipyards are long gone. One of the great things about the dunes, the sea and the river was the presence of shore birds going about their lives. Terns, however, are notoriously protective of their nests. In 1849 Thoreau commented that terns would “pursue the traveler anxiously, now and then diving close to his head with a squeak.” I was pursued by many a squeak and…

Tyndall Galleries University Place, 201 S. Estes Drive | Chapel Hill, NC 27514 (919) 942-2290 | www.tyndallgalleries.com As the monochromatic winter thaws, an abundance of color is revealed and springtime takes hold of the earth. There is a flourish and change to the environment; what was once icy and cold becomes alive and new. This transition of seasons—from late winter to early spring—is documented in the newest paintings of Lynn Boggess. On his canvases are thick strokes of paint that seem to dance to the rhythm of light reflecting across the scene, creating a captivating visual effect that harnesses the atmosphere of that particular moment in time. Boggess’ artworks, which are done in a more flexible plein air method, also take on unique vantage points. For the winter works he…

Lotton Gallery 900 N. Michigan Avenue, Level 6 | Chicago, IL 60611 (312) 554-6203 | www.lottongallery.com “A sanctuary filled with peace, calm, quiet and repose are the first words that come to mind when describing Vakhtang’s latest collection of paintings.” — Christina Franzoso, director, Lotton Gallery As an avid traveler, Georgian artist Vakhtang is always in search of new views, impressions and color combinations for his landscape paintings. “I am not trying to copy what I see. I derive, as I think, the essence from the view I see,” he explains. “For example, for some time I was working to capture the essence of winter landscapes.” Vakhtang’s newest paintings, which will be on view at Lotton Gallery from May 4 to 31, shift his focus to a different essence—lush green landscapes.…

Geras Tousignant Gallery 278-B N. Palm Canyon Drive | Palm Springs, CA 92262 (760) 485-3787 | www.gtfineart.com Modern mythologist Joseph Campbell once brilliantly stated “the cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” For photographer Sarah Pezdek, it’s the darkest, rarest of those caves that interest her the most and have become the subject matter for her first-ever solo photography exhibition, PHOBIAS. “Fear is the most powerful of all selfimposed barriers that we create within ourselves,” says Pezdek. “It limits our potential on every level of our existence. PHOBIAS is a series focusing on the outrageous fears—by utilizing curated objects and symbolism, the images are an exploration of our internal power and how our fear can confine us.” While all fears are based in irrationality, for this exhibition…

As a young man Robert Scudder moved to Petoskey, Michigan, to pursue an artist’s career, however life interfered. Setting aside his painting aspirations, he founded a sign company and worked in that industry for the next 40 years. Scudder now considers himself very fortunate to get back into the studio and dedicate himself to fine art painting. Petoskey is on the shores of Lake Michigan and abounds with natural beauty and attracts many talented and creative people, which offers a lot of opportunities for him and other artists. There are art centers, workshops and a number of plein air groups. He was fortunate enough to take workshops with Susan Blackwood, Howard Friedland, Elizabeth Pollie, Tim Horn and Josh Clare. This set his path with a lot of excellent training and…

Founded in 1991 by Shirl Smithson, the Oil Painters of America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and promoting excellence in representational art. The group represents more than 4,000 artists from the United States, Canada and Mexico who paint in a variety of styles and subject matters. Its underlying focus is to “draw attention to the lasting value of fine drawing, color, composition and the appreciation of light.” The group also aims to advance traditional, representational artwork by providing unique platforms for its artists. Education for its members is one of its pillars, offering a newsletter, critique program, scholarships, workshops, seminars and demonstrations by some of the master artists of today. There are also opportunities for the artists to exhibit their artwork around the nation. Each artist who is…

John Schaeffer Gallery 901 Santa Fe, NM In Gallery 901 we show abstract and realistic art. The trend we see is movement back toward realism and figurative works. For all the talk of newer movements and technology serving to ring the death knell of figurative painting, humans will always find the human form fascinating. Experienced collectors look at art differently than the average person walking in off the street. You can spot a seasoned collector immediately. Like everybody, their eye flows to images of the human form, but then you watch them in front of an abstract piece and you can feel their memories, sensations and emotions emerge. They experience abstract art the way one listens to a symphony, and if you close your eyes and listen, you might even…

“Choose the [equine] painting that you fall in love with, the one you can’t stop thinking about.” — Anne-Marie Kornachuk, artist The Shahnama or “Book of Kings” is an epic poem about the ancient kings of Iran. An illustrated manuscript of the epic from around the 16th century is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Among the many paintings that illustrate the poem is Siyavush Plays Polo before Afrasiyab. Even by the time of its painting, polo was an ancient sport. What began as sport and warrior training with sometimes 100 men on a side, arrived in Persia (modern Iran) around 2,000 years ago. From there the sport spread to India where modern polo developed. The Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame in Lake Worth, Florida, explains…

George Billis Gallery 525 W. 26th Street, Ground Floor | New York, NY 10001 (212) 645-2621 | www.georgebillis.com Stephen Magsig took his first art lesson when he was 10 from an aunt who lived on a neighboring farm in Michigan. When his family moved away from the farm, he lost track of his aunt but found her again through the internet when she was 85. She saw an exhibition of his paintings and began painting again and remarked that it was the best time of her life. Magsig’s life and paintings are full of human moments. He calls Detroit home but frequently sublet a friend’s loft on Broome Street in New York. “My urban landscape paintings are portraits of how we as a society have affected and continue to alter…

Meyer Vogl Gallery 122 Meeting Street | Charleston, SC 29401 (843) 805-7144 | www.meyervogl.com “What consistently draws me to Laurie’s work is her amazing use of color, which is the soul of her composition. You can see and feel Laurie’s passion reflected in all she creates.” — Marcelle Theis, collector The historic city of Charleston, South Carolina, is often recognized for its unique character and architectural beauty. Artist Laurie Meyer says this is particularly found in the South of Broad neighborhood. In her newest paintings, she captures another area of the city that is currently undergoing a transformation. The works, Meyer explains, juxtapose “shapes of the old, new and preserved” to keep the history of place alive on canvas. “It’s a part of Charleston that is in such transition, and I…

Lucia Heffernan credits her success as a contemporary fine artist to many years working as an illustrator and graphic designer, which requires realistic depiction and the ability to convey a story. This combination of skill sets enables her to create narratives relating to her lifelong fascination with animals. “My curiosity and love for animals inspires my work. I want to bring them into our everyday human lives by imagining their behavior in our daily situations,” she says. “These scenarios may come from observations in nature, comics, illustrations, movies, YouTube, etc. Viewers may have a visceral or an emotional connection to my work because of their own experiences with animals. Animals are part of our daily existence. We adore them for their engaging behavior. They have their mischievous moments, their vulnerability…

According to Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts director John Brunelli, “Richard Heisler’s work arises from an autobiographical narrative that speaks to the relationship between time and place. His paintings celebrate the beauty of the bucolic American landscape and pay homage to his deep involvement in equestrian culture.” In his city and landscape artwork, Heisler strives to have a sense of nostalgia for places that have personal meaning to him. He says, “Be it cities, farms or natural landscapes, I aim to paint with a dedication to realism that truly reflects the experience of the place.” Much of Heisler’s time outside of the studio is spent with his horse and in the equestrian world, and his work has expanded to include equine subjects. He paints them with the “same austerity, candid quietness,…

ARGENTUM: CONTEMPORARY SILVERPOINT When: April 28-May 12, 2017; April 29, 6-9 p.m., opening reception Where: Marbury NYC, 26 Gramercy Park S., Suite 9G, New York, NY 10003 Information: (347) 951-7765, www.marburynyc.com Silverpoint was originally used by medieval scribes on manuscripts, and the method of etching was favored by masters such as Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt. Argentum: Contemporary Silverpoint, a new exhibition at Marbury NYC, will highlight approximately 30 new works in the medium from contemporary American representational artists such as Dennis Angel, James Xavier Barbour, Sherry Camhy, Shanga Manning, Tom Mazzullo and Raphael Sassi, among others. Mazzullo will contribute a piece titled Fermat, part of an ongoing series called Wraps, which is comprised of drawings of objects made from torn, twisted and manipulated paper. ­“I work in silverpoint because…

Arcadia Contemporary 9428 Washington Boulevard | Culver City, CA 90232 (424) 603-4656 | www.arcadiacontemporary.com Brooklyn painter Casey Baugh had largely steered clear of nudes as a subject matter. “Nude figures have been done for hundreds of years, and they’ve always been done in kind of the same way,” he says. “It felt like boring cop-outs—a naked figure in a scene, classical pose, whatever…I wasn’t happy with it and it wasn’t something that struck me as exciting.” But then something happened, and he’s not entirely sure what it was. It was just an instinctual shift to a genre that he had always felt removed from. Although, he can’t point his finger to what inspired this shift, he credits some of it to a prolonged interest in both contemporary and historic photography…

Selby Fleetwood Gallery 600 Canyon Road | Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 992-8877 | www.selbyfleetwoodgallery.com “Intimate compositions and a luscious treatment of paint combine to create delicate strength in Elena Zolotnitsky’s oil paintings. Perceiving her work with brush and paint to be a ‘magic act,’ Zolotnitsky’s paintings are able to be simultaneously voyeuristic and confrontational.” — Ivette Hermann, art consultant, Selby Fleetwood Gallery Elena Zolotnitsky’s paintings feature a collection of intimate and vulnerable semiabstract characters. In her ongoing show at Selby Fleetwood Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Zolotnitsky breathes life into the ordinary objects around her. Her Extinct series features portraits of antique arm chairs, which exist only in her imagination. The first chair she painted did not truly come to life until an application of gold leaf was worked…

Hunter Kirkland Contemporary 200-B Canyon Road | Santa Fe, NM 87501 (505) 984-2111 | www.hunterkirklandcontemporary.com “[Carlos Ramirez’s] strong connection with nature always guides his sensibility. His paintings are organic and ripe with a deeply sensitive connection to life.” — Nancy Hunter, owner/director, Hunter Kirkland Contemporary One look at the abstract paintings of South Florida-based artist Carlos Ramirez and the viewer is swept away in a sea of color. Blues, yellows, pinks, purples, greens or browns meld together to create a visually stimulating reflection of nature based on the feelings the natural world brings the artist rather than a direct representation of the forms. Ramirez’s artwork can also be seen as a blend of two of his passions. “I think one of my most unique features is this marriage of being a…

RJD Gallery 2385 Main Street | Bridgehampton, NY 11932 (631) 725-1161 | www.rjdgallery.com “An extraordinary body of diverse, yet related, artwork highlighting each artist’s preferred medium, creates a seductive rhythm, in their use of light and capturing the photorealist technique without setting any limitations to their fascinating narrative.” — Mago, assistant director, RJD Gallery Opening May 20 at RJD Gallery in Bridgehampton, New York, No Boundaries will highlight the work of a diverse group of artists, each with a unique storytelling ability. Works from Salvatore Alessi, Margaret Bowland, Frank Oriti, Rick Garland and Jesse Lane will be on display. Alessi’s work is inspired by the work of masters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer, as well as the writings and teachings of Freud and Bacon. Through his art, he ties together classical…

Antler Gallery 2728 NE Alberta Street | Portland, OR 97211 (503) 284-6757 | www.antlerpdx.com “Under the Harrow aims to explore what is happening beneath the surface of the current socio-political climate. Works from Allison Sommers, Kaspian Shore and Christina Mrozik are bound together by an exploration of the complexities of humanity and our innate desire to search out seeds of hope in even the least fertile ground.” — Neil Perry and Susannah Kelly, owners, Antler Gallery In Under the Harrow, Christina Mrozik, Allison Sommers and Kaspian Shore present works that dig deep into the current socio-political atmosphere. They mine the past, present and future to explore the human condition in the show, which will be on view at Antler Gallery in Portland, Oregon, from May 25 to June 26. For Sommers,…

Through her work, painter Susan Easton Burns portrays an intimacy with nature that few of us are fortunate enough to experience. She captures that sliver of a moment when time freezes and you are enveloped in the direct gaze of a wild animal—an instant of connection and unspeakable power. Easton Burns’ style is distinctive. Spontaneity and intuition are the two most important concepts she aims to convey in her art. A spontaneous underpainting gives way to an image that appears intuitively. With brush and knife, hands and feet, she moves with the paint until she “sees” something emerge. And once she sees it, the painting comes to life quickly. Easton Burns’ work ranges from 6 by 8 inches to 48 by 72 inches and are mostly acrylic on paper or…

As a landscape painter, Kenneth Young had always been used to evaluating the artistic possibilities a day had to offer by the type of light there was. On rainy days, he wasn’t typically taking reference photos for future paintings; however, one day when he was running errands, inspiration struck. “I noticed how the rain on my windshield transformed the buildings, cars and people into lively, dancing, jewel-like ribbons of color that energetically danced across the glass,” says Young. “Fascinated, I turned off the wipers and stopped in the middle of the street, took out my camera and shot through the rain-soaked windshield.” What resulted was his painting Warren and Seventh, which was the first in his Hudson Warren Street series. “Thus began a growing desire to paint the urban landscape,…