Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i American Art Collector

Visitors to the Bruce Museum can now encounter a nearly 5,000-pound, 23-foot-long and 8½-foot tall reclining gorilla. The world’s largest bronze gorilla sculpture, King Nyani (Swahili for gorilla) offers visitors a unique interactive experience and raises awareness of the endangered species. Renowned public artists Gillie and Marc Schattner found inspiration for King Nyani on a trip to Uganda. During their visit, they were captivated by a male silverback gorilla’s kindness and compassion with his family. They vowed to rewrite the narrative of the violent, terrifying ape often conveyed in movies and acquaint people with the softer, gentler nature of these magnificent beasts. The artists rendered their friendly ape lying down on his side with his legs slightly pulled up and his right arm curled as if hugging a child. His…

Louis K. Meisel Gallery in SoHo, New York, is currently hosting a group exhibition featuring a variety of paintings that evoke sentiments of the summer season. Paintings in the exhibition span subjects like beach scenes, cartons of fresh strawberries, picnics in lush green meadows, palm tree-lined hotels on a sunny day and more. Among the featured artists are Jack Mendenhall, Tom Blackwell, David Olivera, Anthony Brunelli and many others. Summer Solstice is on view through July 19.…

Serenity. The Summer Studio. Afternoon Light. Dreaming of Morning. One only needs to read the titles of the works in Summer in New England to get a sense for the season’s essence—and why artists find the region so inspiring, especially this time of year. Presented by Susan Powell Fine Art, and on view from July 1 through August 17, Summer in New England showcases traditional realism and impressionism to contemporary works that celebrate the idyllic beauty, and coastal charm of the East Coast. Among the 30 featured artists are Carol Arnold, Del-Bourree Bach, Paul Beebe, Zufar Bikbov, Neal Hughes, Cora Ogden, Deborah Quinn-Munson, Timothy Rees, Jeanne Rosier Smith and Sandra Wakeen. “When I walked into this room, I was immediately struck by the contrast of lights and darks, and how light…

“I’ve never seen an angry person in a bakery,” says Peter Anton. The mixed media sculptor uses a variety of materials—acrylic and oil paints, resins, wood, clay, metal and plastics—to create his three-dimensional desserts. They’re vibrant and utterly life-like. His madeleines look freshly dusted with powdered sugar, his box of donuts straight off the shelf, his brightly-colored macarons ready to be devoured. And yet, each of these delectable morsels are entirely fabricated by Anton’s hands. They practically beg to have a bite taken out of them, but don’t be tempted—they’re not edible, as delicious as they look. “There are so many reasons why I enjoy creating artwork of sweets and desserts. Sweets are very pleasing to look at and bring genuine joy to people,” he says. An exhibition currently on…

For the last four years, 50 nationally recognized artists attend a paint-out in the scenic Tehachapi, California, area for four days during the month of May. In turn, around 150 of these works, reflecting different parts of the region and its culture, are then presented at the Art 2024 Tehachapi event in July—organized by the Tehachapi Arts Commission. This year landscape painter Laura Wambsgans is the featured artist, having won Best of Show in 2023 for her piece Engine 29, which pays homage to Tehachapi’s rail history. “The Tehachapi region offers a plethora of inspiring elements for artists. The Tehachapi Arts Commission facilitates access to privately-owned locations that are otherwise inaccessible to the public,” Wambsgans says of the paint-out. “These areas boast diverse landscapes ranging from the famous Tehachapi Loop,…

Spanning a variety of subject matter and mediums, comes vibrant and unique interpretations of the High Desert region in the annual Art in the West exhibition and silent auction. Hosted by the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon, with a silent auction component on the museum’s website, the event showcases 100-plus artworks—“the most ever featured since it began more than a decade ago,” says museum executive director Dana Whitelaw, Ph.D. “Art in the West is such a great joy every year—to see such unique beauty, color and perspective on the gallery walls is transporting and transformative,” Whitelaw continues. “Whether it’s in person or online, I hope the people who drink in this artwork will come away with the same wonder and awe for the High Desert region—the stretch of the…

For years, John Taft was a designer/art director in Manhattan. “During that time, my wife and I would regularly visit museums and galleries, and I’d draw from the figure down in SoHo most Tuesdays,” says Taft, adding that the practice fed a growing desire to paint. “It was the drives, however, through the upstate countryside to visit family in western New York, that provided the answer to my question, ‘What should I paint?’”, the artist continues. “The undulating hills, clouds, streams, trees and light passages we’d pass, which at times became a creative living symphony of rhythms, colors and notes, were moving.” Several trips across the country during his college years in California had already exposed Taft to the grand American landscape, compounding a fascination with the West he had…

Harlem Sculpture Gardens in West Harlem, New York City, recently launched its first ever major art project: a large-scale sculpture exhibition spanning eight local public parks that will serve as the featured sites for this public art exhibition. Artists featured across the parks include Margaret Roleke, Miguel Otero Fuentes, Luke Schumacher, Carole Eisner, Iliana Emilia Garcia, Sherwin Banfield and many others. The expansive exhibition is available to explore through October 30. The eight venues across the area are Morningside Park, St. Nicholas Park, Jackie Robinson Park, Montefiore Park, Historic Monuments Harriet Tubman Triangle, Frederick Douglass Circle, Roosevelt Triangle - Harlem Hybrid and the City College of New York Campus.…

The Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State University reopened June 1, in new buildings that doubled the size of the existing exhibit space. Along with collections including African and Asian art, studio ceramics and glass, in its American holdings the museum boasts some intriguing paintings. Thomas Hart Benton’s Shallow Creek is an uncanny landscape of the strangeness and alienation of a riverside, and Georgia O’Keeffe’s Lake George enters a blue landscape, finding the sweep of wind and wave blown over wide water. Richard Diebenkorn’s Man and Woman, Seated, divides the space around a conferring couple in bright color and gray, hanging somewhere between conspiratorial figuration, and the composition and experiment of modernism. But, while these paintings are interesting, doubtlessly the most immediate, intriguing and intellectually challenging star of the…

Encaustic is an ancient painting medium comprised of heat-fused layers of beeswax, resin and pigment. From the Greek word encaustikos, which means “to burn in or fuse,” the Greeks used it to weatherproof their ships as early as the 5th century BCE. They soon began adding pigment to decorate vessels used in trade and war. In the first century, during Roman imperial rule, the Greek elites who settled in the Fayum region of Egypt adopted the local custom of honoring the dead with a funerary portrait. They were usually rendered in tempera or encaustic on wood, which was then affixed to the wrappings over the mummified person’s face. Using highly advanced techniques to create astonishingly lifelike renderings of the deceased, the custom merged the Egyptian mummy portrait tradition with Greco-Roman…

Art is all about perspective. Who’s doing the looking and who’s looking back, and then how those points of view ricochet off each other and create new conversations. For Aneka Ingold, this comes into play when it comes to women painting women. “The theme of…women’s perspectives in art, is very important because artwork by female artists has been marginalized for far too long,” Ingold says. “The art world needs to acknowledge the insight that women have on their experience of the world around them in order for them to have a voice in society. I believe that figurative realism is an especially powerful vehicle for women to communicate with because it addresses the issue of the male gaze versus the female gaze. When women paint women, it is an exploration…

Jane Sutherland lives on the coast of Connecticut, an area rich in subjects for traditional painters. When she paints the commonplace, however, she finds the extraordinary. She says, “However ordinary my subjects may be, I find them rich in creative challenges for engaging the mind and the eyes. I look for the interconnections between the formal and emotional elements among the objects of my attention so that we might see familiar things more clearly or in a new way.” Fence on Old Post Road III is a simple, unremarkable structure, painted many times over the years, the layers of paint peeling off. In the foreground are once colorful day lilies, long past their prime. On her regular walks, Sutherland carefully observes the things around her. “At first what captured my…

Featuring noteworthy artworks by some of the best oil painters across the country, is the annual National Juried Salon of Traditional Oils—brought to the public by Oil Painters of America. This year’s event is hosted by James R. Ross Fine Art gallery in Indianapolis, Indiana, and will showcase 150 impressive oil paintings. “The OPA is committed to the advancement of traditional representational painting, but collectors can expect to see paintings in a wide range of styles, from extremely loose and impressionistic, to highly finished trompe l’oeil,” explains executive director Kurt Anderson. “[In addition], over $15,000 in cash and merchandise will be awarded. Gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded in both the OPA Master artist category and the Signature and Associate artist category. Among the many additional Awards of Excellence…

Revving up for its eighth edition of stellar artworks, presented by galleries from the Pacific Northwest—as well as national and international galleries—is the esteemed Seattle Art Fair. The 2024 show presents approximately 85 of these galleries, “providing a diverse array of artistic expression,” says fair director, Kelly Freeman. “Attendees can expect to find a wide range of artworks spanning various mediums,” Freeman continues. “Our exhibitors showcase both modern and contemporary art, featuring works from emerging artists as well as established names in the art world. This variety ensures that there is something to resonate with every visitor, from seasoned collectors to first-time art fair attendees.” Find prominent displays like James Harris Gallery, based in Dallas, Texas—where it recently relocated from Seattle. “We will be exhibiting artists who we have represented…

Alisa Shea works exclusively in watercolor photorealism. “I take a medium known for its softness and unpredictability and push it to its outermost limits of saturation and control,” says the artist. Shea is particularly interested in producing work that speaks to issues of women’s rights and gender inequality. “I have grown increasingly angry as I’ve watched the pandemic and the current political environment in the United States exacerbate the problems that women face, and I am routinely frustrated by the underrepresentation of women in the arts both broadly and more specifically within my chosen medium,” she says. Her piece A Feminine Touch pays homage to the strength of women. Underneath the carefully-crafted facade lies a readiness to fight for equality, safety, dignity and respect. “Marked is my response to the…

June 28-July 13 Erin Currier: Cave Temples & Compañeros Blue Rain Gallery Santa Fe, NM • (505) 954-9902 www.blueraingallery.com July 1-31 CONVERSATION 33PA/Virtual Chicago, IL www.poetsandartists.com  www.artsy.net/show/33-contemporary-c-on-v-e-r-s-a-t-i-o-n July 1-August 5 Three Voices: Women’s Perspectives in Art RJD Gallery Romeo, MI • (586) 281-3613 www.rjdgallery.com July 1-August 17 Summer in New England Susan Powell Fine Art Madison, CT • (203) 318-0616 www.susanpowellfineart.com July 2-August 24 Jane Sutherland George Billis Gallery Fairfield, CT • (203) 557-9130 www.georgebillis.com July 5-19 Eunika Rogers & Hib Sabin: Spirit of the Woods Blue Rain Gallery Durango, CO • (970) 232-2033 www.blueraingallery.com July 5-27 Aaron Morgan Brown: Special Delivery Reuben Saunders Gallery Wichita, KS • (316) 682-1481 www.reubensaundersgallery.com July 5-29 Julianna Kirwin: Babcia Hecho a Mano Santa Fe, NM • (505) 916-1341 www.hechoamano.org July 3-August 30 Festival…

Portland Art Museum recently announced that its campus expansion and renovation project will open to the public in late 2025. The campus transformation will completely change the existing museum and create a vital “cultural commons” in the heart of downtown Portland, adding 95,000 square feet of new or upgraded public and gallery space. The project will also provide increased access to the Portland Art Museum’s exhibitions and programs, as well as new ways to experience its robust collection and new amenities that address the needs of more diverse audiences.…

Since its inception in 1932, the Festival of Arts Fine Art Show, now one of the region’s largest and most anticipated annual art fairs, has served as a platform for thousands of artists to showcase and sell their creations, with many pieces finding their way into private collections, exhibitions and museums worldwide. Set in the vibrant arts community of Laguna Beach, California, the show returns to the scenic Festival of Arts outdoor pavilion for a two-month showcase of Orange County artists beginning July 3 and running through August 30. The juried event features 120 exhibiting artists working across a diverse range of mediums including paintings, sculpture, photography, ceramics, jewelry and more—all crafted by area artisans. Painter Terry Houseworth’s new work is based on a concept he started a few years ago…

Zienna Brunsted Stewart’s house in Santa Fe, New Mexico, has a curious quirk in the layout. The path to the living room and her studio leads through her and her boyfriend’s bedroom. Guests who visit are treated to all their business, whether it’s dirty cloths and an unmade bed, or all the bits of personal stuff that one might not leave out unguarded and on full exhibition. A friend was over recently and was mortified for them. “All your intimacy is on display,” the friend said. Stewart was quick to defend her bedroom and what it revealed about her. “Some people would be uncomfortable with showing that portion of their lives,” she says. “But this is my life and it’s how I live.” Although this is just a bedroom—which I’ve…

The U.S. art scene migrates around the country following weather patterns, just like birds and their human counterparts do. A favorite destination during the peak summer months is New England—a cluster of states that include Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire—and since this is where the action is in July, American Art Collector is there too. New England, with its history dating back to Colonial times, has an arts legacy with deeper roots than anywhere else in the country. Established by some of the most renowned artists of the 18th and 19th centuries, the region is home to the nation’s oldest art colonies—in Gloucester and Provincetown, Massachusetts; Old Lyme and Cos Cob, Connecticut; Dublin, New Hampshire; Ogunquit and Monhegan, Maine, among them—many which are still active today…

For the Blue Rain Gallery show Spirit of the Woods, opening in early July, artists Eunika Rogers and Hib Sabin present their own interpretation of, or collaboration with, nature. Working in different mediums, they “[harness] the magic of natural elements,” says gallery associate Carrie Baseggio. “Their works share a deep feeling of serenity and channel the magic of the forest by merging organic materials into artistic expression. Their upcoming show is something we are honored to bear witness to.” Rogers will have around four new works in the show, illustrating a unique style she has trademarked as “Terroir Painting,” which she explains is composed of organic, found/foraged materials in nature, primarily clay; and flowers, mushrooms, wine and earth minerals. “[My] focus is on different colors from these materials which are…

From July 5 through the end of August, Milwaukee’s Lily Pad Gallery West is hosting its third annual FORWARD exhibition, a group show of more than 100 artworks by 10 Wisconsin artists. Styles will range from hyperrealism to abstraction with many representational depictions of local spaces and places. This year’s show is also a tribute to Allison B. Cooke, the first Wisconsin artist to join the gallery and who recently passed. In addition to Cooke, the other artists in the show include Marc Anderson, Steve Gerhartz, Robert M. Girsh, Michael Guinane, Shelby Keefe, Bruce Niemi, Antwan Ramar, Ken Schneider, John Waite and Diane Washa. The title of the show refers to the state’s simple, one-word motto adopted in 1851, and speaks to both the character of the people of Wisconsin…

For nearly the entire month of July, Reuben Saunders Gallery in Wichita, Kansas, features the enigmatic work of painter Aaron Morgan Brown. Brown explains that the show title, Special Delivery, is a pun that alludes to his journey coming full circle—having been born and raised in Kansas but preferring the life of an itinerant. “I’m delivering myself to the city gates,” he says jokingly. “When we look at Aaron’s work, it’s like we are seeing a scene unfold before our eyes. Yet, we are not sure what we are seeing,” says gallery co-owner Trish VanOsdel. “Our eyes process the image, but our minds are skeptical. Is it a dream? The image will replay in our minds, days later, and we’ll try to connect the dots only to be seduced by…

The National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society will be holding the seventh edition of its Best of America Small Works National Juried Exhibition from July 5 to 31 at Sugarman-Peterson Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The annual event brings together national and international NOAPS members to feature some of their very best paintings in oil and acrylic. True to the name of the show, all of the artwork in the exhibition measures an intimate 320 square inches or less. In addition to the main exhibition, the NOAPS event also features a Plein Air Paint Out and Competition from July 3 to 4. During this two-day event, artists can draw inspiration from all of the vibrant Fourth of July celebrations happening across the City Different, as well as the stunning…

As anyone who has been to Santa Fe, New Mexico, knows, every day of the year feels more alive with art and culture than anywhere else in the Southwest, and maybe the country. As if that isn’t enough, each July the City Different takes it up a notch with an official 10-day celebration known as Santa Fe Art Week. Visitors can enjoy more than 100 unique art, culinary and performance experiences, including openings and shows, and live demonstrations taking place citywide at some of Santa Fe’s 250-plus galleries, cultural museums and destinations. One of the highlights and first large-scale events of the week is Art Santa Fe, a three-day contemporary art fair taking place in the heart of historic downtown at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center from Friday, July…