Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2025 i American Art Collector

Happy New Year! As resolutions abound in our homes there is another one we want you to keep this year, and the team at American Art Collector have vested interest in this. We invite you to Arizona. Not only is it a great place to visit in January for art lovers, golfers, sunseekers, hikers and outdoor adventurers, it is our headquarters. Yes, the magic of this magazine comes to fruition every month right here in Scottsdale, Arizona. In this issue we roll out the red carpet for the Grand Canyon State with the 2025 Art Lovers Guide to Collecting Fine Art Arizona, a 15-page celebration of the state that starts on Page 48. Sarah Gianelli and her talented team have made it easy for you to accomplish your New Year’s…

Artist Stephen W. Douglas passed away in August after a months-long battle with cancer. An important figure in the resurgence of figurative painting in Southern California in the 1990s, Douglas created figurative works, landscapes, historical and allegorical portraits, tree portraits and more. One of Douglas’ most famous works is a depiction of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The artist’s work has been exhibited at institutions across the country including the Bakersfield Museum of Art, Washburn Mulvane Museum, Arnot Museum, Laguna Beach Museum, Frye Art Museum and the San Diego Museum of Art.…

Objects tell stories, going far beyond their practical uses and surface-level beauty. Still life painter Leslie Lewis Sigler is drawn to domestic objects made of precious metals like silverware molds and vessels, “because they have a kind of eternal life.” The California-based artist paints her lustrous silver objects against stark white backdrops, creating still lifes with simple yet striking compositions. “In painting these objects, I explore the character evident in their inherent design and everchanging patina,” she says. “Each singular object’s form, condition, and character transform an otherwise functional object into something rich with history and artistic beauty, with the power to reflect our own life stories and family histories in the process.” The objects Sigler depicts seem to transcend temporal boundaries. “They have their own histories, lifespans and significance,…

Growing up on a farm in West Texas, Michael Tole was perusing his family’s 1956 Collier’s Encyclopedia when the color plates of Baroque paintings caught his attention. Today, he paints inventive Baroque and Rococo figurative extravaganzas that look like they could be part of a Renaissance art collection. A solo exhibition of new and recent paintings, Pictures from the Queen’s Collection, is now on view at Ferrara Showman Gallery in New Orleans through February 8. “In my current work, I am writing letters to art history, literature and mythology in an attempt to reflect the social changes that have reshaped our society over the past century,” explains Tole. “As part of this agenda, I explore the evolution of gender norms, power dynamics and representation within Western visual and literary culture,…

New England artist Casey Chalem Anderson is captivated by the idea of place. A native of New York City’s Greenwich Village, Anderson paints soft, serene oils of the idyllic Hamptons on the East End of Long Island. Her beach and coastal scenes are filled with gentle blues, pinks, purples and greens, exuding a sense of quiet tranquility. The artist will be showcasing her latest body of work at George Billis Gallery in Fairfield, Connecticut, from January 14 to February 22. “A lot of these pieces are of a particular place—different views from a place that I love called Towd Point Road in the North Sea area of Southampton,” says Anderson. For the past couple of years, she’s been working on a series of paintings focusing on 36 different views of…

Contemporary realism applies to huge range of art, and nowhere is it more evident than in our pages—and on our covers! On our website, you can see every cover we’ve chosen since October 2005 (!). It comes in handy when we’re picking the cover for each issue to make sure we haven’t selected a similar piece or a work by the same artist recently. This is especially important because we want to represent the whole spectrum of what contemporary realism can be, from the timeless and traditional, to the cutting edge of near-abstraction. All of it has a place in American Art Collector and, internally, we often talk about how the broadness of contemporary realism can pose a challenge, but it’s one we enthusiastically embrace. After all, the breadth of…

Known for converting images and text-based documents into numerical structures, musical notations and other sign systems, renowned conceptual artist Charles Gaines creates artwork that challenges notions of modern aesthetics, politics and philosophy. On view through summer 2025, the Phoenix Art Museum in Arizona debuts the complete series of the most recent body of work by Gaines, Numbers and Trees: Arizona Trees 1, 2023. This new series features eight large-scale triptychs depicting cottonwoods that were photographed along the San Pedro River outside Sierra Vista, Arizona.…

Attracting thousands of visitors from around the world, the annual Celebration of Fine Art, known for its location in Scottsdale, Arizona, under the “big white tent,” brings together established and emerging artists from across the country. This year, the show will see around 100 artists showcasing their talents in a 40,000 square foot space, now in a new location only 200 yards south of its previous one. Attendees will not only find quite a variety of mediums on display, but an extensive range of styles and genres. “From the very beginning, the mission of Celebration of Fine Art has been to bring artists and art enthusiasts/collectors together in one space in a meaningful way,” says show co-owner and director, Susan Morrow Potje. “Over the years, it has truly become a…

ALEKSANDR FAYVISOVICH aleksandrfayvisovich@gmail.com www.aleksandrfayvisovich.com BLUE RAIN GALLERY 544 S. Guadalupe Street Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 954-9902 934 Main Avenue, Unit B, Durango, CO 81301, (970) 232-2033 www.blueraingallery.com BRIAN MCCLEAR www.mcclearart.com Represented by Alofft Gallery 41 West Street, Litchfield, CT 06759 (860) 361-6389, www.alofft.com DEBBIE MUELLER debbiemuellerart@gmail.com www.debbiemuellerart.com DENICE PETERS Denison, IA, art@denicepeters.com www.denicepeters.com DEVIN LAWRENCE REYNOLDS (253) 720-6200 www.devinlawrencereynolds.com HALL GROAT II Endwell, NY, (607) 759-0058 www.hallgroat.com LESLIE LEWIS SIGLER www.leslielewissigler.com NANCY BALMERT www.nancybalmert.com PETER SWIFT pswift73@icloud.com www.peterswiftartstudio.com Represented by Touchstone Gallery Washington, D.C., (202) 682-4125 www.touchstonegallery.com TODD M. CASEY www.toddmcasey.com…

This January, Altamira Fine Art will be hosting a solo exhibition for Scottsdale, Arizona-based artist Geoffrey Gersten. Starting out as a CAD designer for Boeing and Honeywell, Gersten began painting fine art in the mid 2000s, teaching himself the techniques of the Old Masters. Since then, his artwork has evolved into a blend of abstract expressionism and photorealism, capturing a sense of nostalgic Americana: neon roadside signs, 1960s beach-goers in red polka dot swimsuits, Marlboro cigarette boxes, vintage cars, cowboys and more. “[My early works] were total chaos, but I loved painting so much so I just kept going,” shares the artist. “I pulled my hair out for 10 years, educating myself, learning over time. I didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t know good from bad, [but] I persevered.”…

Since 1878, the Salmagundi Club has been holding an exhibition featuring solely works in black and white, making it the institution’s oldest continuous running exhibition. The show was initiated by original Salmagundi member artists, many of whom were illustrators. At the time, many of the exhibited works would go on to be published in the growing popular magazine market of the late 19th century. This year’s juried exhibition and sale carries on the tradition at the club’s historic New York City location from January 7 through 24. The show will feature roughly 80 black-and-white or monochromatic sepia drawings, graphics, photographs, paintings and sculpture by the club’s top member artists. On view will be works like Jean Marcellino’s powerful charcoal rendering of the bronze statue of Atlas in New York City’s…

Liana Z. Weber is an Austrian-American artist who draws on her own lived experience to create large scale, colored pencil artworks. Her work playfully examine the contrasts of what it is to be a woman in contemporary Western society. Weber produces thought-provoking works of art that can be readily interpreted and appreciated by any individual, regardless of history or background. She believes art should be accessible to all, and for certain topical, divisive issues to move forward, everyone must be invited to the discussion. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in art, with a focus on painting from the University of Nevada, Reno, Weber moved to her father’s hometown of Innsbruck, Austria, where she is an active member of both the national and regional visual artist associations, and a founding member…

Jan. 1-Feb. 2 Stephen Mackey: Nocturnal Children Arcadia Contemporary New York, NY • (646) 861-3941 www.arcadiacontemporary.com Jan.1-Feb. 3 Mirrored Reality RJD Gallery Romeo, MI • (586) 281-3613 www.rjdgallery.com Through January 4 Miles Johnston Harman Projects  New York, NY • (212) 477-4759 www.harmanprojects.com Through January 5 Poskas: Father and Son Mattatuck Museum Waterbury, CT • (203) 753-0381 www.mattmuseum.org Through January 5 Picturing the Border Cleveland Museum of Art Cleveland, OH • (216) 421-7350 www.clevelandart.org Through January 5 Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women Smithsonian American Art Museum Washington D.C. www.americanart.si.edu/ January 7-18 Geoffrey Gersten: Tonight, the Streets Are Ours Altamira Fine Art Scottsdale, AZ • (480) 949-1256 www.altamiraart.com Jan. 14-Feb. 22 Casey Chalem Anderson George Billis Gallery » Fairfield, CT » (212) 645-2621 www.georgebillis.com January 7-24 148th Annual Black and White…

A groundbreaking exhibition at Michigan State University’s Broad Art Museum features the artwork of Canadian sculptor Esmaa Mohamoud. Shining a spotlight on the experiences of young Black girls, COMPLEX DREAMS includes ethereal sculptures and installations by Mohamoud that respond directly to the unique, Zaha Hadid-designed architecture of the MSU Broad Art Museum and “explores the transformative power of art to express the enduring perseverance and strength of Black girlhood in the face of great adversity.” The exhibition will be available to explore through February 16, 2025.…

For the past two decades a floating cosmonaut has appeared as a recurring character in the stilled dramas of Jeremy Geddes’ paintings, an isolated observer examining the urban landscapes of modern municipal bedroom communities, the iconic weightlessness of this airy astronaut emphasizing the lonely emptiness of the cityscape. For Gen-Xers, the astronaut must be a shadow vision of David Bowie‘s iconic mariner Major Tom, who was launched, lost, and left in space in the summer night of July ‘69 when flaming boosters shot his capsule into the visionary void to float alone in synthesized silence with circuits dead. The real astronauts of the Apollo mission that landed men on the moon returned to the ground, but Major Tom didn’t. He entered the eternity of space. Now, in Geddes’ paintings he…

Abarren, inhospitable desert. The Phoenix sprawl. Insufferable heat. Saguaros. The Grand Canyon. This is what probably comes to mind for people who aren’t very familiar with Arizona. But for those of us who live here, we know the state has so much more to offer. And because American Art Collector and its sister titles are based in Scottsdale, and put together by a team that is intimate with every region of the state, we are uniquely suited to let you in on its best kept secrets. One of the most appealing aspects of Arizona is its dramatic variations in climate, elevation and topography which translates into a truly astounding biodiversity. (You can learn more about the state’s vast botanical variety, and one artist’s mission to document it on canvas, in…

Subscribe today to get the best contemporary American art magazine in the country, and the only monthly magazine that highlights the top artists, galleries, museums and fairs throughout the art market. Need proof? The proof is in your hands. Flip through this stunning issue to find the most thorough coverage of the contemporary realism genre through: » Previews of all the biggest gallery shows, art events and sales. » Destination guides for the hottest art markets. » Special genre sections to expand your collecting power. » 12 issues a year, each one presenting work from the top artists and the rising newcomers… and everyone in between! Join our huge community of subscribers who have chosen American Art Collector as their go-to trusted source for everything they need to know about…

It’s been said that art is a mirror for the person looking into it. The viewer sees themselves. Even when the subject doesn’t look like them, or is even human, or is even living. Artists may be painting very specific things from their own being, but the viewer can instantly rewire that to fit their lives with just one glance. This is what makes art so wonderful and profound. This is also the subject of RJD Gallery’s new show, Mirrored Reality, opening January 1 in Romeo, Michigan. The show will feature some of the gallery’s most important painters, as well as works from deeper in its stunning inventory. “Truth in art can be a mirrored reality reflecting back to us what is happening in the world or what we perceive…

For Spencer Simmons, 2018 was a milestone year. Only 24 at the time and a few years after earning a fine art degree from Arizona State University, Simmons won the Donald Jurney Traveling Fellowship which enabled him to paint and study in Europe for several months. “It was an absolute dream,” says Simmons. “I was all of a sudden able to spend a significant time without any obligations other than painting, and seeing masterworks all over Europe…It was profound in the sense that I was starting to feel some validation in the path that I’d chosen, and it really set me on the path to becoming a professional painter.” Upon his return to Phoenix, Simmons also found gallery representation close to home at Scottsdale’s Paul Scott Gallery, which is hosting…

Dubai, United Arab Emirates • info@ryderscanvas.com • www.ryderscanvas.com Matt Ryder is an award-winning British artist living and working in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A lifelong painter, Ryder is endlessly inspired by the natural world and the beauty of nature, be it flowers, land, sea or sky. His piece Rosie Rosie Lucy Rose, titled by his daughter who was 5 at the time, was the winning painting in International Artist magazine’s most recent Florals & Gardens Competition. Ryder’s medium of choice is oils, which allow him to create lush, painterly florals and landscapes. His paintings of rose bushes are a prominent part of his oeuvre, featuring multi-colored blooms in differing qualities of light. “In so many of my paintings I enjoy the play of complementary colors and always look for ways…

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