Fine Art Connoisseur November/December 2019

It’s November 1. Soon I will fly to Williamsburg, Virginia, to host the third Figurative Art Convention & Expo (FACE, November 10–13). I could not be more excited. Even if you are unable to join us this month, you — as a reader of Fine Art Connoisseur — are automatically part of the extraordinary blossoming of contemporary figurative art today, and, for that, I thank you. There are lots of people who don’t have the opportunity to study in an atelier. They have careers or families and can’t take a few years off, yet they would be thrilled to study under some of the masters we’re gathering in Williamsburg. We’ve hand-picked terrific teachers, ones who are encouraging and inspiring. FACE is so much better than a workshop. It’s like a…

I am writing this note from Marseille, France’s second largest city and a world away from Paris, even though a train ride there takes only three hours. A bustling port, Marseille is cleaner and richer than I recall it from my previous visit in 1987, so I have enjoyed getting reacquainted. The highlight of my stay came today, when I toured the extraordinary Centre Interdisciplinaire de Conservation et Restauration du Patrimoine (CICRP) with its enthusiastic director, Roland May. This institution’s name translates to “Interdisciplinary Center for Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage,” which offers a lot to unpack. Opened in 2002, CICRP is funded by a unique partnership of national, regional, and local agencies, and is the only such entity outside Paris. Its missions are to foster scientific research that…

When the young artist Michele Oka Doner lived in Detroit during the 1960s and ’70s, she visited what she calls “America’s eternal light.” She drove to the Ford Motor Company’s River Rouge plant, and, upon entering this cathedral-scaled complex, she saw the vast furnace powering the machinery that made the cars. “Albert Kahn, the architect of both the plant and the assembly line, made a light that never went out,” recalls Doner, who has lived and worked in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood since she and her husband relocated there in the late 1970s. “At River Rouge, I could feel the heart of this country pumping.” Years later, during a trip to Detroit, she opened the drapes of her downtown hotel window and spotted, off in the distance, that glowing…

YVONNE MELCHERS Diemen, The Netherlands Siena Palio XVII (Aquila/Eagle), 15.7 x 17.7 in., oil on Belgian linen Available through the artist ymelchers@hetnet.nl yvonnemelchers.nl Represented by Galerie De Vreugd & Hendriks, Zandvoort, The Netherlands; Museum Møhlmann, Appingedam, The Netherlands; Abend Gallery, Denver, CO, USA. K ATE LACKMAN Cincinnati, Ohio Olivia, 15 x 15 in., oil on canvas Available through the artist katelackman.com  • katelackmanstudios@gmail.com EDSON CAMPOS Casselberry, Florida Young Parisian, 16 x 20 in., oil on canvas cartista@aol.com • 407.310.2317 • edsoncampos.com CHANTEL LYNN BARBER Bartlett, Tennessee Do You See Me, 20 x 16 in., acrylic on panel chantelbarber@bellsouth.net • chantellynnbarber.com Represented by Richland Fine Art, Nashville, TN; The Boyd Gallery, Newnan, GA. KATHLEEN BRODEUR Casselberry, Florida Kimono, 30 x 19 in., oil on canvas Available through the artist kbrodeur2004@yahoo.com 407.310.2317 kathleenbrodeurfineart.com KAY LEWIS Madison, Alabama Boogie…

NICOLE M. SANTIAGO (b. 1976) has a long-standing fascination with birthday cakes and babies, as evidenced by her nearly 30 paintings that contain these motifs. One could surmise any number of symbolic meanings from them, but specific interpretations are not what the artist is after. Rather, Santiago is offering loose explanations of semi-autobiographical familial narratives that remain subservient to the broader formal concerns of her paintings. Santiago earned a B.F.A. in studio art from Indiana University and an M.F.A. in painting from the University of New Hampshire. She is currently an associate professor of art at Virginia’s College of William and Mary, where she has taught figure drawing, color theory, and composition for the past 13 years. With her extensive education and instructional experience, Santiago has become an expert at…

Fifteen years ago, I was stopped in my tracks by a painting in a San Francisco gallery’s window — a beautiful double portrait of a black man with white flowers. I stepped inside and learned that this piece, titled An Arrangement, was by Will Wilson (b. 1957). A decade passed and I found myself living in the Bay Area again. A new acquaintance introduced me to her other artist pal, Will. “Will Wilson?” I exclaimed. It was indeed him, so hours of conversation about painting ensued, punctuated by much enthusiastic gesturing. We made plans to swap studio visits, but as I was moving back East, it would be nearly a year before I actually saw Wilson again. For more than 20 years, Wilson had occupied a cavernous space above the…