Thursday, January 9, 2014

Pop Up Series 3



 
FIRST STREET GALLERY is pleased to introduce its third 3-day POP UP Show.One, of a series of three to be held on consecutive weekends in January. Diverse groups of artists are given room to exhibit an extensive range of work from abstract to figurative; paintings, installations, drawing and sculpture. Each show encompasses a broad spectrum of contemporary practice.

Participating artists in Pop Up Series #3: Diane Fitch, Tina Ingraham, Frederick Ortner, Brook Overline, Alison Proulx, Kristina Robinson, Sheri Schwartz, and Kathi Smith.

       
The exhibition will be presented at First Street Gallery from 
Thursday, January 23rd through Saturday, January 25th
 

The reception will be held at the gallery on Thursday, January 16th from 6-8 PM.  



 Special Pop Up Gallery Hours: 11 am - 6 pm, Thursday through Saturday


526 West 26th Street, Suite 209, New York, New York 10001

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Pop - Up: On & Off the Wall Series:1


 

FIRST STREET GALLERY is pleased to introduce its first 3-day POP UP Show. One, of a series of three to be held on consecutive weekends in January. Diverse groups of artists are given room to exhibit an extensive range of work from abstract to figurative; paintings, installations, drawing and sculpture. Each show encompasses a broad spectrum of contemporary practice.

Participating artists in Pop Up Series #1: Leslie Adler, Elisa Gabor, Crystal Gregory, Natsuko Hattori, Kinuko Hoffman, Cynthia MacCollum, Miwako Nishizawa, and Stacy Rosende. 
       
The exhibition will be presented at First Street Gallery from 
Thursday, January 9th through Saturday, January 11th
 

The reception will be held at the gallery on Thursday, January 9th from 6-8 PM.  




 Special Pop Up Gallery Hours: 11 am - 6 pm, Thursday through Saturday


526 West 26th Street, Suite 209, New York, New York 10001

Is First Street Figurative Gallery?



Is First Street Figurative Gallery?

Paul Cézanne, Bather (1885-1887),
 Museum of Modern Art

 Our website says:

"An artist-run gallery, First Street's dual mission is to exhibit and promote the work of talented artists and to provide the public with an opportunity to see and learn about contemporary art in a more accessible milieu than that offered by commercial galleries. The gallery remains focused on the presentation of art in the figurative tradition but embraces a wide diversity of styles, media, and interpretations of 'figuration'." 

Hans Hofmann's painting 'The Gate', 1959–60


 What is Figuration/Figurative Art?  
I just got an opening announcement/invite for a “figurative show” and it was a show specifically for work rendering the human form.  It got me thinking.  “Figurative” is a word often misused by gallerists and artists alike.  The idea that this word means art that has to do with the human figure is prevalent but while art deriving from the human form is certainly figurative, not all figurative work involves the human form.  Wikipedia defines figuration the same way First Street Gallery does: 

"Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—that is clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational. "Figurative art" is often defined in contrast to abstract art:
Since the arrival of abstract art the term figurative has been used to refer to any form of modern art that retains strong references to the real world.[1]
Painting and sculpture can therefore be divided into the categories of figurative, representational and abstract, although, strictly speaking, abstract art is derived (or abstracted) from a figurative or other natural source. However, "abstract" is sometimes used as a synonym for non-representational art and non-objective art, i.e. art which has no derivation from figures or objects.
Figurative art is not synonymous with "art that represents the human figure," although human and animal figures are frequent subjects."

Still Life by Ruth Miller




I speak for myself but my understanding with regards to FSG is that we are a gallery partaking in the figurative tradition but not exclusively so.  It is all about the quality of the work and the individual behind it.  Do you agree?  Do you disagree?  Why? I am interested having this discussion and getting as much input as possible on the subject.  I think that this is the best forum for this kind of discussion and I am hoping to get some opinions.  What are your two cents?





View from Smith College by Stanley Lewis





Monday, December 2, 2013

December Group Show

no restrictions


In our age of polyphonic diversity the title, “NO RESTRICTIONS” easily assimilates into today’s vast canons of possibilities. So too, First Street Gallery has evolved over the decades into more open expressions of individual artistic visions. Thus, each artist creates both a private vocabulary and a retrieval of past traditions.

Participating artists: Jennifer Aldridge, Nancy Balliett, Jessica Bartlet, Kathleen Bennett Bastis, Sallie Benton, Sandra Caplan, Mary K. Connelly, Bill Creevy, Teresa Dunn, Suzi Evalenko, Hank Feeley, Wendy Gittler, Rachel Gordon Bernstein, Tim Kennedy, Michele Liebler, Mari Lyons, Cynthia MacCollum, Rallou Malliarakis, Doretta Miller, Kathi Packer, Marianne Perry Salas, Tracy Powers, Nicole McCormick Santiago, Dana Saulnier, and Jane Shoenfeld.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Jennifer Aldridge - Floodplain


First Street Gallery Logo





Jennifer Aldridge

 FLOODPLAIN

  
October 29 - November 23, 2013

Reception: Thursday, November 7, 5-8 PM
 

"Mutually Assured" 15 x 30" Watercolor on paper 2013


FIRST STREET GALLERY is pleased to present for the first time recent paintings by Jennifer Aldridge.


In her first show at First Street Gallery, artist Jennifer Aldridge acknowledges, "Every artist's job is to notice what she notices." All of the work in this exhibit of paintings consist of water media on paper. 

Aldridge emphasizes how much we, as first world citizens, are inundated with imagery--an opening of the floodplains "Is there, will there be a gain for civilization, when even the mundane is ceaselessly documented?" Aldridge asks. "I read, watch, see 'newsworthy' events, ancient history, personal dramas, conjecture and arguments, the retelling of mythologies, daily minutiae and silliness. This consumption takes less dedication than watching television, or even listening to a song. Evolving technologies allow us to witness, unlike any other time in history, second-by-second increases of novel visual information. A time-consuming hobby pieced together from morning to night, in between everything."


  
 
  
  

 Gallery Hours: 11 am - 6 pm, Tuesday through Saturday


526 West 26th Street, Suite 209, New York, New York 10001

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

2013 MFA National Competition





FIRST STREET GALLERY presents our 2013 MFA NATIONAL COMPETITION, the third in a series of annual exhibitions open exclusively to current MFA students throughout the United States.

Juried by PHONG BUI -- critic, artist, teacher, independent curator and co-founder, editor and publisher of The Brooklyn Rail. This exciting exhibition contains a diverse range of styles and execution; it includes paintings, drawings, photographs, mixed media and sculptural constructions from 20 artists.

ARTISTS: Kathy Akey, Laurie D. D'Alessandro, Jenny De Laughter, Sarah Dineen, Lindsey Jane Dunnagan, Erin Elizabeth, Nick Foster, Elisa Gabor, Crystal Gregory, Yunsung Jang, Ryota Kajita, Edmund J. Merricle II, Nicolai Nickson, Paula Abreu Pita, Evie Woltil Richner, Harry William Sidebotham II, Polixeni Theodorou, Stephanie D. Wallace, Jaclyn Wright and Heui Tae Yoon.  

*Summer Hours: Begin July 18Mon-Fri (11 -6)  
  
  
526 West 26 Street, Suite 209, New York, NY 10001
     

 First Street Gallery is located in the heart of Chelsea, NYC between 10th & 11th Avenues.
 [Nearest Subways: C,E,R,1,F,V to 23rd St. - crosstown bus to 10th Ave.
 Nearest Buses:  9th Avenue (#11), 8th Avenue (#10)

Monday, July 8, 2013

2013 MFA National Competition






FIRST STREET GALLERY presents our 2013 MFA NATIONAL COMPETITION, the third in a series of annual exhibitions open exclusively to current MFA students throughout the United States.

Juried by PHONG BUI -- critic, artist, teacher, independent curator and co-founder, editor and publisher of The Brooklyn Rail. This exciting exhibition contains a diverse range of styles and execution; it includes paintings, drawings, photographs, mixed media and sculptural constructions from 20 artists.

ARTISTS: Kathy Akey, Laurie D. D'Alessandro, Jenny De Laughter, Sarah Dineen, Lindsey Jane Dunnagan, Erin Elizabeth, Nick Foster, Elisa Gabor, Crystal Gregory, Yunsung Jang, Ryota Kajita, Edmund J. Merricle II, Nicolai Nickson, Paula Abreu Pita, Evie Woltil Richner, Harry William Sidebotham II, Polixeni Theodorou, Stephanie D. Wallace, Jaclyn Wright and Heui Tae Yoon.  


*Summer Hours: Begin July 18Mon-Fri (11 -6)  
  
  
526 West 26 Street, Suite 209, New York, NY 10001
     

 First Street Gallery is located in the heart of Chelsea, NYC between 10th & 11th Avenues.
 [Nearest Subways: C,E,R,1,F,V to 23rd St. - crosstown bus to 10th Ave.
 Nearest Buses:  9th Avenue (#11), 8th Avenue (#10)