What better way to enjoy Art than with some wine!
Tracy has a show coming up next month at FSG! For more information go to: http://firststreetgallery.net/2015/show15-04.html
Thursday, April 9, 2015
FSG Artists featured...
...At the Kent Land Trust Wine Tasting in the Morrison Gallery in Kent, CT. FSG artists Tracy Collamore and Jessica McGarry Bartlet were featured in this recap by Rural Intelligence.
What better way to enjoy Art than with some wine!
Tracy has a show coming up next month at FSG! For more information go to: http://firststreetgallery.net/2015/show15-04.html
What better way to enjoy Art than with some wine!
Tracy has a show coming up next month at FSG! For more information go to: http://firststreetgallery.net/2015/show15-04.html
Monday, October 13, 2014
Matisse at MOMA
What are the folks at FSG excited about? Henri Matisse cutouts at the MOMA! Henri Matisse cutouts at the MOMA! Henri Matisse cutouts at the MOMA! Henri Matisse cutouts at the MOMA!
Excited? Yes we are!
Now up until November 8th. Don't miss it! For more info check out: http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2014/matisse/
Excited? Yes we are!
Now up until November 8th. Don't miss it! For more info check out: http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2014/matisse/
Monday, September 29, 2014
ipaintings?
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| The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) - 1 January (2011) |
September 22, 2014
David Hockney
The Pace Gallery in Chelsea
Sept 5-Nov 4
Thank you, Mr. Hockney and the crew at the Pace, for
reminding us that, indeed, winter is coming, with your show, “The Arrival of
Spring”. The drawings are wonderful and
textured with the black and white, light, and dark patterns found in full
summer and spring scenes. The first
thing that you see upon entering the gallery is a giant video installation on
multiple screens of a lovely drive down a back country road in the dead of
winter. That is exactly what I like to
see while strolling through galleries in Chelsea in September after a short,
cool summer on the East Coast. Don’t get
me wrong. I love winter. It just seems to be coming so quickly this
year. Good thing the rest of the show was full of bright springtime color. The ipad paintings were large and
bright, featuring the signature style of saturated color and line that Hockney
is famous for. These images resonate
with his actual paintings quite well. As
for the medium, it is what it is and it is unapologetic. He made images on his ipad with the intention
of printing them to a large scale and that is exactly what is on the wall at
the Pace. It isn’t traditional painting
not is it traditional printing. These
are flattened, colorful images evoking emotion through the color relationships
and the honest recording of the passage of time in a place. It is what it is and it is beautiful. The colors are saturated, layered, and
limited. They tend to lie next to each
other and compete for real estate in the foreground. Even, so, there is surprisingly more depth to
the paintings than I had originally thought for this reason, but the line
quality is excellent and varied, and
linear perspective keeps the images in visual order.
What do you think? Ipad art part of the conversation now but is it important? Will the art world see more of this medium and embrace it or is it just relevant because one of our beloved living masters is using it?
For more information: http://www.pacegallery.com/newyork/exhibitions/12687/the-arrival-of-spring
Monday, September 15, 2014
Stanley Lewis
Hello followers! With
the new season upon us, we are reinvigorated and are re-encouraged to record
our thoughts and adventures!
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| Stanley Lewis, Westport, 2010-2014, oil on canvas 21.25 by 35.25 inches |
Stanley Lewis at Betty Cunningham Gallery
Betty Cunningham Gallery has moved to the LES so we had
quite the adventure taking the subway down and navigating new territory. The space was absolutely outstanding and
beautiful.
“You have
to learn what abstraction is in order to understand what painting is.” ~ Stanley Lewis
“Abstraction” is an
interesting thought to ruminate while viewing the show. This thought has been with me for the last
couple of days, slowly digesting and coloring the lens through which I view
painting. Abstracting is a perfect word
to describe the liberty Lewis takes with paint application while still
maintaining picture integrity. This is
no small feat. It is as if the landscape
that Lewis observes is merely a convenience for the opportunity to apply paint
and build texture.
Most, but not all of the paintings in the show were thick
with paint, celebrating paint for the sake of paint. We loved the beautiful texture that followed
the heavy paint application that made the work incredibly rich and interesting
to view up close, but also that the images became startlingly photorealistic
from afar.
The drawings were stunning. Lewis’s line quality was precise and confident
without being finicky or belabored. I
love that line is such an important element in his work. I enjoyed how many ways he could manipulate
paint to form hard and soft lines, but also let his painting surface choice
dictate compositionally pleasing linear edges.
In every instance, the addition of a new panel to the piece creates an
opportunity for visual play.
For more information go to:
http://www.bettycuninghamgallery.com/current_exhibition.aspx
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Pop Up Series 3
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Special Pop Up Gallery Hours: 11 am - 6 pm, Thursday through Saturday
526 West 26th Street, Suite 209, New York, New York 10001
646-336-8053 · 646-336-8054 (fax)
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
646-336-8053 · 646-336-8054 (fax)
Is First Street Figurative Gallery?
Is First Street Figurative Gallery?
"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'."
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| 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."
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| 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?
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| View from Smith College by Stanley Lewis |
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