The battle depicted here takes place between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding feast of Pirithous to Hippodamia. Pirithous, the king of the Lapiths, had long clashed with the neighboring Centaurs. To extend peace, Pirithous invited the Centaurs to the wedding. Some of the Centaurs over-indulged at the event and when the bride was presented, she aroused the intoxicated Centaur Eurytion so much so that he leapt up and tried to carry her away. This led not only to a clash at the festivities, but became a year long battle before the Centaurs were finally defeated and expelled from Thessaly.

Bruno Surdo's Abduction of Europa portrays the climactic moment in Greek Myth whereby Zeus transforms himself into a bull to lure the princess Europa onto his back and carries her away to Crete. Europa would become the namesake for the continent of Europe and Zeus would immortalize the handsome bull forever in the cosmos as the constellation Taurus.

In the age of social media, we are vying for attention 24/7. Bruno Surdo explores this idea in this large scale painting entitled "A Selfie, A Pink Unicorn, Paparazzi? What Does It Take To Get Noticed?". Presented in an urban setting, Surdo examines individuals and their interactions with one another, or their lack of interaction as the case may be.

An unsuspecting woman showers in a small tiled bath somewhere in Venice. This intimate portrait is painted on panel with a black trimmed edges therefore not requiring framing. Please contact the gallery for framing options.

A couple embraces, one looking directly out at the viewer. His piercing blue eyes are enhanced by the dark backdrop. A colorful moth sits upon his fingertips but he seems more engaged with the viewer than this miracle of nature. This intimate portrait is painted with a black trimmed edge therefore not requiring framing however, please contact the gallery for framing options.

"The couch paintings are cheekily inspired by psychoanalysis and loosely based on Freud's Theory Of Personality: Id, Ego and Superego. My family history, as the granddaughter of a German Jewish psychiatrist, who worked in infamous mental hospitals in the 1950s and 1960s, also informed the concept behind the paintings. My grandparents were forced to flee Nazi Germany and I recently accepted German citizenship as part of reparations. More and more, I feel a deep connection to the art and culture produced by German artists before the war, particularly works labeled as "degenerate" art. Like much of this work, my couch paintings attempt to explore the subconscious while addressing contemporary themes as well as personal issues.

My family roots are far flung but I was born and raised in a small gold rush town in Northern California and like so many first generation Americans, I didn't exactly fit in. The town was filled with cowboys, prospectors, hippies and marijuanna growers (before it was legal) and embodied the spirit of the American west. Gone Wild addresses the schism between my childhood in the rough-and-tumble west and the intellectual, artistic pursuits of my German Jewish heritage. It also explores universal themes of impulse control, untamed desire, choice, identity and the quest for ultimate liberation all wrapped up in kitschy Americana."

Rose Freymuth-Frazier: Employing the techniques of the past in the service of contemporary exploration, I seek to add a fresh voice to the sometimes venerable, sometimes dusty and archaic tradition of large-scale figurative painting, while subtly addressing the mythology, objectification and subjugation of women. My subjects are at first glance close to home-new mothers, friends, lovers, artists, dancers-but are then quickly placed at a distance via edgy modification, rigorous technique, minimal contexts and composition, and idiosyncratic use of color. I am also interested in social presentation, artifice, and simulation as they relate to my subjects. I hope to peel away a gossamer thin layer of reality, not just to document the real but also to reveal what might be. BIOGRAPHY Given my restless history, it is curious that I became a figurative painter in New York City. My maternal Grandparents fled Hitler's Germany in the late 1930's. After being refused entry to the United States, they were welcomed into the Dominican Republic, where they happily resided in a small orderly bungalow of their own design and made their living as studio photographer and cheese maker for seven years. Amid this exotic island milieu, my mother was born. Similarly, my fraternal grandparents, he being a US medic stationed in New Zealand and she, a seventeen year old Kiwi, met just long enough in the back of an ambulance in the early 1940's for her to come to the US on a steamer eighteen months later with their nine-month-old baby boy: my father. My eventual parents found each other in Nevada City, California, a small Gold Rush town flanked by a river and nestled in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. There they fashioned a life according to their own rules and beliefs, free from the rigid standards of mainstream society. I was born on the floor of an old miner's cabin on a frigid November night in 1977. The midwife, who had learned the art of delivering babies while assisting her grandfather across the moors of Scotland, lived atop an icy ridge, did not own a telephone, and was summoned just in time. She made her living as a welder and considered her midwifery skill a gift. She refused to take money for her services. As payment, my mother, a ceramic sculptor, crafted her a large salad bowl with which to catch future placentas. So for the price of a handcrafted, multi-use salad bowl, (my first brush with art), I came into the world. I grew up in a free-spirited, idyllic wilderness until my existence was reported to the authorities in the form of a birth certificate. At eight years old, after some home schooling and experimental education, I was finally sent to public school. By sixteen I left the small town and moved in with my older brother who lived by the sea. A year later I applied and was accepted to the Interlochen Arts Academy in Northern Michigan where I spent my senior year of high school. At eighteen years old, I came to New York City on a scholarship to study theater. The city dazzled me, but after completing the term of study-and perhaps echoing my mother's flight from Barnard on a motorcycle years before-I headed back west, this time to Los Angeles where I landed in a Hollywood Boulevard youth hostel. It was in the culturally diverse atmosphere of Southern California, amid the palms, cars, and birds of paradise that I began to paint. In a twist of fate that only Hollywood could deliver, I was discovered stuck in traffic on Ventura Boulevard and given a record deal, (although I was not a singer). For six months I was under contract as Ruby Blonde and was paid to do nothing. Mercifully, the album was never made but I chose to use the free time and money to paint. Inspired by trips through Mexico and Guatemala, I fashioned giant faces from memory, which I painted on oversized pieces of scavenged plywood. I found the act of painting both hypnotic and meditative. So I returned to New York, (via Argentina), to further pursue the serious study of figurative painting technique. We know that in the past realism was discredited as kitsch and blamed for it's ability to appeal to and affect the masses. This inherent accessibility is the reason I choose to paint in the realist tradition.

Once the innocence is gone, the true character of Eve is revealed in Rose Freymuth Frazier's painting entitled "Eve of Destruction". Complete with a tattooed belly and a necklace that reads "Bitch", this interpretation of Eve after her expulsion from the Garden is a truly modern one. She has a cigarette hanging from her mouth, is carving that poison apple with seemingly not a care in the world as a beautifully colored snake makes itself at home around her neck.

Mary Borgman was born in 1959 in St. Louis, Mo. She received a B.F.A. in graphic communications at Washington University in 1982. She then went on to receive her M.A. and M.F.A. at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri in 2001. In 2002, Ann Nathan Chicago began representing Mary Borgman's artwork at annual exhibitions in the gallery and art shows in New York, Chicago, Florida, and Santa Fe. Borgman was a semifinalist at Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2009 at the National Portrait Gallery in the Smithsonian Institute which lead to her own exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Seven of Borgman's large scale charcoal drawings were exhibited for ten months in a show called Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge. Her National Portrait Gallery show then moved from the Smithsonian Institute to the Arkansas Art Center. In addition to numerous articles and reviews, her art was recently published in Drawing Magazine's charcoal issue, Charcoal Gaze, winter issue, 2016. Borgman is included in various public collections including the 21C Museum in Louisville, Tullman collection in Chicago, and the Mott-Warsh collection, Flint Michigan. Her artwork has been shown in the Arnot Art Museum in New York, the Muskegon Museum of Art in Michigan, the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, and the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art in St. Louis. Mary Borgman's art is currently represented by Gallery Victor Armendariz in Chicago.

Mary Borgman’s work captivates the viewer in several ways. First is their scale. They hang like medieval tapestries, with figures standing as tall as eight feet. There is also their texture – created by using charcoal on Mylar, and the results are richly gestural, with distinct charcoal strokes and eraser marks animating the figure and ground alike. With a flat surface, she creates volume and life. And perhaps the most powerful of all, the viewer is caught be the gazes of the models, who stare forcefully out of the picture. They seem to be examining us every bit as much as we are examining them.

These larger-than-life portraits stem from chance encounters that grow into meaningful connections between the artist and her subject. Most are strangers that she approaches on the street. They capture her attention with expressive eyes that show experience and wisdom, distinctive shapes and a casual body language. “I try to honor the people I am drawing by centering them in the format and shooting from slightly below their eye level. I choose an expression that exudes intelligence, self-awareness and complexity. I try to convey their humanness. I want the viewer to feel this person might be someone interesting to know”, says Borgman of her subjects. The intensity with which she conveys the eyes may stem from her many years of communicating in sign language, which is based on sustained eye contact.

Borgman loves the directness of drawing. It is immediate, there is no lag time. There is no time waiting for the paint to dry. She works solely in charcoal which she can manipulate to achieve varying degrees of darkness and opacity. It is messy and the artist loves that.

Mary Borgman was born in 1959 in St. Louis, Mo. She received a B.F.A. in graphic communications at Washington University in 1982. She then went on to receive her M.A. and M.F.A. at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri in 2001. Borgman was a semifinalist at the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2009 at the National Portrait Gallery. This lead to her own exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Seven of Borgman's large scale charcoal drawings were exhibited for ten months in a show called Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge. Her National Portrait Gallery show then moved from the Smithsonian Institute to the Arkansas Art Center.

Mary Borgman’s work captivates the viewer in several ways. First is their scale. They hang like medieval tapestries, with figures standing as tall as eight feet. There is also their texture – created by using charcoal on Mylar, and the results are richly gestural, with distinct charcoal strokes and eraser marks animating the figure and ground alike. With a flat surface, she creates volume and life. And perhaps the most powerful of all, the viewer is caught be the gazes of the models, who stare forcefully out of the picture. They seem to be examining us every bit as much as we are examining them.

These larger-than-life portraits stem from chance encounters that grow into meaningful connections between the artist and her subject. Most are strangers that she approaches on the street. They capture her attention with expressive eyes that show experience and wisdom, distinctive shapes and a casual body language. “I try to honor the people I am drawing by centering them in the format and shooting from slightly below their eye level. I choose an expression that exudes intelligence, self-awareness and complexity. I try to convey their humanness. I want the viewer to feel this person might be someone interesting to know”, says Borgman of her subjects. The intensity with which she conveys the eyes may stem from her many years of communicating in sign language, which is based on sustained eye contact.

Borgman loves the directness of drawing. It is immediate, there is no lag time. There is no time waiting for the paint to dry. She works solely in charcoal which she can manipulate to achieve varying degrees of darkness and opacity. It is messy and the artist loves that.

Mary Borgman was born in 1959 in St. Louis, Mo. She received a B.F.A. in graphic communications at Washington University in 1982. She then went on to receive her M.A. and M.F.A. at Fontbonne College in St. Louis, Missouri in 2001. Borgman was a semifinalist at the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2009 at the National Portrait Gallery. This lead to her own exhibition at the Smithsonian Institute's National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. Seven of Borgman's large scale charcoal drawings were exhibited for ten months in a show called Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge. Her National Portrait Gallery show then moved from the Smithsonian Institute to the Arkansas Art Center.

Twenty-first century Classical Portraiture has a casual feel as seen here in "Portrait of Patricio" by Peter Lupkin. The very masculine Benjamin, with his heavy beard, dark hair and open collared shirt, is soften by his melancholic gaze and the delicate Fleur de Lis wallpaper backdrop. The loose, heavy brush strokes add an ease to the formality of portraiture. This piece is framed in an ornate gold leaf antique frame.

Artists are often isolated, but long for an idealized golden era, “La Boheme”. Frequently an artist's closest encounter with “La Boheme” is nothing more than drinking at a bar, looking up at the next person that comes through the door, hoping they will alleviate the isolation. Lupkin has captured this longing with various elements such as the subject's distant gaze, the solitude of the bar, daylight streaming in from an unseen window.

With the subject covering his face, we, the viewer, are perplexed by the mystery of the moment. The warm light from the background in this painting titled, "Seer" suggest a fire. Is it in the background or is that fire emanating from within the figure himself with the glorious use of color? This artwork is framed. The framed dimensions are H 32 x W 26 inches.

A casual pose, Anna gazes out toward the viewer, inviting them in for a closer look. Artist Zack Zdrale takes a traditional approach to his work although his subjects and compositions place his work in the present. His paintings are imbued with a stillness and silence for the viewer to infuse meaning. The figure, with her piercing blue eyes, takes a traditional position yet brings a casualness to the piece by her dress and the unfinished works hanging in the background. It captures an intimate moment of solitude. This artwork is framed. The painting is framed in a simple black frame with a small antiqued silver fillet.

Pressure System by Zack Zdrale is a blend of contemporary elements yet reminiscent of the great masters. A male figure crouches down on a stone pedestal, his taut muscles and lean physique enhanced by the warmth of the palette. This artwork is framed in a simple dark wooden frame.

This seated male nude with outstretch arms is painted with loose brushwork, reminiscent of the old masters. The rich warm palette and the complimentary wide wooden frame enhance the overall aesthetic of the piece.

My recent painting series describes the reality of motion capture environments by showing the interplay between female athletes and male technicians. These paintings are meant to explore conventions of female representation in Western figurative art and to contrast this past practice with the contemporary imagery of that subject via computer-based image technology.

This project was instigated by a number of things: first, by my abiding interest in depicting the human form in paint, as I find its versatility in a design, its invitation to empathy, and its difficulty, to be something worth attempting to depict with success. In addition, my curiosity regarding the new ways to depict the form using electronic technology seem to challenge to the traditional methods I rely upon, and I wanted to comment on the similarities and differences between the studios of the painters and the technicians.

In this way, I aim to continue my investigation into what I see as the contrasting quality of human nature, and symbolically represent opposites such as mind and body, analog and digital, realism and idealism, terrestrial and the transcendent.

My recent painting series describes the reality of motion capture environments by showing the interplay between female athletes and male technicians. These paintings are meant to explore conventions of female representation in Western figurative art and to contrast this past practice with the contemporary imagery of that subject via computer-based image technology.

This project was instigated by a number of things: first, by my abiding interest in depicting the human form in paint, as I find its versatility in a design, its invitation to empathy, and its difficulty, to be something worth attempting to depict with success. In addition, my curiosity regarding the new ways to depict the form using electronic technology seem to challenge to the traditional methods I rely upon, and I wanted to comment on the similarities and differences between the studios of the painters and the technicians.

In this way, I aim to continue my investigation into what I see as the contrasting quality of human nature, and symbolically represent opposites such as mind and body, analog and digital, realism and idealism, terrestrial and the transcendent.

With obvious large brushstrokes, jarring color, and brooding subjects, Wesley Kimler’s paintings establishes a direct emotional connection between the artist and the artwork. Pulling from surrealism, figuration, abstraction, and street art, Wesley produces theatrically colossal works full of emotion and energy.

The raven is often thought of as a connection between the spiritual and physical world. In this painting, a wise young girl holds a raven in her hands up to her eye as if searching for some great meaning. A clock and a burning candle in the foreground suggests a symbolic connection between the two. The peaceful mountain landscape in the background brings an overall peaceful quality to the piece. This painting is framed in an artist made frame.

This painting began last summer when I was living on the island of Burano and making frequent trips into Venice. I was lucky to meet many kind locals and fellow travelers during my stay there. This painting was a response to this extraordinary experience living in an environment that felt truly magical. –Rick Beerhorst

The cat and bird are typically mortal enemies but here they are held together by this noble woman. This becomes a metaphor for how apposed aspects of our inner nature coexist and add dimension and richness to our personalities.

Artist Rick Beerhorst is inspired by early American portrait painters for the way they used abstraction to simplify their forms and intuitively created a visual language that prefigured modernism by 200 years. The artist embraces this technique in his paintings. Here, the muse poses for her lover yet he is just a figment of her imagination, hanging in a painting on the wall. This piece is framed in an antiqued wooden frame, adding to its overall aesthetic.

Tina Figarelli is a classically trained artist whose favorite subject matter in her artwork is ideas with a strong narrative. Tina leaves the viewer hints about the story in the piece using compositional elements as well as color and light, encouraging the viewer to create their own answers to the questions the work of art presents. Here she presents us with a young girl with flawless skin, wearing a simple green ribbon around her neck. Her face turned away from the viewer to suggest an innocence that is fleeting.
This oil painting is framed in a heavy black wooden frame with a silver fillet

This painting originated with a photo of Phosphorous bombs in the 2010 issue of World Press Photo. Phosphorous bombs are known to burn flesh to the bone, are outlawed by the Geneva Convention, and were being used on an oppressed people. With the exploding bombs are "dollar pyramids," together they reveal violence and greed on a pastel horizon. Front left is a herm derived from Mantegna lamenting the loss of virtue. In the foreground is a family group. I painted the child holding an assault rifle after reading about the number of children that die of gunshot wounds. The woman gazes up at a comic book-like hero. In his book on the Greek Heroes Stephen Fry said that the "heroes cleansed our world of...earth-born monsters that endangered mankind and threatened to choke the rise of civilization."

While painting this I thought about disproving Susan Sontag's statement that Camp is never political.

This painting was inspired by Rembrandt's "Susanna and the Elders", especially Simon Schama's commentary on it, and the Me Too Movement. It depicts a vulnerable woman looking at the viewer, the male figure was derived from an Italian fascist sculpture. Rembrandt's painting depicts only one elder. It is assumed the other elder (or voyeur) is the viewer. This painting also contains references to global warming, surveillance capitalism and a thistle. According to the Penguin Dictionary of Symbols, thistles "like all prickly plants are a symbol of the protective belt defending the heart against external harm and attacks". This piece is framed in an ornately carved black wooden frame.

The Face of Self-Righteous Delusion rides the night sky seeking it's glorification both on Earth and in Heaven. It is accompanied by various enablers. There are also spectators. The large pink pear shaped creature is a "Hungry Ghost" of Buddhist lore. Hungry ghosts are insatiable in their needs and consume everything in their path, but since they have no anus it all festers inside. The pointing and laughing figure on the far left is the artist and/or death. The man in the foreground expresses bemused bewilderment, while baseless rage appears above him. The discarded carnival head adds to the atmosphere of nihilist frivolity.

Walking down an old railroad track. There hasn't been a train running in years. Continue following the tracks when it leads to a graveyard of outdated motor vehicles. Looks like a great spot to shoot the shit.

I never trusted the ocean. Not only because of the dangers underneath, but because of the salt that dried out my eyes and skin. I always preferred to swim in fresh bodies of water. There are few things more liberating Than the weightless freedom of being fully submerged and the infant-like sensitivity of being naked as a jaybird.

This is my take on the classic Pre-Raphaelite painting subject and poem “The Lady of Shalott,” by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It is also inspired by the John Everett Millais painting, “The Bridesmaid.” “The Curse” shows the moment of realization when the Lady of Shalott understands that the mysterious curse placed upon her has taken hold and her fate has become known, after gazing out her window onto the approaching Lancelot. My painting shares with “The Bridesmaid” the themes of superstition, and external forces at work, but then twists what was prayerful hope into despair, tragedy, and unrequited love. The painting further calls on these themes with the sunflowers, referencing the Greek myth of Clytie and Helios, where the water nymph Clytie was transformed into a flower that followed the sun across the sky after her own tragic wrongdoings. –Matthew Cook

This painting is framed is a custom wood frame created by the artist.

ON THE BACK:

Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
'The curse is come upon me,' cried
The Lady of Shalott.

--Aflred Lord Tennyson
"The Lady of Shalott"
part 3, St. 5, L.6-9

Choreomania refers to a phenomenon that occurred during the medieval and early modern periods, characterized by spontaneous and uncontrollable dancing in large groups of people. It was also known as "dancing mania" or "St. Vitus's dance" in reference to the patron saint of dancers and performers.

One of the most famous cases of choreomania is associated with a woman named Frau Troffea, who lived in the city of Strasbourg, which is now part of France. In the summer of 1518, Frau Troffea started dancing fervently in the streets without any apparent reason. Her dancing continued for several days, and soon others in the city joined her.

As the days went by, the number of dancers increased significantly. People from different walks of life became afflicted with the strange compulsion to dance uncontrollably. The dancing became so intense and widespread that it began to take a toll on the participants' health, with some dancers collapsing from exhaustion, injury, or even death due to heart attacks or strokes.

Authorities at the time were perplexed by the situation and attempted to address it in various ways. They constructed stages and organized musicians to accompany the dancers, hoping that it would help them "dance out" their frenetic energy. However, these efforts seemed to have little effect, and the dancing continued unabated.

Eventually, medical professionals and theologians were called upon to investigate the phenomenon. They proposed theories that the dancing was caused by supernatural forces, such as demonic possession or divine punishment. Some even suggested that it was a result of imbalanced bodily humors or a form of mass hysteria.

The outbreak of choreomania in Strasbourg finally subsided after several months, but not without leaving a significant impact on the city and its people. The event was documented by contemporary chroniclers and has since become a notable case study in the history of mass psychogenic illness, shedding light on the potential influence of social and psychological factors on human behavior.

[From Ben Duke] The following is from Wikipedia, but I learned of this spot after getting into August Strindberg novels.
"Zum Schwarzen Ferkel," translated as "The Black Piglet," was a historic tavern located at the corner of Unter den Linden and Neue Wilhelmstraße in Berlin. Notable for its cultural and historical significance, the tavern was a central meeting point for Nordic writers and artists in the 1890s. It was frequented by figures such as August Strindberg, Edvard Munch, and the Polish writer Stanisław Przybyszewski, among others.
The tavern's original name was Gustav Türkes Weinhandlung und Probierstube, owned by Gustav Türke, and it was also known as "The Cloister." The name "Zum Schwarzen Ferkel" was coined by Strindberg, who thought an Armenian wine-sack hanging over the entrance resembled a black piglet. This quirky name was enthusiastically accepted by both the owner and the patrons.
August Strindberg, a Swedish playwright and novelist, played a significant role in the tavern's history. After moving to Berlin in 1892, he became a regular at the tavern and a leading figure among the Nordic and German artistic community that gathered there. The tavern was not only a place for socializing but also a hub of intellectual and artistic exchange, with members engaging in vibrant discussions and forming significant relationships, both personal and professional.
Edvard Munch, the Norwegian painter, also became a regular after his arrival in Berlin in 1892. The tavern saw its share of drama, including romantic entanglements and artistic disputes. One notable figure was Dagny Juel, a Norwegian music student who became involved with several members of the circle and was later tragically murdered in Tbilisi in 1901.
The tavern's influence extended into the literary and artistic works of its patrons. For example, Adolf Paul wrote about his experiences and the people he met at the Ferkel in his book "Strindberg-Erinnerungen und -Briefe," published in 1914. Strindberg's novel "Klostret" ("The Cloister"), published posthumously in 1966, also drew from his experiences at the tavern.
Unfortunately, the original building that housed Zum Schwarzen Ferkel was destroyed during the Second World War. Today, its legacy lives on through the stories and works of the artists and writers who once gathered there. Wikkipedia.

Victor Wang's highly textured paintings involve thick layers of paint over collaged images from the Tang Dynasty. In "Let Her Go", the foreground shows a modern female figure sitting upon the side of a boat which gives the impression she is wearing wings and about to take flight. Upon closer look, there are various scenes taking place around her in the water - warriors with knives drawn, a jeep in pursuit of some unseen enemy, a cauldron boiling over. Influence by the Renaissance Masters, Titian and Rembrandt for their glazing and layering techniques respectively, the artist builds the surface using heavy paint, swirling and mixing the color on the canvas. The end result is a poetic and emotionally powerful representation of the human form.

Victor Wang's subject is a female seemingly caught in a contemplative moment yet a war rages behind her. She dons a hat shaped as a boat and carries and oar as if to "Dream Away" these other thoughts. Wang uses a blend of luminous colors and buttery textures to evoke these enigmatic moments of meditation. Influence by the Renaissance Masters Titian and Rembrandt for their glazing and layering techniques respectively, the artist builds the surface using heavy paint, swirling and mixing the color on the canvas. The end result is a poetic and emotionally powerful representation of the human form.

Pentimenti
The title of this work refers to the artistic concept of previous imagery being barely visible beneath a finished work. This drawing does indeed have many previous attempts at figures hidden beneath the surface, but it also about the literal translation of the Italian word Pentimento, which means ‘repentance’. Thus the flames represent a sort of self-healing by creating a new start and purging of regrets through work and conscientiousness.

"I was not a soldier but a camp follower and artist. The above impression struck me as being as near murder as anything I ever could think of in connection with the army & I always had a horror of that branch of the service." -Winslow Homer

From the series, The Lincolns: Portraits of Hugh Goffinet.

William Blake’s oil painting asks us to perceive the powerful layers of history that shape both art and memory. In Blake’s painting is a man, but what Blake painted is an idea. Hugh Goffinet stares out from the canvas in the dress of a soldier, without being one. He is a reenactor of an African American volunteer in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion. His inspiration is the Lincolns—the battalion’s volunteers—but they are pictured only symbolically, in his dress. Their inspiration was Lincoln, who many decades earlier helped give meaning to the American Civil War, but who is invisible in the painting except by implication—the pose of Hugh Goffinet—which carefully emulates Lincoln’s pose in the celebrated presidential portrait by George Healy. Entirely hidden, at the deepest layer of history, is the true source of inspiration: the human desire for equality and freedom. To understand, honor, and preserve it requires remembrance, in this case with history animating reenactors who animate art that animates memory.

Artist, William Blake channels the spirit of Winslow Homer's war imagery, bringing it into the contemporary world, asking us to reflect upon the decisions forced to be made in wartime, some of which will never leave us. As for the paintings, William uses materials and methods of the Civil War era. The linen on which he paints was in use at that time as well as the tubed oil paints. He is one of the few artists who tacks his canvas to the stretchers using similar tacks that would have been used by Winslow Homer. While he leaves the works unframed for this reason, the artwork could certainly be framed. This piece is unframed. Please contact the gallery for framing options.

Caravaggio painted The Incredulity of St. Thomas with Christ looking down as he pilots Thomas’ hand to his side. Not looking at Thomas or the others, but to his wound. He seems interested in the proof of his embodiment. He wants to know that this is real. He too, questions his body, his life and death.

Reenactment is a material culture where the feel of authentic wool is transformative. The closer you can recreate the “kit” of the authentic soldier the closer you are to that past. In the pursuit of touching the past there are questions- Is this real? Did this happen? Is this me? Is this us? The gesture of piloting a finger into the side are these repetitive questions.

An imaginary human hybrid representing “mother nature” resides in a ruined building symbolic of a decaying society. As the crows flutter and the human hybrid plays a bucolic tune, green shoots emerge from the ruins symbolizing rebirth and victory of nature over human destruction of the environment. This painting is framed in a simple black wooden frame.

Toying (e.g., rider on toy horse) with violent threats is not wise. The sounds (e.g., horn) of violence (e.g., spear and leopard) will never overtake wisdom (e.g., owl and pearl). This masterfully painted surrealist artwork draws in the viewer with its extraordinary detail. The artwork is framed.

"Surrealism is a way for me to create my own world,” says Klein. “Whether it be an archaeological recreation, deep sea representation, or a futuristic scene, my use of realistic juxtapositions proved to be my key to scientific art with the National Geographic Society. My ability to render in high detail and a vivid imagination are the prerequisites for creating accurate paintings of historic people, the places they lived and worshiped, as well as the inner workings of both animals and machines. After 26 years of scientific art, my work is now going full circle back to my fine art roots in surrealism, now reflecting realistic images in unnatural settings or unnatural images in even more bizarre environments”.

"Surrealism is a way for me to create my own world,” says Klein. “Whether it be an archaeological recreation, deep sea representation, or a futuristic scene, my use of realistic juxtapositions proved to be my key to scientific art with the National Geographic Society. My ability to render in high detail and a vivid imagination are the prerequisites for creating accurate paintings of historic people, the places they lived and worshiped, as well as the inner workings of both animals and machines. After 26 years of scientific art, my work is now going full circle back to my fine art roots in surrealism, now reflecting realistic images in unnatural settings or unnatural images in even more bizarre environments”.

"Victoria" is portrait of a young female with flowing blond hair and draped in white. Purple flowers adorn her hair as well as her dress. Her pale skin, as well as her gaze away from the viewer, give a sense of innocence about her. The composition is beautifully balanced with the deep red background.

Through this artwork the artist achieves to decontextualize the subject and give it an entirely new meaning. By comparing the subject to the likeness of nature itself, the warm tones and smooth textures resemble that of a dune. Throughout this piece, the artist expands on a completely new take on the nude painting. The subtleties, intricacies and attention to detail really transform this piece into an ode to the human figure.

Richard Gibbons
Landscape Of Man
Oil on Wooden panel
31h x 45w in
79cm x 114.3cm
RAG067

Richard Gibbons
Born in Toledo, OH

1972–1973 American Academy in Rome Archaeological Study Grant
1973 B.S. in Architecture, University of Notre Dame

Exhibitions

2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery Victor, Palm Springs, CA
2018 "Wrap It Up", Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
2017 "Wrap It Up", Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL
2004 "The Figure in American Art," Eleanor Ettinger Gallery, NY (One Person)
2003 "Heads+Bodies," Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago (One Person)
2002 "Paintings," DNFA Gallery, Pasadena, CA
2002 "NUS," Galerie Beckel Odille Boicos, Paris, France
2001 Roy Boyd Gallery (One Person)
2000 "Bodyscapes," Roy Boyd Gallery (One Person)
1998 "Around The Coyote," (One Person)
1994 "Chicago Villa Exhibition," The Chicago Athenaeum
1993 "New Chicago Furniture," The Chicago Athenaeum
1992 "Real Furniture/Fake Furniture," The Chicago Athenaeum
1987 "The Chicago Crafts Movement," M&M Club, Topeka Kansas and Merchandise Mart, Chicago
1987 "Compact/Portable Design: New Interior Objects by 16 East Coast Artists," Gallery 91, NY
1986 "Art - Research," Skokie Public Library, Skokie, IL
1986 "Architectural Images in Art," Fay Gold Gallery, Atlanta, GA
1985 "Form/Function," Chicago Artists and Architects/Contemporary Structures, Columbia College Art Gallery, Chicago
1984 "Eroded Furniture," Roy Boyd Gallery, Chicago (One Person)

Remarkably varied brushwork captures this young woman in a wide array of textures, from the dewiness of her peach colored skin to the silky fabric of her robe to her lush auburn hair. The side view gives her a stately quality set on a dark background. The painting is framed in a black frame with a small gold inlay measuring 24.25h x 20.5w inches.

Woman with Black Gloves is an eloquent charcoal rendering by Guadalajara native Shuta Ruelas. The subject is gazing down and covering her breasts as if we have walked in on a very private moment. This large scale drawing on paper is unframed.

This male nude charcoal drawing is beautifully rendered in splendid detail, down to the individual hairs on his legs. The viewer begs the question of why the subject is here. We are not given answers yet perhaps something lies just beyond the edge of the frame where an unexplained light source illuminates the subject's feet. This large scale drawing is unframed.

A female nude reclines on crumpled bed sheets with her hands entwined above her head. The viewer has a "glitch in the system" as the figure becomes distorted. Masterfully painted with beautiful realism, this sensual painting celebrates the female form.

This painting began as an adaptation of a sketch I made after figures in an old Irish manuscript- probably The Book of Kells or Lindisfarne Gospels. I tried to add light, shadow and detail without violating the simplicity and weird strength of the traditional form.

Seeing as the picture is only partly my invention I should be cautious about explaining it’s meaning, but it has come to mean something to me. It evokes the challenges and rewards of intimacy- knowing an other, knowing one’s self.

This painting, like each of the paintings in the Purple Dawn series, is based on an earlier work that was lost or destroyed in the course of time. Feeling that I wanted to finish what I started I reconstructed the lost works from photographs and memory, adding new elements as I saw fit. For a number of reasons, I’ve assembled this series of works under the name of “Purple Dawn”.

Since the 19th century a model of physics and cosmology has developed that is separate to the now established worldview. The peculiarity of this “other” cosmology is that it is reconcilable with the bizarre stories common in mythology and the miraculous events described in religious literature. One of the recent outgrowths of this the cosmology is the notion that until recently our planet was a satellite of the planet Saturn. At the time, Saturn was a star that glowed with gentle, purple colored light. Hence “Purple Dawn”. The paintings are not intended as descriptive of a cosmology or as illustrations of any mythical or religious system. They have been created with the inner sense that there was once, and there still is a perfect state of being.—Oliver Hazard Benson

Oliver Hazard’s paintings are produced directly from his imagination and deals with a mixture of imagery he has witnessed in his travels, dreams, and read about in literature. The artist is influenced by Taoism and European occultism, especially the movements of the late 19th and early 20th century. Hazard is also inspired by Surrealism and the Viennese school of Fantastic Realism imagery as well as the technique and practice of old Tibetan painting and that of Renaissance Europe. His imagery comes from his imagination within and doesn't rely on specific models whether visual, literal or otherwise cultural; but also does not avoid the appearance of recognizable figures (such as a specific god or goddess) should one of them appear.

The female figure in Oliver Benson's "Lady of the Temple" is drawn in exquisite detail. This fine drawing is floated on a mat board and framed in a silver frame

The two nude female figures appear to be asleep. The calmness of the piece is accentuated by the fine pencil drawing. The piece is unframed. Contact the gallery for framing options.

The female figure in Oliver Benson's "Maid of Agora" is drawn in exquisite detail. On the reverse side, the artist has drawn another female figure. The artwork is not framed. Please contact the gallery for framing ideas.