AGORA GALLERY
Presents: A Collective Exhibition: Contemporary Art at its Best
An exhibition in three parts: Symbolic Perspectives, Realms of Expression, and Structured Duality.
Date: July 7 – August 22, 2006
Reception: Thursday, July 13, 2006 6-8 PM
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 AM – 6 PM
Place: 415 West Broadway in SoHo, NY 10001
Directions: Directions: http://admin.agora-gallery.com/GalleryInfo/SohoWalkingInformation.aspx.
Agora Gallery, located at 415 W. Broadway in SoHo, is pleased to present A Collective Exhibition: Contemporary Art at its Best. The exhibition presents paintings and sculpture that exist in a duality of the ancient and modern times, artwork that explores human nature and individual philosophy, inspired by the artist's past experiences. The exhibition features work by Latin artists and artists from around the world, ranging from dream-like images, aggressive styling, to mystical abstraction.
Jiang Guandong's work integrates concepts of ancestry and culture via contemporary Western culture, while simultaneously accenting traditional subject matter relating to China and the East, such as Chinese Taoism, Chinese calligraphy, seal-cutting, and a focus on Oracle-bone inscriptions.
With an affinity for finely crafted wood furnishings, Daniel McKinley injects narrative into pockets of space and structure. The quiet nature of his precisely painted images come from McKinley’s personal philosophy of life -- taking chances while maintaining reserve.
The lyrical shapes of alabaster created by Randall E. Shannon reflect on a soulful connection with a piece of Earth rather than a recreation of nature. His desire to create new beauty from something that is primordial encourages people to connect with the sculpture and enjoy its duality of an ancient and contemporary culture.
Pure creation takes place as Ric Strange applies his heavy, gesturally expressive brushstrokes in an aggressive, semi-controlled, chaotic manner. What Ric Strange is able to accomplish testifies to his artistic ability as he adds postmodern dimension to the modernist quest for painting’s purification.
A native of Russia, Olga Baby creates whimsical, mystically inspired drawings that reflect the artist’s vivid imagination. The drawings have an immediate decorative appeal, possessing a graceful, fluid quality. Baby’s work is a beautiful blend of imagination and reality.
The impulse to communicate beyond the restrictive realm of verbal language drives Andorran artist Rosa Mujal Closa to create her lyrical work. Her bold use of sensual color and unabashed understanding of sensuality and gender are key components of her paintings.
Displaying a vibrant devotion to color and lyrical artistry, the paintings of Venezuelan artist Doris Naffah enchant the viewer with their poetic messages and playful representation of the natural world. Greatly influenced by the colors and moods of the Caribbean, Naffah's landscape is drenched in brightness and the vivacity of her interpretation.
Desmond O’Reilly’s portraits of flowers are sensitive studies in color and light. His color palette is elegant and understated; it is his treatment of light and shadow that creates the contemplative ambiance of the painting and adds an air of drama to the work.
Rodrigo Patricio Pradel’s work is a pure representative of generation Y. He fuses urban graffiti, comic styling, and personal intricacies. The pressures of societal norms pushed him to discover himself and his love for life. His struggle to find his muse is emblematic for his generation and brings rawness to the world of art.
Ukrainian-born artist, Valentina Sanina, creates “human art for human lives.” Her fantastical paintings are forays into human behavior, the psyche and its superego. Documenting human emotion and response, Sanina combines romantic imagery with realistic visions to reveal the masks we wear.
Nubia Santos combines rich color with an exotic imagination to create works that are both thought provoking and visually appealing. Conveying a sense of unreality that speaks to the viewer through the dream-logic of her paintings, Santos reveals both the physicality and the spirituality of people.
Nicole Woodford’s paintings are expressive, dynamic and rhythmic; yet retain the beauty of Minimalism. Inspired by the ancient calligraphy of the Tang Dynasty in China, Woodford uses the gestural line to convey a myriad of ideas and emotions about the very nature of expression.
Danish artist Kristine Gade Hansen utilizes the technique of spontaneous juxtaposition to create her poetic artwork, resulting in a body of work that is, in a word, enigmatic. The success of Hansen’s iconography, and with it, her oeuvre, lies in her union of the banal with the prophetic.
The Collective Exhibition: Contemporary Art at its Best will be on display July 7 – August 22, 2006. Reception takes place July 13 6-8 PM. Agora Gallery, 415 W. Broadway in SoHo, New York. For more information please visit http://www.agora-gallery.com/ExhibitionAnnouncement/07_07_2006.aspx.
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