AGORA GALLERY
Presents: A Collective Exhibition: Contemporary Art at its Best
An exhibition in three parts: Metamorphosis, Modern Perspectives, and Primal Abstractions.
Date: August 12 – September 1, 2006
Reception: Thursday, August 17, 2006 6-8 PM
Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 11 AM – 6 PM
Place: 530 W. 25th St. in Chelsea, NY 10001
Directions: Take C E trains, get off at 23rd St. stop, exit at 25th St. exit, and walk 2 ½ blocks west.
Agora Gallery, located at 530 W. 25th St. in Chelsea, is pleased to present Collective Exhibition: Contemporary Art at its Best. The exhibition presents art from an international spectrum of artists, featuring fantastic and mathematical surrealism, dream-inspired art, and abstractions that are both atmospheric and sculptural, possessing an instinctive force and allure of timelessness.
Sebastien Chaillou creates exciting compositions reminiscent of Pablo Picasso. Using intense colors, Chaillou composes worlds in which his figures have two faces, a hand is also a head and the shapes of things are more important than the things themselves. Chaillou’s work expresses an inherent harmony through his colorful figures and exudes joyfulness at the multi-faceted nature of life and art.
"Mathematical Surrealism" is how Robert Kauffmann terms his crystallographic patterning. Heavily influenced by M.C. Escher's illusionism and his own background in computer science, Kauffmann strives toward a unique type of abstraction. Kauffmann rides the intellectual line between generative design, that which uses numerical systems to reflect nature, and nature reflecting numerical systems. In doing so he exposes natural systems and seemingly organic patterning as a function of intricate mathematical formulae.
The surrealistic paintings of Dmitry Shtyka combine the fluid eccentricity of Salvador Dali with the romanticism of mythology. A tattoo artist by trade, Shtyka believes that his work reflects his profession. His subject matter is both the natural and the fantastic. He paints landscapes as well as imaginary beings that represent entities like the sun, moon or autumn. Shtyka often draws on his dream life for his artistic inspiration. The result is a wild landscape of impossible combinations and situations that titillate and intrigue the viewer.
In muted tones, delicate line-work and diaphanous washes of color, Corey West's "non-objective," abstract compositions evoke the color and atmosphere of the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The diversity of subjects results in textured, ethereal compositions, constructed upon a dynamic dialogue between abstraction and figuration. Her subject matter ranges from seductively layered abstractions to emotive depictions of the flora and fauna of the natural world.
Artist Marco Antonio Abbagnara paints detailed stories, images and metaphors on black iron Monolith plates. This medium adds an ancient quality to his work that compliments his themes of legends and universal experiences such as birth and death. The artist states that his greatest inspiration is “the expression of freedom.” Critics have praised Abbagnara’s work as “deep and introspective,” as well as “rich in symbols and full of emotion.”
The paintings of Micol Biasetti use instinct and imagination to guide the viewer’s senses through the barrage of color and movement contained in each canvas. Sensual, tactile and intense, Micol uses paint to tell a vivid story of emotion by covering, revealing and layering her colors. Micol's work thrives on the canvas, becoming a vivid story open to the viewer’s interpretation.
Painting in an abstract style, Janelle Fenwick creates the sensation of being in the present moment of the painting through her bold colors and thick, painterly style. Her work ranges from abstract and airy, with beautiful use of negative space, to brooding and dark with intense color combinations. With intriguing wit and subtle dynamism, Fenwick’s paintings lure the viewer inside each canvas, telling us a timeless story through pure color.
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.
The work of Masao Sesoko carries an enigmatic potency of both terror and visual delight. Sesoko's acrylic canvases unfold mysteries before us as frozen moments of tumultuous movement. The rich colors and skillful compositions reveal a mastery of visual communication - the canvas becomes a dialogue of investigation between the artist and the viewer.
The Collective Exhibition: Contemporary Art at its Best will be on display August 12 – September 1, 2006. Reception takes place Thursday, August 17, 6-8 PM. Agora Gallery, 530 W. 25th Street in Chelsea, New York. For more information please visit http://www.Agora-Gallery.com/ExhibitionAnnouncement/08_12_2006.aspx
|
|
