James Hague
James Hague is a London based artist who studied Fine Art at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle and the Royal College of Art. In 1996, he won the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London. He was the recipient of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters RP Award (2019) and the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture (2018). Other prizes for painting include: 2014 Ismet Mujezinović Portrait Prize (Bosnia), 2013 Portrait Now! Brewer J.C.Jacobsen’s Portrait Award (Denmark), 2006 Lynn-Painter Stainers Prize (UK), 2004 Royal College of Art Amlin Painting Prize (UK) and 2004 Royal College of Art Stanley Smith Scholarship (UK). James is part of the faculty of The Heatherley School of Fine Art, and a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and Contemporary British Portrait Painters.

Artist:
James Hague

James Hague is a London based artist who studied Fine Art at the University of Northumbria at Newcastle and the Royal College of Art. In 1996, he won the BP Portrait Award at the National Portrait Gallery in London. He was the recipient of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters RP Award (2019) and the Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture (2018). Other prizes for painting include: 2014 Ismet Mujezinović Portrait Prize (Bosnia), 2013 Portrait Now! Brewer J.C.Jacobsen’s Portrait Award (Denmark), 2006 Lynn-Painter Stainers Prize (UK), 2004 Royal College of Art Amlin Painting Prize (UK) and 2004 Royal College of Art Stanley Smith Scholarship (UK). James is part of the faculty of The Heatherley School of Fine Art, and a member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters and Contemporary British Portrait Painters.

Awards

1996 Winner: BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London 1998 Commission: Sir Michael Caine, Permanent Collection, National Portrait Gallery, London 2005 Winner: Lynn-Painter Stainers Prize 2005 Winner: Amlin Painting Prize 2013 Winner: Portrait Now! Brewer J.C.Jacobsen’s Portrait Award, Denmark 2014 Winner: Ismet Mujezinović Award, Bosnia 2018 Winner: The Ondaatje Prize for Portraiture, Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2019 Winner: The RP Award, Royal Society of Portrait Painters 2022 Winner: The Sequested Prize. Self Portraiture – artists in isolation.

Exhibitions

1993 Fresh Art, London 1996 BP Portrait Award, National Portrait Gallery, London 1997 Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle upon Tyne 1998 Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition, London 1998 – 2000 Waterman Gallery, London 2001 Sir Michael Caine commission – National Portrait Gallery, London 2002 Discerning Eye, Mall Galleries, London 2003 Signs of Life, Beadleston Gallery, New York 2004 Wayne Rooney, VTO Gallery, London 2005 RCA Painting Interim Show, Howie Street, London 2005 Solo Show, ‘RU Board’, Tara Bryan Gallery, London 2006 Arcade, Portman Estate, London 2006 Lynn-Painter Stainers Prize Exhibition, London 2009 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London 2010 Portrait Now! Brewer J.C.Jacobsen’s Portrait Award Exhibition, Frederiksborg Slot, Denmark 2012 ‘This is the Beginning of the End’, Homefront Gallery, London 2012 ‘This is the End of the Beginning’, Moore House, London 2013 Portrait Now! Brewer J.C. Jacobsen’s Portrait Award Exhibition, Frederiksborg slot, Denmark 2013 Portrait Now! Brewer J.C. Jacobsen’s Portrait Award Exhibition, Ljungberg Museum, Sweden 2013 INTERBIFEP 15, International Biennial Festival of Portraits, Tuzla, Bosnia 2018 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London 2019 Heatherleys Annual Staff Exhibition, Bankside Gallery, London 2019 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London 2019 Portrait Now! Brewer J.C. Jacobsen’s Portrait Award Exhibition, Ljungberg Museum, Sweden 2020 The Show Goes On: A Theatre of Portraits by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Watts Gallery, UK 2020 Perceptions, Contemporary British Portrait Painters Exhibition, Cass Art, London 2020 Heatherleys Annual Staff Exhibition, Bankside Gallery, London 2020 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London 2021 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London 2022 Heatherleys Annual Staff Exhibition, Piers Feetham Gallery, London 2022 Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition, Mall Galleries, London

Iwona Sacharz
"My work is about emotions, the play of colours and shapes. Emotions are very important in my life because I follow them. The women in my paintings are enigmatic, mysterious and sometimes very predictable. I look for inspiration in everyday life. I observe, combine colours and shapes. I simplify the world." Iwona Sacharz

Artist:
Iwona Sacharz

She was born in Kielce in 1983. She graduated from the Jacek Malczewski State High School of Visual Arts in Częstochowa (ceramics). She continued her education at the Jan Długosz Academy in Częstochowa (Department of Visual Communication), where she defended her diploma in photography. In her works, she focuses on people, their emotions, fears and inner tears. The dominant elements are expression, mystery and darkness, which the artist breaks with strong contrast, giving her works depth and a strong character. The artist's works are full of emotion. Most of them have a title that speaks of a particular feeling. The predominance of simple forms and colours makes the artist's paintings very coherent. She shows the world of women in a very feminine, veiled and often subdued way. In her painting, she devotes a lot of attention to the creative process itself, centred around the search for the creative self in abstract forms. Her paintings can be found in private collections in many countries.

RENAUD GRIZARD - https://www.grizard.fr
Soft, luminous, in warm and acidulous tones, his paintings question above all the place of man in society and nature. While we are constantly confronted with a flood of information and events, his works invite us to slow down, to look, to consider different points of view. Anchored in his time, his powerful and sober work imposes itself on us, almost like a philosophy, and the texts chosen for the title add poetry to an already eminently poetic work.

Artist:
RENAUD GRIZARD

Né en 1961 à Paris. Après une enfance au Canada et au Pakistan, il revient en France où il effectue ses études d’architecture à Marseille. Après obtention de son diplôme en 1986, il abandonne très rapidement sa profession d’architecte pour se consacrer exclusivement à la peinture. Il vit et travaille à Marseille. ​ Born in 1961 in Paris. He spent his youth in Canada and Pakistan before coming back to France to study at the Architecture School of Marseille. After his graduation in 1986, he rapidly gave up architecture as a living to dedicate himself exclusively to painting. He now lives and works in Marseille.

Viktor Lyapkalo
Born on September 18, 1956 in Ukhta, Komi Republic, living in St. Petersburg. In 1978 he graduated from the Saratov Art School. In 1979-1987 he studied at the Faculty of Painting at the Imperial Academy of Arts under V. Gorb, V. Reikhet. He graduated from the institute in the workshop of Boris Ugarov with the qualification of a painting artist and teacher. Since 1990 - a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Artists. The works of Viktor Alexandrovich Lyapkalo are in museums and private collections in Russia, Germany, Holland, Belgium, USA and other countries.

Artist:
Viktor Alexandrovich Lyapkalo

Born on September 18, 1956 in Ukhta, Komi Republic. In 1978 he graduated from the Saratov Art School. In 1979-1987 he studied at the Faculty of Painting at the Imperial Academy of Arts under V. Gorb, V. Reikhet. He graduated from the institute in the workshop of Boris Ugarov with the qualification of a painting artist and teacher. Since 1990 - a member of the St. Petersburg Union of Artists. The works of Viktor Alexandrovich Lyapkalo are in museums and private collections in Russia, Germany, Holland, Belgium, USA and other countries.

Chris Long
Abandoning his focus from the prior decade as a sculptor and mold maker, Long began teaching himself to paint in New Orleans in early 2011. He initially focused on still life and portraiture, and then switched entirely to painting oil landscapes en plein air and from his travel photo references. He now lives part-time in New England and travels coast-to-coast in a motor coach with his family the remainder of the year. Long paints 2-4 originals a day.

Artist:
Chris Long

Abandoning his focus from the prior decade as a sculptor and mold maker, Long began teaching himself to paint in New Orleans in early 2011. He initially focused on still life and portraiture, and then switched entirely to painting oil landscapes en plein air and from his travel photo references. He now lives part-time in New England and travels coast-to-coast in a motor coach with his family the remainder of the year. Long paints 2-4 originals a day.

RUMI ANDO TOKYO NUDES
Viewers probably feel something odd in TOKYO NUDE crowded with clean colorful buildings. Rumi Ando transforms a cityscape into its naked state by removing all kinds of “noise” in the city including people, electric poles, windows, and signs under the concept “making fictional Tokyo with photography,” which causes this strange feeling. Ando thoroughly creates the phantom cityscape by changing saturation and even adds clouds and architecture in the images. For Ando, who works as a retoucher, “removing” an element from a photograph is the task that she deals with on a daily basis. 「TOKYO NUDE」に林立する、そのクリーンでカラフルなビル群に、見る者はどこか違和感を覚えるだろう。なぜなら本作で安藤瑠美は、「虚構の東京を写真で作る」というコンセプトのもと、人や電柱、窓、看板など、街の“ノイズ”をすべてレタッチで消し、まさに都市を裸の状態へと変換しているからだ。さらに色彩を変え、雲や建築物までも合成することで、完全に虚構の風景が生み出されている。レタッチャーとして働く安藤にとって、写真の一部分を“消す”行為は、日常的に行う作業である。

Artist:
RUMI ANDO 安藤瑠美

Rumi Ando Born in Okayama, Japan in 1985. In 2010, she graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Advanced Art Expression. 2019 THE REFERENCE ASIA: PHOTO PRIZE 2019 Natalie Hirschdorfer Selected Excellent Work. Numerous exhibitions in Japan and abroad. Currently based in Tokyo as a photographer and retoucher. Using photography as a medium, sometimes with advanced retouching techniques, her theme is to represent a view of the world that is like the border between reality and unreality. 安藤瑠美 1985年、日本の岡山県生まれ。 2010年、東京藝術大学美術学部先端芸術表現科卒業。 2019年 THE REFERENCE ASIA: PHOTO PRIZE 2019 ナタリー・ハーシュドーファー選　優秀作受賞 国内外の展覧会多数。 現在はフォトグラファー、レタッチャーとして東京を拠点に活動している。 写真を媒体として、時に高度なレタッチ技術を駆使しつつ、現実と非現実の境界のような世界観を表すことをテーマとしている。

Hiroki Kawanabe
"I am Japanese painter. My paintings are ordinary scenes from the ordinary lives of ordinary people like me. So my paintings have the scenes that everyone is familiar with. Often people say to me "your painting is so simplistic". I think so too. That is because It is very important for me not to over do it. In this sense, I use subtraction, not addition, in my drawings. This can also be seen in the traditional Japanese sense of beauty. For example, in painting, Haiku, tea ceremony, architecture, garden design, Zen, and other traditional Japanese aesthetics, there is a simple, subtractive expression that require little explanation. This spirit is often referred to as "Wabi- Sabi. Paintings with little explanation leave room for the viewer's imagination. And what the viewer imagines in his or her mind when looking at the painting is what the artist really painted. If you look at my painting and you imagine something, or you think of a memorable scene, or even if it is just the movement of the heart ,then that is exactly what I have painted. So I would be happy to be a painter who can paint in your heart. I think so. It is a very magical feeling when I receive feedback on my paintings.It is like a miracle. That a picture I painted in Japan, a small island country in a corner of the world, can communicate with the hearts of people living in a foreign land where they don't even speak the same language. It is truly a miracle. There is a word "En" in Japanese. Simply put, it is an encounter or connection between you and someone or something. In japan we use the word "En", it does not just refer to an encounter or connection, but has a special nuances like precious, valuable, important, miraculous. I am very happy for the "En" with you. I'm gonna keep painting." Hiroki Kawanabe

Artist:
Hiroki Kawanabe

Based in Kagoshima , Japan Born in 1983 Painting landscape and abstract by self study

"I am Japanese painter. My paintings are ordinary scenes from the ordinary lives of ordinary people like me. So my paintings have the scenes that everyone is familiar with. Often people say to me "your painting is so simplistic". I think so too. That is because It is very important for me not to over do it. In this sense, I use subtraction, not addition, in my drawings. This can also be seen in the traditional Japanese sense of beauty. For example, in painting, Haiku, tea ceremony, architecture, garden design, Zen, and other traditional Japanese aesthetics, there is a simple, subtractive expression that require little explanation. This spirit is often referred to as "Wabi- Sabi. Paintings with little explanation leave room for the viewer's imagination. And what the viewer imagines in his or her mind when looking at the painting is what the artist really painted. If you look at my painting and you imagine something, or you think of a memorable scene, or even if it is just the movement of the heart ,then that is exactly what I have painted. So I would be happy to be a painter who can paint in your heart. I think so. It is a very magical feeling when I receive feedback on my paintings.It is like a miracle. That a picture I painted in Japan, a small island country in a corner of the world, can communicate with the hearts of people living in a foreign land where they don't even speak the same language. It is truly a miracle. There is a word "En" in Japanese. Simply put, it is an encounter or connection between you and someone or something. In japan we use the word "En", it does not just refer to an encounter or connection, but has a special nuances like precious, valuable, important, miraculous. I am very happy for the "En" with you. I'm gonna keep painting." Hiroki Kawanabe

Marissa Oosterlee
Dutch artist Marissa Oosterlee is renowned for her photorealistic painting skills that enable her to render people with immaculate precision. She demonstrates her abilities by placing her subjects in a tricky setting - glistening water. Her hyperrealistic figurative pieces captivate the viewer with not only their technical detail, but also the narratives that she brings to life. The works show her adept hand and subtle nuances, making it hard to believe that art was not Oosterlee’s first career. She started off, instead, as an aspiring semi-professional cyclist, but a heavy accident at age 20 ended the career early. One year after recovering from the accident and picking up brushes and pencils again, she became a professional artist.

Artist:
Marissa Oosterlee

Biography of Marissa Oosterlee Specialising in hyperrealistic oil and airbrush portraits, Dutch artist Marissa Oosterlee’s art is imbued with grace and purity. Each of her creations invite silent contemplation. The presence of her subjects and the near-photographic realism of their faces immerse the viewer in an almost specular encounter, where one becomes another, as if through a mysterious transference. Her portraits are like a freeze frame, a revelation. The evocation is sensual, sensitive, larger than life, soft and soothing, without artifice. In her series « Washing Away My Sorrow, » Marissa Oosterlee paints images of ethereal women floating in clear, shimmering waters that are strikingly realistic. Each stroke of airbrush or brush conveys this sense of weightlessness and serenity, halting time itself. Her treatment of light, of reflections and colours deceives our gaze and her pictorial works become almost photographic. Aesthetics, purity and tranquility are the cornerstones of this series. Marissa is fascinated by the sea and by reflections on the water which constantly give rise to another image of reality, always in motion. Although Marissa likes to paint hyperrealistic images, there is also something abstract in her paintings. These are reminiscent of the distortions, colour changes and depth of field we find underwater. The poetry of water with its abstract lights immerses us in the splendour of this fusion of colours and form, which ultimately contrasts with the unsettling realism of these ethereal faces. It is not complicated for me to explain to you that Marissa's painting is more than just technically astounding. Poetically, I find it sublime. The grace of her subjects is in perfect harmony with the colours and the flow of lines. Fascinating and majestic. Véronique ADRAÏ - Galerie Courcelles - Paris, FRANCE

Philip Barlow
Born 1968 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Philip describes his work as a step towards abstraction. It is primarily the exploration of light and the relationship of colour, where he at first captures his images with a camera and then translates them into a painted format. He is interested in the concept of capturing “the moment”, a millisecond in time when everything lines up perfectly. His paintings seek to explore and demonstrate this, rather like a wonderfully composed climax of a symphony, a perfect marriage. His paintings also give us a glimpse in time where form, light and colour come together in all their complexity. Philip has a deep appreciation and love for the power and science of colour. Careful tonal shifts and subtlety characterize his work and the blurred image enabled by the camera lens creates new but familiar understandings of form and the relationship between people and place. He is fascinated with the common notion that everything is random when there can be no question that there is design in everything. His is a philosophy of harmony, where even in the grit and grime of a city there is immense beauty to be discovered. A beauty that lies between the imperceptible and the unknown.

Artist:
Philip Barlow

Born 1968 in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. Philip describes his work as a step towards abstraction. It is primarily the exploration of light and the relationship of colour, where he at first captures his images with a camera and then translates them into a painted format. He is interested in the concept of capturing “the moment”, a millisecond in time when everything lines up perfectly. His paintings seek to explore and demonstrate this, rather like a wonderfully composed climax of a symphony, a perfect marriage. His paintings also give us a glimpse in time where form, light and colour come together in all their complexity. Philip has a deep appreciation and love for the power and science of colour. Careful tonal shifts and subtlety characterize his work and the blurred image enabled by the camera lens creates new but familiar understandings of form and the relationship between people and place. He is fascinated with the common notion that everything is random when there can be no question that there is design in everything. His is a philosophy of harmony, where even in the grit and grime of a city there is immense beauty to be discovered. A beauty that lies between the imperceptible and the unknown.

Biography

1974 - 1986 Rhodes Estate Prep School, Matopes, Zimbabwe St Andrews College, Grahamstown, South Africa 1987 - 1990 Diploma in Graphic Fine Art (Printing, Stained Glass and Photography) from Port Elizabeth Technikon (Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) 1991 - 1994 Travels Europe while developing his talent. Produces approximately 500 portaits in pastel and charcoal, painted 8 murals and completes around 200 watercolour / pen and ink drawings. 1995 - 2001 Executes murals and ceiling paintings in various homes and corporate spaces. Years distinguished by extensive exploration of other creative aspects of painting. 2002 A new style in his work sees abstraction taking the focus, an offshoot of previous discoveries. Teaches foundational drawing skills to adults. 2003 This Thing of Light - first solo exhibition at the Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town 2004 Identity - group exhibition of South African artists Fortis Circustheater, Scheveningen, Holland Glow - solo exhibition at Obert Contemporary, Johannesburg 2005 Solo exhibition at the Association of Visual Arts, Cape Town 2006 De Light - solo exhibition at Obert Contemporary, Johannesburg 2008 Vapor - solo exhibition at Obert Contemporary, Johannesburg Luminosity - solo exhibition at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town 2009 Boréal Publishers use “Passing” for a book cover by Dany Laferrière, L`Enigme du Retour. Art That Inspires - 10-20 Anniversary - group exhibition at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town. Group exhibition at Hespe Gallery, San Franciso, USA. 2010 Light Train - solo exhibition at Obert Contemproary, Johannesburg. 2011 Persona - group exhibition at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town. Group exhibition at Hespe Gallery, San Francisco, USA. The Homestead Charity Art Auction at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town. Boréal Publishers print a second ‘compact’ version of the Dany Laferrière novel, L`Enigme du Retour. 2012 -scape - group exhibition at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town. 2013 Allusions of Abstraction - group exhibition at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town. the colour of light - solo exhibition at Johans Borman Fine Art, Cape Town. 2014 Summer Salon Show - group exhibition at Rarity Gallery, Mykonos Greece. Winter Exhibition - group exhibition at Everard Read, Cape Town. 2015 Summer in the City - group exhibition at Everard Read, Cape Town. the anatomy of colour - first solo (sell out) exhibition at Everard Read, Cape Town. 2016 Solo studios - group show at The Gallery, Riebeek Kasteel Reality Check - group show at Everard Read, Cape Town 2017 Group exhibition - Summer Exhibition, Everard Read London Group exhibition - @ CIRCA Winter collection, Cape Town Solo studios - group show at The Gallery, Riebeek Kasteel still motion - second solo exhibition at Everard Read, Cape Town 2018 still motion II - solo exhibition at Everard Read, London 28th Février Singapore - first solo exhibition 2019 solo studios - group show at The Gallery, Riebeek Kasteel between broadway and 42nd - third solo exhibition at Everard Read, Cape Town 2020 intersections - first solo exhibition at Galerie LeRoyer, Montreal, Canada 2021 slowing a split second - second solo show at Everard Read, London 2022 investec cape town art fair - with Everard Read, Cape Town miami art fair - with Galerie Le Royer summer group show - Everard Read, Cape Town 2023 african american museum, dallas - if you look hard enough, you can see our future urban glory - solo exhibition with Bugno Gallery, Venice, Italy

Exhibition of Marcus Cederberg - Become a minimalist - its the least you can do !
We are all living in an era of endless distraction and constant input. Channeling a sense of calm, Marcus Cederberg translates society´s intrinsic need for a slower pace into minimalist photographs. The Swedish artists outlook on life is thereby converted into colors, contrasts and negative space. His work has graced the walls of galleries in USA, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Denmark, Portugal, France and Sweden and his”less is more” message echoes from his Instagram where he has become a minimalistic influencer with over 245.000 followers.

Artist statement
When many photographers try to get as much as possible into the frame, I do the opposite and try to get as much as possible out of the frame instead, that is quite challenging sometimes. I normally work with negative spaces, vivid colors where lines, shadows and windows often are deviations that track attention. Many people have told me that they find my art calming and tranquil, some of them with ADHD etc, and I really like that my works can contribute to calm the mind. Enjoy ! Marcus Cederberg

Artist:
Marcus Cederberg

Become a minimalist, it is the least you can do !

We are all living in an era of endless distraction and constant input. Channeling a sense of calm, Marcus Cederberg translates society´s intrinsic need for a slower pace into minimalist photographs. The Swedish artists outlook on life is thereby converted into colors, contrasts and negative space. His work has graced the walls of galleries in USA, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Denmark, Portugal, France and Sweden and his”less is more” message echoes from his Instagram where he has become a minimalistic influencer with over 245.000 followers.

Solo exhibitions

2024 Maximal Minimal / Galeri You&Eye Photo - 30 Rue de buci - Paris 6éme - Paris, France 2021 Maximal Minimal / Bien Contemporary Gallery - Copenhagen, Denmark 2020 Deignergroup / Factory Art - Berlin, Germany 2020 Black and white minimalism / Sammys - Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR China 2017 Maximal Minimal / Black Door Gallery - Örebro, Sweden

Group exhibitions

2023 Feelings / Biester Palace, LUKA Gallery - Sintra, Lisboa, Portugal 2020 Photos from the pandemic / Träslottet - Arbrå, Sweden 2019 Indian Photo Festival / State Art Gallery - Islamabad, India 2018 ArtExpo New York / Pier 36 - New York, United States 2018 Print Swap Holiday / ROOT Studios - New York, United States 2017 Photoville / Brooklyn - New York, United States

Prizes

2024 The Artist Gallery Award- 1st prize in the minimalism category- France 2022 International Photography Competition by Florida Museum of Photographic Arts - Winner of the category "Plane/Air Travel"- Miami, United States 2021 Photographize 2021 - Nominated- Berlin, Germany 2021 Minimalist Photography Awards - Nominated- London, United Kingdom 2020 Årets formbärare- First price- Örebro, Sweden

Vincent Giarrano
Close your eyes just a second too long and the figures in Vincent Giarrano’s street scenes and interiors could easily walk away, disappearing into an unseen world lingering on the edge of the canvas. His paints hold them still, but their lives are ready to move forward. “My paintings are sort of fleeting, They don’t linger in one place for long, and only the paint keeps them there” the Connecticut-based painter says. “It’s a slice of life. They are people you might see for a split second while walking down the street. Your eye is drawn to them, and in a second they’re gone.” Through painterly depictions of urban street life, Giarrano captures moments in time – snapshots of everyday experiences. For Giarrano, beauty is found in the sincere and uncontrived and in “small, quiet moments (that) can speak volumes.”

Artist:
Vincent Giarrano

MUSEUM EXHIBITIONS

• The Butler Institute of American Art, National Midyear Show, June 26 – August 28, 2016 • The Butler Institute of American Art, National Midyear Show, July 19 – September 7, 2015 • Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Contemporary Realism Biennial 2014, Sep. 20, 2014 – Nov. 30, 2014 • The National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, Outwin Boochever Competition, March 2013 – Feb. 2014 • The National Portrait Gallery, London, UK, BP Portrait Award 2013, June 20 – Sept. 15, 2014 • Aberdeen Art Gallery, BP Portrait Award 2013, Nov. 2, 2013 – Feb. 1, 2014 • Wolverhampton Art Gallery, BP Portrait Award 2013, March 1, 2014 – June 14, 2014

SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS

• Gallery Henoch, NYC, New York City Women, June 15 – July 8 2017 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, City Life, August 5 – September 16 2016 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, New Paintings, November 6 – December 5 2015 • Haynes Galleries, Nashville, TN, Life in the City, April 24 – May 5 2015 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, New York City, August 15 – September 14 2014 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, New Paintings, Nov. 1 – Dec. 1, 2013 • Haynes Galleries, Nashville, TN, Truth and Beauty, April 12 – May 18 2013 • Behnke Doherty Gallery, Washington, CT, Passages, May 17 – June 23 2013 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, New Paintings, August 16 – September 30 2012 • Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, One-man Show, March 25 – April 6, 2012 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, NYC Street Scenes, May 13 – June 19, 2011 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, New York Scenes, May 7 – June 13, 2010 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, New York Soho Paintings, Dec 11 – Jan 31, 2009

SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS

• Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Spring into Art, March 10 – April 1, 2017 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Still Life Invitational, April 7 – May 13, 2017 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Spring into Art, March 11 – April 2, 2016 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Annual Holiday Show, Dec. 10 2015 – Jan. 31, 2016 • Gallery 1261, Denver, CO, The Renaissance of Realism, Nov. 13 – Dec. 5 2015 • Gallery 1261, Denver, CO, The City, Oct. 5 – Oct. 26 2013 • Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT, Artists for the New Century, June 9 – July 15 2012 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Along the Shore, July 19 – August 12, 2012 • Behnke-Doherty Gallery, Washington, CT, Bare Essentials, August 11 – September 18, 2011 • Tree’s Place, Orleans, Ma, Summer Salon, July 30, 2011 • Enid Lawson Gallery, London, United Kingdom, January 2011 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Holiday Exhibition, Dec 9, 2010 • Gardner Colby Gallery, Naples, Florida, December 2010 • Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, The Great American Figurative Show, November 20, 2010 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, NYC Viewpoints and CT Scenes, Dec 11 – Jan 31, 2010 • Behnke Doherty Gallery, Washington, CT, American Luminosity, Aug 6 – Sep 19, 2010 • The Forbes Galleries in NYC, A Contemporary View of Women Reading, February 10, 2010 • Waterhouse Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA, Figurative Exhibition, November 22, 2008 • Grenning Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY, Introducing, October 25, 2008 • Grenning Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY, Local Landscape Show, September, 2008 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Along the Shore, Jul 11 – Aug 10, 2008 • Susan Powell Fine Art, Madison, CT, Three Takes on Realism, Jul 11 – Aug 10, 2008 • Salmagundi Club, Non-members Exhibit, NY, 2007 • Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX, Salon International 2007 • Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX, Salon International 2006 • Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, Annual Exhibition, Mystic, CT, 2006

AWARDS, HONORS AND COMPETITIONS

• The Artist’s Magazine Annual Competition, 2015, honorable mention in portrait/figure • America China Oil Painting Artists League Competition, Finalist 2011 • The Artist’s Magazine 27th Annual Competition, 2010 Second place in Wildlife, Spring Robin Honorable mention in Landscape, Japanese Girls • Washington Art Association, Members Show 2009, Honorable Mention • The Artist’s Magazine 25th Annual Competition, 2008, finalist in Landscape & Still Life • Greenwich Arts Council, Greenwich, CT, Faces of Winter 2008, Daniel Greene-Judge • The Artist’s Magazine Competition, 2007 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX, 2007 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX, 2006 • Salon International, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, TX, 2005

Christian Verginer - Master of Artistic Wooden Sculptures
Christian Verginer is considered one of the most valid and original expressionists in contemporary sculpture carvings. The subject chosen by the sculptor is the human figure, or rather, the human figure in its relations with other forms of life, with animals, trees, or with various objects of the world and nature. The material used is limetree wood, which is left smooth and covered in details by brilliant and unexpectedly applied acrylic paint. With respect to the long and high tradition of the Dolomites, Verginer remains loyal to the skill and precision of the centuries-old 'Dolomite tradition' of wood-carving by hand, while introducing modern, new and personal subject matter. The artist explores the symbiotic relationship between humans and nature, where tradition and innovation, truth and fantasy come together in a realistic language. The artist has a deep affection for plants and trees and in many of his sculptures, the human is depicted as protecting or nurturing nature, caught in the moment of wonder, when a slight sadness overshadows youth. Childhood, curiosity, and connection come together in every one of this artists' whimsical wooden pieces. Through his art, Christian Verginer explores childhood curiosity and connection. His artistic language combine the play and wonder of adolescence with the vitality of the natural world. His artistic vocabulary has always been orbiting around the relationship between man and nature as a non-static on-going theme, which he believes will follow him throughout his career.

Artist:
Christian Verginer

1982 Born in Bressanone (I) 1995-2000 Studing at School of Arts, Ortisei 2001-2002 Academy of Fine Arts of Carrara Lives and works in Ortisei

Solo shows, collective exhibitions & events (selection)

2023 Art Herning 2023, Herning (DK) „Refractions“ – Kirk Gallery, Aalborg (DK) 2022 Context Art Miami, Miami (USA) Art Parma Fair, Parma (I) „Future Habitat“ – VCRB Gallery, Knokke (BE) Lucca Art Fair, Lucca (I) Art Herning 2022, Herning (DK) Palm Beach / Modern + Contemporary, Palm Beach (USA) 2021 „META MORPH OSIS“ – Sacchetti Contemporary, Ascona (CH) Context Art Miami, Miami (USA) „Italy 35 x 35 Art Project“, Coupelouzos Family Art Museum, Athens (GR) Arte Padova, Padova (I) „Sein – Licht – Irritation – Spielerei“ – Sacchetti Contemporary, Ascona (CH) „20“ – group show new location and opening of VCRB „Shop & Art“ – Ortisei (I) „Beyond imagination“ – VCRB Gallery, Antwerpen (BE) „upside down“ – Kirk Gallery, Aalborg (DK) „Future habitat“ – Sacchetti Contemporary, Ascona (CH) „Serendipity“ – Vecchiato Arte, Padova (I) „Detour Art Herning“, Herning (DK) 2020 Art Miami – special online edition „Legacy“ – Vecchiato Arte, Padova (I) „Zeitgeist“ – Kirk Gallery, Aalborg (DK) Art Knokke-Heist, Knokke (BE) „ERT³“ – Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus, Knokke (BE) „Ester Ladins“ group show, Brunico (I) „Inside out“ – Kirk Gallery, Aalborg (DK) Art Karlsruhe 2020, Karlsruhe (D) Art Herning 2020, Herning (DK) BAF Bergamo Art Fair, Bergamo (I) Art Knokke-Heist, Knokke (BE) „ERT³“ – Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus, Knokke (BE) „Ester Ladins“ group show, Brunico (I) „Inside out“ – Kirk Gallery, Aalborg (DK) Art Karlsruhe 2020, Karlsruhe (D) Art Herning 2020, Herning (DK) BAF Bergamo Art Fair, Bergamo (I)

2019 „Art of giving“ – Galerie van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerpen (B) Antica Namur, Namur (BE) Context Art Miami, Miami (USA) Arte Padova, Padova (I) „Deberieda“ – Galerie Max 21, Iphofen (D) North Art Fair, Aalborg (DK) Wopart Lugano, Lugano (CH) „Unika Art Fair vintecinch“, Ortisei (I) „Skulpturen und Reliefs“ Soloshow – Galleria Berno Sacchetti, Ascona (CH) Art Bodensee, Dornbirn (A) „Uguale e diverso“ exhibition together with brother Matthias – Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerp (B) Art Herning, Herning (DK) „A time for giving“ – Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerp (B) 2018 Arte Padova, Padova (I) North Art Fair, Aalborg (DK) „Missing Nature“ – Liquid Art System, Anacapri (I) CI – Contemporary Istanbul, Istanbul (TR) Biënnale Veghel, Veghel (NL) „In Art We Trust“ – Vecchiato Arte, Pietrasanta (I) „Good Vibes“ – Vecchiato Arte, Pietrasanta (I) „Blowing“ – Vecchiato Arte, Padova (I) Lucca Art Fair, Lucca (I) Eurantica Bruxells Fine Art Fair, Brussels (B) „On The Move“ – Kirk Gallery, Aalborg (DK) Art Breda, Berda (NL) Art Herning, Herning (DK) BAF Bergamo Art Fair, Bergamo (I) „Winter Salon“ – Wasserman Projects, Detroit (USA) 2017 Scope Miami Beach, Miami (USA) Arte Padova, Padova (I) “Gemischter Satz“ – Galerie Max 21, Iphofen (D) “Extraordinary” – Gallery Van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerp (B) KunstRai Amsterdam, Amsterdam (NL) Art Breda, Berda (NL) “The Italian Connection” – Gallery Van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerp (B) “Carte Blanche” collaboration between Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus and Galerie L’Oeil du Prince, Paris (F) Eurantica Bruxells Fine Art Fair, Brussels (B) “After industry” – Wasserman Projects, Detroit (USA) 2016 Art Breda, Berda (NL) “A winter solstice” – Gallery Van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerp (B) “La stanza delle meraviglie” – Arionte Arte Contemporanea,Catania (I) Setup contemporary Art Fair Bologna, Bologna (I) Realisme Amsterdam, Amsterdam (NL)

2015 C.A.R. Art Fair Essen (D) „Arte Padova“, Padova (I) exhibition with Sam Drukker – Gallery Van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerp (B) “Eurantica” Bruxells Fine Art Fair, Brussels (B) “Affordable Art Fair” , Milano (I) „Realisme Ansterdam“, Ansterdam (NL) „Antiques & Art Fair Luxembourg“, Luxembourg 2014 „Arte Padova“, Padova (I) „DOMEEVENT“ art at home, Antwerp (B) „Art of giving“ – Galerie van Campen & Rochtus, Antwerpen (B) Unika, Ortisei (I) „jumblins sculteures“ – Bildhauerzwillinge Christian und Matthias Verginer, Galerie Max 21 – Iphofen (D) Eurantica Art Fair Brussels Art Fair Luxembourg 2013 „Quelli che parlano agli alberi“, Leogalleries – Monza (I) Art Gent International Art Fair (B) „three by tree“, Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus – Antwrepen (B) Unika, Ortisei (I) „different twins“, civic museum Chiusa (I) Galerie Van Campen & Rochtus – Antwrepen (B) 2012 Transart 12 – Bolzano (I) Galerie Max 21– Iphofen (D) „Verrätselung des Alltags“, Galerie Anne Malchers, Bergisch Gladbach(D) Unika, Ortisei (I) Gallery White Room, Positano (I) 2011 „Unika“, Tubla da Nives, Selva/Gardena (I) Unika, Ortisei (I) 2009 Unika, Ortisei (I) “Trei scultëures”, Wangen im Allgäu (D) 2008 Unika, Ortisei (I) “3xVerginer”, Gallery Max 21, Iphofen (D) Tradefair, Milano (I)

Juraj Florek
Born 1986 in Slovakia Juraj Florek is 100% urban plein-air painter, his idealism motivates him to reinterpret plein-air painting and adapt it on current post-industrial landscape. He is not shy away from the difficult environment, the selection of locations of dysfunctional “Stalker environments” of industrial architecture, or the seemingly unobtrusive corners of the present-day city, he is a painter seeking their unadorned truth. At the same time his painting represents the honest „celebration of everyday life", which explores the author's social environment and his joy of life in the city.

ARTIST STATEMENT
In general, the city itself is a material for research for me. I am a 100% urban plein-air painter and my idealism motivates me to reinterpret plein-air painting and to adapt it to the current post-industrial landscape. The subject matter is about environments, things and places we can see every day, which acquire a new and fresh angle of view as they are transferred through the medium of oil painting. I do not shy away from difficult environments and often select dysfunctional, ‘Stalker locations’ with industrial architecture, seemingly unobtrusive corners of present-day cities, or examples of current overwhelmingly poor architecture. All these provide inspiration for the painter who is seeking their unadorned truth. At the same time, painting represents an honest celebration of everyday life, explores the author's social environment and is an expression of his enjoyment of life in the city. I like applying the method of plein-air painting to new urban environments. I am also gradually developing the painting of industrial objects – whether functioning, abandoned or converted to a new function – as my favorite sub-genre of Cityscape painting, since they are an integral part of the modern urban landscape.
In painting, I prefer the freshness of an immediate painting record to the perfectionism of veristic painting. The resulting images are intended to invite the viewer to share in an adventure, which open-air painting in an urban environment certainly is. They are also meant to convey the nature of the explorer’s mind, which I transfer to my painting, especially through the search for motives in urbanized countries. Although the main aim is to introduce the viewer to ‘out of comfort zone’ painting action, the choice of topics is usually sophisticated and deals either with some overlooked interesting part of the city, a banality, or thematises the contemporary visual trash of our cities, which are paradoxically all very picturesque. Thus, paintings developed in this way become a living documentation of our times. Plein-air painting is on the periphery in the context of contemporary painting. Among the reasons for this are its inherent difficulties, such as testing the author’s limits while painting outdoors and not being afraid to go against the stream, that is, the mainstream of current major trends in the field of painting. Cityscape plein-air painting seems to be a landscape painting genre that is not outmoded and offers an extensive field for exploring painting themes and technical approaches nowadays. Plein-air painting, however, is reduced to an educational tool in Sunday schools of painting and preparatory courses for art novices. My long-term intention is to raise awareness of the Cityscape painting genre. In the current excess of technically reproducible visual images, authentic, fresh plein-air painting, which does not provide only valuable content, but also fine form, appears to be a good possible direction in which painting can progress. Juraj Florek

Artist:
Juraj Florek

Born 1986 in Slovakia Juraj Florek is 100% urban plein-air painter, his idealism motivates him to reinterpret plein-air painting and adapt it on current post-industrial landscape. He is not shy away from the difficult environment, the selection of locations of dysfunctional “Stalker environments” of industrial architecture, or the seemingly unobtrusive corners of the present-day city, he is a painter seeking their unadorned truth. At the same time his painting represents the honest „celebration of everyday life", which explores the author's social environment and his joy of life in the city.In general, the city itself is a material for research for me. I am a 100% urban plein-air painter and my idealism motivates me to reinterpret plein-air painting and to adapt it to the current post-industrial landscape. The subject matter is about environments, things and places we can see every day, which acquire a new and fresh angle of view as they are transferred through the medium of oil painting. Artist Statement In general, the city itself is a material for research for me. I am a 100% urban plein-air painter and my idealism motivates me to reinterpret plein-air painting and to adapt it to the current post-industrial landscape. The subject matter is about environments, things and places we can see every day, which acquire a new and fresh angle of view as they are transferred through the medium of oil painting. I do not shy away from difficult environments and often select dysfunctional, ‘Stalker locations’ with industrial architecture, seemingly unobtrusive corners of present-day cities, or examples of current overwhelmingly poor architecture. All these provide inspiration for the painter who is seeking their unadorned truth. At the same time, painting represents an honest celebration of everyday life, explores the author's social environment and is an expression of his enjoyment of life in the city. I like applying the method of plein-air painting to new urban environments. I am also gradually developing the painting of industrial objects – whether functioning, abandoned or converted to a new function – as my favorite sub-genre of Cityscape painting, since they are an integral part of the modern urban landscape. In painting, I prefer the freshness of an immediate painting record to the perfectionism of veristic painting. The resulting images are intended to invite the viewer to share in an adventure, which open-air painting in an urban environment certainly is. They are also meant to convey the nature of the explorer’s mind, which I transfer to my painting, especially through the search for motives in urbanized countries. Although the main aim is to introduce the viewer to ‘out of comfort zone’ painting action, the choice of topics is usually sophisticated and deals either with some overlooked interesting part of the city, a banality, or thematises the contemporary visual trash of our cities, which are paradoxically all very picturesque. Thus, paintings developed in this way become a living documentation of our times. Plein-air painting is on the periphery in the context of contemporary painting. Among the reasons for this are its inherent difficulties, such as testing the author’s limits while painting outdoors and not being afraid to go against the stream, that is, the mainstream of current major trends in the field of painting. Cityscape plein-air painting seems to be a landscape painting genre that is not outmoded and offers an extensive field for exploring painting themes and technical approaches nowadays. Plein-air painting, however, is reduced to an educational tool in Sunday schools of painting and preparatory courses for art novices. My long-term intention is to raise awareness of the Cityscape painting genre. In the current excess of technically reproducible visual images, authentic, fresh plein-air painting, which does not provide only valuable content, but also fine form, appears to be a good possible direction in which painting can progress. Juraj Florek

Individual exhibitions

2022 - QUICK PALETTE, CA Contemporary Gallery, Vienna (AT) 2022 - TITLE OF EXHIBITION, GaP – Galerie a Prostor, Znojmo (CZ) 2022 – AIRE LIBRE, Turiec Gallery, Martin (SVK) 2021 - SAN SANO POLIS, Kahán Art Space, Budapest (HU) 2021 – NICE SHADOWS, ČIN ČIN Gallery, Bratislava (SVK) 2021 – NIGHT SHIFT /with J. Toman/, Rimavská Sobota City Gallery, Rimavska Sobota (SVK) 2019 - BATMAN CITY, Galeria APARTE, Iasi (RO) 2019 - KRONSTADT URBAN, NCCA - National centre for contemporary arts, St. Petersburg (RU) 2019 - ORAVSKÝ VÝPRASK /with J. Toman/, Orava Gallery, Dolný Kubín (SVK) 2019 - PETROZAVODSK PLEIN-AIR, Media Center Vykhod, Petrozavodsk (RU) 2019 - MERINA /with J. Toman/ Nová Vlna, Trenčín (SVK) 2019 - OILY ELBOW /with J. Toman/ Industrial Gallery, Ostrava (CZ) 2018 - VIXA URBAN PLEIN-AIR, Vyksa Steel Works History Museum, Vyksa (RU) 2018 - COAL AND EGGS, CSW KRONIKA – Center for Contemporary Art, Bytom (PL) 2017 - CONCRETE AND WEED, DOT. Contemporary Art Gallery, Bratislava (SVK) 2017 - COLOURS OF OSTRAVA PLEIN-AIR /with J. Toman/ Vnitroblock, Prague (CZ) 2017 - SIGNALS OF PRAGUE! /with J. Toman/, Studio PRÁM Gallery, Prague (CZ) 2017 - SIGNALS OF PUCHOV! /with J. Toman/, County House, Púchov (SVK) 2016 - COLOURS OF OSTRAVA PLEIN-AIR / with J. Toman/, Cineport, Ostrava (CZ) 2016 - PILSEN PLEIN-AIR, French Institute, Bratislava (SVK) 2016 - MACHNÁČ BRAŇO A INÉ OBRÁZKY... /with J. Toman/, Nová Vlna, Trenčín (SVK) 2015 - PILSEN PLEIN-AIR, DEPO2015, Pilsen (CZ) 2015 - KAFILÉRIA, MUŠKÁTY, PETER BEHRENS

Group exhibitions

2018 - JOIN THE DOTS / UNITING DISTANCES (Imago mundi), Salone Degli Incante, Trieste (IT) 2018 - TURBOPLENER 1500, Platform 1-12, Topoľčany (SVK) 2017 - URBAN POSITIVE, Latarka Gallery, Budapest (HU) 2017 - ART IN PARK, Nová Vlna, Trenčín (SVK) 2017 - BLUDNÉ PRÚDY II., Manor-house gallery, Sereď (SVK) 2017 - STEEL IS UNLIMITED, Industrial gallery, Ostrava (CZ) 2017 - LILLA DART FEST, L'illa Diagonal, Barcelona (ES) 2017 - JUST RESIDENCE 2017, CMAE - Centro Municipal de Arte y Exposiciones, Avilés (ES) 2017 - JUSTMAD8 AVILÉS, COAM - Colegio Oficial Arquitectos de Madrid, Madrid (ES) 2016 - SLOVENSKÁ. NEW GENERATION, Gallerie d'Italia – Piazza Scala, Milano (IT) 2016 - LIVING PAINTING, Spiš Gallery, Spišská Nová Ves (SVK) 2016 - 10 YEARS OF PAINTING, East Slovak Gallery, Košice (SVK) 2015 - PAINTING BIENNALE V. ? City Gallery, Rimavská Sobota (SVK) 2015 - 10 YEARS OF PAINTING, Bratislava Castle Gallery, Bratislava (SVK) 2015 - 10 YEARS OF PAINTING, Central Slovakian Gallery, Banská Bystrica (SVK) 2015 - DOM, German Cultural House, Bratislava-Rača (SVK) 2015 - SONDA 2015 MAĽBA, Bratislava Castle Gallery, Bratislava (SVK) 2014 - VUB-PAINTING OF THE YEAR, Nedbalka Gallery, Bratislava (SVK) 2014 - NEIGHBORHOOD PLAYGROUNDS, Gallery BB 15, Linz (AT) 2013 - PANEL STORY, Turiec Gallery, Martin (SVK) 2013 - PANEL STORY, Bratislava City Gallery - Palffy Palace , Bratislava (SVK) 2013 - HUCISKO, Galeria Uniwersytecka, Cieszyn (PL) 2010 - KLAMNÝ DOJEM, Vltavin Gallery , Prague (CZ)

Awards and Grants

2014 - Award for Painting for Young Artist 2014 /1. place/ VUB Foundation, Bratislava (SVK) 2018 – Vysegrad Fund, Visual and Sound Arts Residency Grant, Bratislava (SVK) 2019 - The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant 2019 – 2020, Montreal (CA) 2022 - The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant 2022 – 2023, 2nd grant, Montreal (CA)

Unknown Socialist Realism: The Leningrad School of Painting 1920-1990s - Introduction
It is well known that two principal movements in the 20th century’s art – namely, abstract art and the art of socialist realism – emerged, found their classics and took the shape of theoretical systems not only in one and the same country but also in the same center of European culture. Both movements should be attributed to St Petersburg – Petrograd – Leningrad. It is far less known that both movements fed upon the tradition of Russian art and sprang from the same art school. By the middle of the 20th century Leningrad had become perhaps the only European cultural center to have preserved the world-famous school of easel painting based on the continuous development of age-long traditions of the national and European painting. The history of the Leningrad school of painting spans the period from 1930 through to the early 1990s. Having emerged in the time of hottest discussions on the development of art and art education in the USSR, it became the missing link that allowed for the preservation of national realist painting and provided for its further advance in the epoch of socialism. The Leningrad school proper usually refers to the Repin Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in the period between 1932 and the early 1990s, including its traditions, teachers, alumni and their art works. In its broader sense, the Leningrad school may also include a number of higher and secondary education establishments closely connected with the Repin Institute as well as the Leningrad Union of Artists in the period between its foundation in 1932 and the early 1990s. All that being true, the Leningrad school should be primarily understood as a unique alloy of personalities drawn from the richest and finest rock containing the least possible amount of impurities that had been searched for in the depths of the country, processed by the world’s finest smelter and cast in the furnace of the epoch.

Artists
About 1,200 artists may be said to belong to the Leningrad school of painting. Approximately 400 of them formed its distinguishing features in different periods and different genres. In the 1930s through the 1950s the following artists were brought up by the school: E. Antipova, T. Afonina, E. Baykova, N. Baskakov, P. Belousov, O. Bogaevskaya, A. Vasiliev, I. Veselkin, R. Vovkushevsky, N. Galakhov, V. Golubev, E. Gorokhova, I. Dobrekova, G. Yegoshin, A. Eremin, M. Zheleznov, V. Zagonek, M. Zubreeva, R. Zakharian, M. Kaneev, E. Kozlov, M. Kopitseva, B. Korneev, A. Koroviakov, E. Kostenko, B. Lavrenko, A. Laktionov, O. Lomakin, D. Maevsky, E. Moiseenko, V. Monakhova, N. Mukho, A. Mylnikov, M. Natarevich, S. Nevelshtein, A. Nenartovich, Yu. Neprintsev, D. Oboznenko, V. Ovchinnikov, L. Orekhov, V. Oreshnikov, S. Osipov, V. Otiev, N. Pozdneev, A. Pushnin, L. Russov, G. Savinov, A. Semionov, V. Serov, E. Skuin, A. Sokolov, V. Teterin, N. Timkov, V. Tokarev, M. Trufanov, Yu. Tulin, V. Tulenev, B. Ugarov, Yu. Khukhrov, V. Chekalov, B. Shamanov, A. Shmidt, N. Shteinmiller, L. Yazgur and many other famous and half-forgotten artists. Basic elements of the Leningrad school – namely, a higher art education establishment of a new type and a unified professional union of Leningrad artists, were created by the end of 1932. However, it took several more years to gather faculty members and organize art education in a new way. In 1934 Isaak Brodsky, a disciple of Ilya Repin was appointed director of the National Academy of Arts and the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Brodsky invited most distinguished painters and pedagogues to teach at the Academy. Education of future painters was based on a thorough study of drawing, composition, painting and art history. Requirements for applicants became stricter; preliminary courses and the so called. For more details please see Historical outline: http://www.leningradartist.com/outline.htm

Art Heritage
It was thanks to their efforts that traditions of the Russian school of painting were preserved and developed. For all problems and faults of the formative years, methods of art teaching and general structure of art education adopted in the 1930 proved very successful. These methods remain relevant up to the present; they are universally recognized as the standard of art education and adopted all over the world. At present paintings of masters of the Leningrad School recide in stocks of major art museums and private collections in Russia and abroud. This school brought up eminent artists whose creative eagerness was akin to that of the old great masters. They were distinguished by the true love for the Motherland. Endowed with many talents, they were mysteriously spiritual and scorned universal mercantilism as the ultimate aim of human kind. Inseparable from the history of its century, this art will be admired by new generations not only for its skillfulness and beauty but also for its dreaminess and revolutionary romanticism, liveliness of its images, historical optimism, sincere belief in the creative and reforming ability of art, and clear understanding of involvement and personal responsibility of the artist for the fate of Motherland and the course of history.

Mirza Cizmic Stolen Memories - PART II
Mirza Cizmic (born 1985 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a painter, predominantly using oil paint on primed paper (he is also occasionally a sculptor, performer and video artist), based in Helsinki, Finland. His artistic practice is related to past experiences. The way he paints is a way of interpreting the world, not through the eyes of a painter, but through his personal experiences. The language that he uses is based on his instincts which are divided into two parts. One is objective and formal while the other is subjective which belongs to Cizmic as an individual. It is a process that takes Cizmic from confusion to understanding. „As an artist, I must be aware of the illusive borders between art and life, art and society, as well as art and activism. Formalisation of my position in contemporary society is connected with constant questioning of myself and my role as an artist. My aim is to break the conventional taboos and depoliticise the situation and bring attention to the humanity of people.“ Mirza Cizmic

Artist:
Mirza Cizmic

Mirza Cizmic (born 1985 in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina) is a painter, predominantly using oil paint on primed paper (he is also occasionally a sculptor, performer and video artist), based in Helsinki, Finland. His artistic practice is related to past experiences. The way he paints is a way of interpreting the world, not through the eyes of a painter, but through his personal experiences. The language that he uses is based on his instincts which are divided into two parts. One is objective and formal while the other is subjective which belongs to Cizmic as an individual. It is a process that takes Cizmic from confusion to understanding.

„As an artist, I must be aware of the illusive borders between art and life, art and society, as well as art and activism. Formalisation of my position in contemporary society is connected with constant questioning of myself and my role as an artist. My aim is to break the conventional taboos and depoliticise the situation and bring attention to the humanity of people.“ Mirza Cizmic

Susan Abbott
Susan Abbott was born in Takoma Park, Maryland, and grew up in this Victorian suburb of Washington, DC. Her parents met as labor organizers in the 1930’s, and they continued to be active in social and environmental causes throughout their lives. Because her father was an artist and graphic designer, there were many art books and supplies at home and Abbott was drawing and painting from an early age. Her mother was a skilled seamstress and taught her to sew, knit and embroider. These hand crafts and time outdoors exploring the creeks and woods in her neighborhood were favorite childhood activities that have informed her work as an artist. Abbott began her formal art studies at fourteen, studying life drawing in the summers under the famed professor Robert D’Arista at American University. She dropped out of high school to begin full time studies at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, which she selected for its rigorous painting program. At MICA, Abbott focused on figure painting and plein air landscape with Israel Hershberg. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and two years later received a MFA degree from the Institute’s Hoffberger School of Painting, working with renowned abstract painter Grace Hartigan as her advisor. She went on to study printmaking in the graduate program at the University of Iowa under the master intaglio artist Mauricio Lasansky. Susan Abbott has been working as a professional artist since that time, exhibiting in galleries and museums around the country. Her still life and landscapes have been featured at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Museum of Technology, Hood College, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Her painting was included in the show “Objects of Personal Significance”, which toured museums around the United States. She has been a recipient of a Maryland Art Council “Individual Artist Award” and a Vermont Arts Council “Creation Grant”. In 2009 she was one of ten a

Statement
Growing up in Washington, DC, I had an early love of drawing encouraged by my artist father and for textile crafts learned from my mother, as well as many happy hours exploring neighborhood woods and streams. These childhood activities gave me a connection to hand craft and nature that have stayed with me and informed my work as a painter. In my eagerness to begin my art education I dropped out of high school to attend the Maryland Institute, College of Art, where I received a BFA and MFA. I’ve been working as a professional artist since that time, exhibiting in galleries and museums around the country and teaching art workshops around the world. I moved to Vermont twenty-five years ago for the most impractical of reasons, love at first sight. I’m still attracted to all the ordinary things I see around me here–houses, barns, trucks, fields, mountains—and how they are made magical by ever-changing light and seasons. When I paint in my studio from the references I gather on-site, invented colors and shapes take over and combine with my memory of the subject to create something completely new. My hope is that the paintings that result from this alchemy of the real and abstract communicate to the viewer something of my deep love for the familiar yet mysterious landscape of Vermont. Susan Abbott

Artist:
Susan Abbott

Susan Abbott was born in Takoma Park, Maryland, and grew up in this Victorian suburb of Washington, DC. Her parents met as labor organizers in the 1930’s, and they continued to be active in social and environmental causes throughout their lives. Because her father was an artist and graphic designer, there were many art books and supplies at home and Abbott was drawing and painting from an early age. Her mother was a skilled seamstress and taught her to sew, knit and embroider. These hand crafts and time outdoors exploring the creeks and woods in her neighborhood were favorite childhood activities that have informed her work as an artist. Abbott began her formal art studies at fourteen, studying life drawing in the summers under the famed professor Robert D’Arista at American University. She dropped out of high school to begin full time studies at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, which she selected for its rigorous painting program. At MICA, Abbott focused on figure painting and plein air landscape with Israel Hershberg. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and two years later received a MFA degree from the Institute’s Hoffberger School of Painting, working with renowned abstract painter Grace Hartigan as her advisor. She went on to study printmaking in the graduate program at the University of Iowa under the master intaglio artist Mauricio Lasansky. Susan Abbott has been working as a professional artist since that time, exhibiting in galleries and museums around the country. Her still life and landscapes have been featured at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Contemporary Art Center of Virginia, Museum of Technology, Hood College, and the Baltimore Museum of Art. Her painting was included in the show “Objects of Personal Significance”, which toured museums around the United States. She has been a recipient of a Maryland Art Council “Individual Artist Award” and a Vermont Arts Council “Creation Grant”. In 2009 she was one of ten artists selected from an international competition to receive funding to produce a series of paintings about the future of Vermont for the “Art of Action” project. She is an active partner with non-profits in projects that connect art and conservation. Susan Abbott’s paintings are in many private and corporate collections, including Mead Data Central, the Gund Company, the Federal Home Mortgage Administration, Peat Marwick, and Chittenden Bank. Her commission for Oprah Winfrey was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Statement

Growing up in Washington, DC, I had an early love of drawing encouraged by my artist father and for textile crafts learned from my mother, as well as many happy hours exploring neighborhood woods and streams. These childhood activities gave me a connection to hand craft and nature that have stayed with me and informed my work as a painter. In my eagerness to begin my art education I dropped out of high school to attend the Maryland Institute, College of Art, where I received a BFA and MFA. I’ve been working as a professional artist since that time, exhibiting in galleries and museums around the country and teaching art workshops around the world. I moved to Vermont twenty-five years ago for the most impractical of reasons, love at first sight. I’m still attracted to all the ordinary things I see around me here–houses, barns, trucks, fields, mountains—and how they are made magical by ever-changing light and seasons. When I paint in my studio from the references I gather on-site, invented colors and shapes take over and combine with my memory of the subject to create something completely new. My hope is that the paintings that result from this alchemy of the real and abstract communicate to the viewer something of my deep love for the familiar yet mysterious landscape of Vermont. Susan Abbott

In the Flow of the Streets: A Photographic Voyage
"In the Flow of Streets: A Photographic Voyage" invites you to embark on a visual journey through the heartbeat of urban life. This exhibition captures the rhythm and poetry found in the ordinary yet extraordinary moments of city streets. Each photograph serves as a snapshot of the diverse narratives unfolding in the tapestry of urban landscapes. From fleeting encounters to timeless scenes, the collection paints a vivid portrait of the human experience within the dynamic flow of streets. Join me as I explore the beauty, contrasts, and serendipity woven into the intricate dance of daily life, frozen in captivating frames that reveal the essence of our shared urban existence.

Artist:
Dmytro Geshengorin

I am a self taught photographer from Dortmund, Germany, specialized mainly in street and wildlife photography.

Ekaterina Chinenova Екатерина Чиненова
Works in the genres of historical and genre painting, landscape, portrait, still life and graphics. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia since 2018. Paintings are in private collections in Russia, England, Canada, USA. Работает в жанрах исторической и жанровой картины, пейзажа, портрета, натюрморта и графики. Член Союза художников России с 2018 г. Картины находятся в частных собраниях России, Англии, Канады, США.

Artist:
Ekaterina Chinenova Екатерина Чиненова

Born in Altai in the city of Novoaltaysk. Graduated with honors from Novoaltaysk Art School (2004). Then in Moscow studied at the Russian Academy of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture Ilya Glazunov, graduated from the historical workshop (2012). Her mentors and teachers were Evgeny Kravtsov, Pavel Ryzhenko and Ivan Glazunov. Works in the genres of historical and genre painting, landscape, portrait, still life and graphics. Member of the Union of Artists of Russia since 2018. Paintings are in private collections in Russia, England, Canada, USA. Родилась на Алтае в городе Новоалтайске. С отличием окончила Новоалтайское художественное училище (2004). Затем в Москве училась в Российской Академии живописи, ваяния и зодчества Ильи Глазунова, окончила историческую мастерскую (2012). Наставниками и учителями были Евгений Кравцов, Павел Рыженко и Иван Глазунов. Работает в жанрах исторической и жанровой картины, пейзажа, портрета, натюрморта и графики. Член Союза художников России с 2018 г. Картины находятся в частных собраниях России, Англии, Канады, США.

Exhibitions

2024 - “Moscow and Muscovites”, Exhibition Hall of the Moscow Union of Artists of Russia, Moscow 2024 - “Moscow - 2024”, Gallery of pictorial art of the Moscow Union of Artists, Moscow 2023 - “Christmas on Begovaya”, Exhibition Hall of the Moscow Union of Artists, Moscow. 2022 - “Moscow and Muscovites”, Moscow Exhibition Hall of the Moscow Union of Artists, Moscow 2022 - “Summer Vacations - 2022”, Cultural Center of the Embassy of Armenia in the Russian Federation, Moscow. 2021 - “Christmas on Begovaya”, Exhibition Hall of the Russian Union of Artists, Moscow. 2021 - “My Russia”, Moscow City Duma, Moscow 2018 - “Artists to Moscow”, Exhibition Hall of the Moscow Union of Artists of Russia, Moscow 2018 - “Russian Soul”, Rachmaninoff House Concert Hall, Moscow 2014 - “Symbols of the Fatherland”, VDNKh, pav. 57, Moscow 2013 - “Steps of Mastery”, Central Exhibition Hall “Manezh”, St. Petersburg. 2013 - “Art Nouveau Style in the Understanding of a Young Artist”, MICC “Merchant V.D. Nosov's Mansion”, Moscow. 2013 - “Moscow through the eyes of the young”, Central House of Artists, Moscow 2013 - “Faith, Hope, Love and their mother Sophia. Orthodox Traditions”, IFSPiK, Moscow 2012 - “Molodezhnaya-XXXII”, Exhibition Center of the Moscow Union of Artists. 2011 - “The Attraction of Realism” Izmailovo Gallery, Moscow 2011 - “Young Art of Altai”, Novosibirsk State Art Museum, Novosibirsk 2011 - “Molodezhnaya XXXI”, Exhibition Center of the Moscow Union of Artists. 2010 - “Attraction of Realism” “Izmailovo Gallery”, Moscow 2010 - “Molodezhnaya XXXI”, Exhibition Center of the Moscow Union of Artists, Moscow. 2009 - “Teacher and Pupils”, Central Exhibition Center of the Russian Union of Artists, Barnaul. 2009 - “From Ancient Russia to New Russia”, CEH “Manezh”, Moscow. 2008 - “Artist and Teacher”, Center for Contemporary Art “M'ARS”.

Выставки

2024 – «Москва и москвичи», Выставочный зал МОСХ России, Москва 2024 – "Москва - 2024", Галерея живописного искусства Московского союза художников, Москва 2023 – «Рождество на Беговой», Выставочный зал МОСХ России, Москва 2022 – «Москва и москвичи», Выставочный зал МОСХ России, Москва 2022 – «Летние каникулы – 2022», Культурный центр посольства Армении в РФ, Москва 2021 – «Рождество на Беговой», Выставочный зал МОСХ России, Москва 2021 – «Моя Россия», Московская городская Дума, Москва 2018 – «Художники – Москве», Выставочный зал МОСХ России, Москва 2018 – «Русская душа», концертный зал «Дом Рахманинова», Москва 2014 – «Символы Отечества», ВДНХ, пав. 57, Москва 2013 – «Ступени мастерства», ЦВЗ «Манеж», Санкт-Петербург 2013 – «Стиль модерн в понимании молодого художника», МИКЦ "Особняк купца В.Д. Носова", Москва 2013 – «Москва глазами молодых», ЦДХ, Москва 2013 – «Вера, Надежда, Любовь и мать их София. Православные традиции», МФСПиК, Москва 2012 – «Молодежная-XXXII», Выставочный центр МОСХ 2011 – «Притяжение реализма» Галерея «Измайлово», Москва 2011 – «Молодое искусство Алтая», Новосибирский государственный художественный музей, Новосибирск 2011 – «Молодежная-ХХХI», Выставочный центр МОСХ 2010 – «Притяжение реализма» «Галерея «Измайлово», Москва 2010 – «Молодежная-ХХХ», Выставочный центр МОСХ, Москва 2009 – «Учитель и ученики», ЦВЗ СХР, Барнаул 2009 – «От древней Руси к новой России» ЦВЗ «Манеж», Москва 2008 – «Художник и педагог», Центр современного искусства «М’АРС» 2007 – «20 лет Российской академии живописи, ваяния и зодчества», ЦВЗ «Манеж», Москва

Vladimir Daibov - Once Upon a Time in Russia
Vladimir Daibov was born in the Urals region. His creativity evolved in the artistic environment of the late 1970s Leningrad, absorbing the influences of the Russian avant-garde, the German expressionism, and the Leningrad underground culture. While studying at the Serov Art School with fellow artists and future rock stars Georgy Guryanov and Viktor Tsoi, Daibov witnessed the inception of the Leningrad Rock Club and countercultural movement. For him, however, the time of great change was not a period of all-out theatricality, but a chance to concentrate and find his own distinctive style. Like a Buddhist, he escaped the turning wheel of big city life, jumped off the merry-go-round of vanity, stepped off the train in the quiet town of Kursk to get a true feeling of self and the unhurried surroundings. For some, the time in provincial towns seems to have come to a halt, but for Daibov it has distilled and purged itself of any anxiety, emerging as a pure figurative formula. His unpeopled landscapes are filled with the dense substance of contemplation, expressing not the transience, but the permanence of being. Deep significance, plasticity, and generalization are generic to his works. The artist favours thick and pastose strokes, sharply defined shapes, contrasting colour schemes. At the same time, Vladimir Daibov's paintings are not simply visual facts and lucky finds of striking colour combinations manifesting a tried and tested craftsmanship. Rather, they can be seen as metaphysical landscapes, at times equally capable of instilling in the viewers a kind of existential yearning and astonishing them with the unexpected beauty of the everyday.

Artist:
Vladimir Daibov

Once Upon a Time in Russia

Vladimir Daibov was born in the Urals region. His creativity evolved in the artistic environment of the late 1970s Leningrad, absorbing the influences of the Russian avant-garde, the German expressionism, and the Leningrad underground culture. While studying at the Serov Art School with fellow artists and future rock stars Georgy Guryanov and Viktor Tsoi, Daibov witnessed the inception of the Leningrad Rock Club and countercultural movement. For him, however, the time of great change was not a period of all-out theatricality, but a chance to concentrate and find his own distinctive style. Like a Buddhist, he escaped the turning wheel of big city life, jumped off the merry-go-round of vanity, stepped off the train in the quiet town of Kursk to get a true feeling of self and the unhurried surroundings. For some, the time in provincial towns seems to have come to a halt, but for Daibov it has distilled and purged itself of any anxiety, emerging as a pure figurative formula. His unpeopled landscapes are filled with the dense substance of contemplation, expressing not the transience, but the permanence of being. Deep significance, plasticity, and generalization are generic to his works. The artist favours thick and pastose strokes, sharply defined shapes, contrasting colour schemes. At the same time, Vladimir Daibov's paintings are not simply visual facts and lucky finds of striking colour combinations manifesting a tried and tested craftsmanship. Rather, they can be seen as metaphysical landscapes, at times equally capable of instilling in the viewers a kind of existential yearning and astonishing them with the unexpected beauty of the everyday.

Allan Gorman - Dramatic Realism
Allan Gorman's artwork takes the viewer on a journey into the unusual shapes and tensions created by light and shadow on urban structures, machines, and objects. With a meticulous attention to detail and a fine-tuned design sense, his intriguing compositions blur the lines between hyperrealism and abstraction.

Artist:
Allan Gorman

(kind of) Retrospective of Ferdinand Boutard

Artist:
Ferdinand Boutard

Ferdinand boutard lives and works in Paris. Ferdinand attended various art schools before choosing to focus on animated film at the school of visual communication les Gobelins. After his studies, his career path led him to work on several full-length and short films, among which four personal productions. In 2011, he decided to answer what he knew to be his true calling and become a painter. Pencil to computer, acrylic to oil, Ferdinand has experimented with a broad spectrum of media. These artistic ambulations inform a vision that has managed to evolve while remaining true to itself. Painting has provided Ferdinand with the challenge of a lifetime. A fervent admirer of Caravage, Velazquez, Vermeer, Schiele and Rockwell, Ferdinand aims to revive a certain kind of classicism, in a way that reconciles rigor with humor.

Joseph Lorusso
Inspired by the expressive power of his medium and its history, Joseph Lorusso produces emotionally evocative oil on canvas paintings. His childhood trips to Italy, where he was exposed to the Old Masters and the country’s rich artistic heritage, sparked his interest in art. He initially studied watercolor painting and later switched to oils, teaching himself how to work with the latter material. He concentrates on urban and natural landscapes and the human figure, rendering his subjects in a naturalistic, impressionistic style. Lorusso is especially interested in painting ordinary people in everyday settings, which he invests with a sense of pathos and mystery. Through his work, he aims to connect to others by conveying universal human experiences. “I believe truly great art serves as a trigger into something deeper within all of us,” he says.
Joseph Lorusso creates landscapes and figurative works. In painting these subjects, He has concentrated on honing his powers of observation, especially as it concerns to color, texture, form and composition. Lorusso’s paintings have been described as warm and dreamlike, places of restful escape with a sense of spirituality, and share timelessness with the works of other eras. The mood and emotion conveyed in Lorusso’s paintings evokes a deep sense of beauty found in the quiet times of daily living. His people are mysterious, lonely, romantic and yet familiar, placed in settings we often see ourselves. Lorusso’s paintings have gained notoriety by their ability to connect with the viewer, resonating in a way that is intimate and personal.

Artist:
Joseph Lorusso

Joseph Lorusso was born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1966 and received his formal training at the American Academy of Art. He went on to receive his B.F.A. degree from the Kansas City Art Institute. Born of Italian descent, Lorusso was exposed to art at an early age. Through several early trips to Italy, his parents introduced him to the works of the Italian Masters. Lorusso would look to these influences throughout his early artistic development and they are still evident in his work today. While in school, Lorusso majored in watercolor and considers himself self-taught as an oil painter. He learned to paint by studying the works of master painters, often losing himself in the halls of the Chicago Art Institute during lunch hours, which frequently turned into afternoons of self-study.

Lorusso’s work has been shown internationally and has won numerous awards and honors. He has been featured in American Artist magazine, Southwest Art, U.S. Art, Art & Antiques, The Artists Magazine, Art News, American Art Collector, International Artist and Art Talk magazines. Lorusso’s work is part of many private collections; his work is in the permanent collections of the Albrecht-Kemper Museum, St.Joseph, Missouri and the Wichita Museum of Art, Wichita, Kansas. Joseph Lorusso is currently represented by McLarry Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, Bonner-David Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, Newbury Fine Art, Boston, MA, Principle Gallery, Charleston, SC, and Alexandria,VA, Jones and Terwilliger Galleries, Carmel, CA, Broadmoor Galleries, Colorado Springs, CO and Saks Gallery, Denver, CO.

Exhibitions

2019: Wine & Art Soirée, Kelly D Kennedy Fine Art LLC, Midland Wine & Art Soriee, Kelly D Kennedy Fine Art LLC, Midland# 2018: Summer Small Works, Maxwell Alexander Gallery, Los Angeles Within the City, Bonner David Galleries, Scottsdale 2016: Chévere, Sirona Fine Art, Hallandale Beach New Work, Saks Galleries, Denver 2015: The Great Holiday Exhibition, Saks Galleries, Denver Spring Exhibition 2015, Saks Galleries, Denver 2014: American Art Invitational 2014, Saks Galleries, Denver Solo Exhibitions: 2019 Artist's Demonstration: Joseph Lorusso, Bonner David Galleries, Scottsdale 2014 Joseph Lorusso August Artist of the Month, Saks Galleries, Denver

Discovering the works of the Impressionists, he gravitated towards the works of Manet and Vuillard. Lorusso searched for similar work of such emotion and soon became an avid student of painting, seeking out and immersing himself in the works of various artists. This path would ultimately lead him to the works of Sargent, Sorolla, Whistler and a whole army of lesser-known yet equally capable painters. Within this group of artists, Lorusso would find a sense of identity. In these masterful works, he saw the power to harness emotion and convey it with power and confidence, yet with delicacy and tasteful restraint. He also saw in these artists the ability to express the "essence” of an object with just a few carefully chosen brushstrokes, creating a visceral and intuitive state of painting.

Spannungsleben
Es sind Wimmelbilder im Rausch von Assoziationen. Die Gemälde stehen im Zeichen der Vielfalt, verfügen aber über eine ihnen inhärente Ordnung und Harmonie, die erst bei weiterem kontemplativem Sehen aufkommt. So steht es auch mit dem Leben selbst. Kann das Leben nur allzu oft chaotisch erscheinen, hat es doch seine Strukturen in all seinen Facetten und Perspektiven. Die Gemälde der Künstlerin Veronika Spleiss verbildlichen diesen Prozess in zweidimensionalem Stil, stehen aber aufgrund ihrer Formenvielfalt für eine multiperspektivische Öffnung zum Leben. Ganz im Sinne Friedrich Nietzsches wird der Aspekt des Perspektivischen als die „Grundbedingung allen Lebens“ gezeigt (JGB, KSA 5, S. 12). Denn Leben umfasst ein Ganzes. Der Mensch selbst hat aber keinen Zugang zu diesem. Der Lebende ist immer an seine eigene Perspektive und Sichtweise auf die Welt gebunden, der eine gewisse eigene Ordnung innewohnt. Die Werke spielen mit diesen Aspekten. Mehr noch, die Künstlerin versucht Leben in ihren vielseitigen Perspektiven grafisch zu visualisieren. Für den Betrachter bedeutet dies in erster Linie Chaos – eine vermeintlich chaotische Zusammenfügung verschiedener Sichtweisen, die aus dem Schwarz beziehungsweise Nichts hervortreten. Jedes Teilchen, jede geometrische Form steht dabei für sich allein, nähert sich jedoch an die anderen Formen an und stellt so eine notwendige Verbindung her.

Artist:
Veronika Spleiss

Biografie

Die deutsche Künstlerin Veronika Spleiss, geboren 1993, deren Wurzeln in Estland und Russland liegen, beschäftigt sich seit mehr als fünfzehn Jahren mit visueller bildender Kunst. Unter Anleitung der Künstlerin Natalia Zurakowska erlernte Spleiss die Techniken der Malerei, Grafik und Illustration. Nach ihrem Studium der französischen und russischen Literaturwissenschaft als auch der politischen Theorie in München, Clermont-Ferrand und Passau (M.A.) wendete sie sich vollständig dem künstlerischen Schaffen zu. Die Künstlerin lebt und arbeitet in Essen und München. Veronika Spleiss hat an zahlreichen Ausstellungen und internationalen Kunstmessen in Deutschland, Italien, der Schweiz und den USA teilgenommen. Ihre Werke befinden sich unter anderem in der ständigen Sammlung des Hunderwasserhauses "Grüne Zitadelle" in Magdeburg, Deutschland. Die Malerin wurde für zwei Kunstpreise nominiert, für den YAS Award 2020 und den Renate Hendricks & Valentine Rothe Preis 2021. Ihre Werke befinden sich in Privatsammlungen auf der ganzen Welt: in Japan, Frankreich, der Schweiz, Deutschland, Österreich und den USA.

Über den Stil von Veronika Spleiss

Der erste Blick auf das Werk der Künstlerin eröffnet ein berauschendes Fest an Formen und Farben. Auf den zweiten Blick offenbaren sich jedoch aus weißen und farbenprächtigen Fragmentstücken assoziative prägnante Formen der Realität – und auf Metaebene ihre Geschichten. Es sind Wimmelbilder im Rausch von Assoziationen. Die Gemälde stehen im Zeichen der Vielfalt, verfügen aber über eine ihnen inhärente Ordnung und Harmonie, die erst bei weiterem kontemplativem Sehen aufkommt. So steht es auch mit dem Leben selbst. Kann das Leben nur allzu oft chaotisch erscheinen, hat es doch seine Strukturen in all seinen Facetten und Perspektiven. Die Gemälde der Künstlerin Veronika Spleiss verbildlichen diesen Prozess in zweidimensionalem Stil, stehen aber aufgrund ihrer Formenvielfalt für eine multiperspektivische Öffnung zum Leben. Ganz im Sinne Friedrich Nietzsches wird der Aspekt des Perspektivischen als die „Grundbedingung allen Lebens“ gezeigt (JGB, KSA 5, S. 12). Denn Leben umfasst ein Ganzes. Der Mensch selbst hat aber keinen Zugang zu diesem. Der Lebende ist immer an seine eigene Perspektive und Sichtweise auf die Welt gebunden, der eine gewisse eigene Ordnung innewohnt. Die Werke spielen mit diesen Aspekten. Mehr noch, die Künstlerin versucht Leben in ihren vielseitigen Perspektiven grafisch zu visualisieren. Für den Betrachter bedeutet dies in erster Linie Chaos – eine vermeintlich chaotische Zusammenfügung verschiedener Sichtweisen, die aus dem Schwarz beziehungsweise Nichts hervortreten. Jedes Teilchen, jede geometrische Form steht dabei für sich allein, nähert sich jedoch an die anderen Formen an und stellt so eine notwendige Verbindung her. Jedes Kunstwerk von Veronika Spleiss fügt sich zu einer visuellen Geschichte zusammen. Die Künstlerin verschriftlicht ihre Gedanken und Vorstellungen zu jedem Werk. Visualität und Literatur vereinen sich.

Preise

2021 Renate Hendricks & Valentine Rothe Preis - Nominiert- Bonn, Deutschland 2020 YAS Award 2020 - Nominiert- Magdeburg, Deutschland

Kunstgalerien

Galerie Klose, Essen, Deutschland Hunderwasserhaus "Grüne Zitadelle" Magdeburg justBEE Gallery, Elsass, Frankreich Singulart, Online Kunstgalerie Paris, Frankreich

Alexey Lantsev
Painter Alexei Lantsev, a graduate of Moscow's Surikov School of Fine Arts, explores a wide range of subjects in abstract and semi-abstract painting styles. He was born in 1970 in the city of Krasnodar and has had more than 20 solo exhibitions in Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Hong Kong. “To paint, you have to close your eyes and sing,” Picasso once said. It seems that when Alexei Lantsev paints his pictures, he not only sings, but at the same time performs a real dance with a brush, giving in to an impulse that drives him from within. All his compositions essentially consist of a combination of a graceful line with sonorous color spots, which are distributed as if intuitively over the entire surface of the sheet. The guiding theme of Alexei Lantsev's work is always the search for a balance between logic and feeling, be it abstraction, landscape or figurative art. The echo of Matisse's distant song, the melody of Lantsev's painting undoubtedly testifies to the joy of life. The harmonious compositions in contrasting colors invite a silent attempt to hear your mysterious inner symphony while finding the area where the words end and the music begins.

Artist:
Alexey Lantsev

Painter Alexei Lantsev, a graduate of Moscow's Surikov School of Fine Arts, explores a wide range of subjects in abstract and semi-abstract painting styles. He was born in 1970 in the city of Krasnodar and has had more than 20 solo exhibitions in Russia, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and Hong Kong. “To paint, you have to close your eyes and sing,” Picasso once said. It seems that when Alexei Lantsev paints his pictures, he not only sings, but at the same time performs a real dance with a brush, giving in to an impulse that drives him from within. All his compositions essentially consist of a combination of a graceful line with sonorous color spots, which are distributed as if intuitively over the entire surface of the sheet. The guiding theme of Alexei Lantsev's work is always the search for a balance between logic and feeling, be it abstraction, landscape or figurative art. The echo of Matisse's distant song, the melody of Lantsev's painting undoubtedly testifies to the joy of life. The harmonious compositions in contrasting colors invite a silent attempt to hear your mysterious inner symphony while finding the area where the words end and the music begins.

Nigel Van Wieck
For nearly two decades, Nigel Van Wieck has been evolving a distinctive idiom firmly rooted in the tradition of American realism. His small-format oils offer glimpses of classic Americana: racetracks and baseball fields, toy sailboats skimming over a pond, tourists relaxing on sun-drenched beaches. Typically his are solitary figures, often recalling the loners once celebrated by Edward Hopper, and though there is no Hopperesque gloom here, at moments there emerges a vague sense of the ominous. Van Wieck has painted a progression of works grouped into series with such themes as Working Girls, Players, and Dancing. Though visually diverse, all have underscored the disjuncture between modern people’s physical proximity and emotional connectivity; whatever their gender, race, class, or occupation, no matter how intimate their contact may be, these figures do not fully “get” each other. Flowing against this thematic continuum was the large number of portrait commissions that Van Wieck undertook during the 1990s. As one would expect, he became deeply interested in his sitters, who connected closely with each other in the image, or at least with their viewers. These are figures whom we “get,” at least to a certain extent.

Artist's Statement
I always want to capture a “moment in time”, it makes my paintings real and timeless. I achieve this by painting the light; whether painting daylight or the lights of the night, light is familiar to us; it’s like music, it evokes a memory or an emotion, and crystallizes the moment. Vermeer was extremely successful at this; even though he was painting a 17th-century scene, the way he paints light allows today’s viewer to connect to that moment thus making the painting both modern and timeless.

Artist:
Nigel Van Wieck

Nigel Van Wieck is a figurative artist working in the tradition of American realism. His portrayals of America feel as though they’re from another time, even if the content is modern. From an era of romanticism and dreaminess, almost free of time if not for the trappings of culture that carry specific definition. From one side, the painter Nigel Van Wieck (b. 1947) appears to be the proverbial “Englishman in New York,” having discovered Old Master aesthetics and made them his own since 1979, when he immigrated to the U.S. But from the other side, we see the quintessentially American practitioner of contemporary realism he has become during those same three and a half decades. Trippi has been the editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine since 2006. He was previously the director of New York City’s Dahesh Museum of Art, which is devoted to 19th-century European academic art.

Exhibitions

2015 Didier Aaron Gallery New York 2011 Nigel Van Wieck American Realism curated by Elizabeth Michitsch, Brauneis Klauser, Vienna 2010 Galerie Elisabeth Michitsch, Vienna 2008 Galerie Elisabeth Michitsch, Vienna 2007 Galerie Elisabeth Michitsch Vienna 2004 Kunsthandel Elisabeth Michitsch, Vienna 2001 Beadleston Gallery , New York 1995 The Venice Biennale's Centennial Exhibition, Venice 1993 Fosse Gallery Stow-on-the-Wold 1991 Tatistcheff and Company, Inc, New York 1989 Tatistcheff and Company, Inc, New York 1988 Alex Reid & Lefevre Gallery, London 1985 Germans van Eck Gallery, New York 1984 Tatistcheff and Company, Inc, New York 1983 12 Green Street Gallery New York 1982 Alex Reid & Lefevre Gallery, London 1977 Redfern Gallery, London 1974 Richard Demarco Gallery, Edinburgh 1973 Ikon Gallery, Birmingham 1972 Majorie Parr Gallery, London 1971 Majorie Parr Gallery, London

Toshihiko Okuya
Born in Gifu, Japan in 1955. Toshihiko Okuya is a Japanese master of digital painting. In his work, the strangeness of human existence is expressed in an allegorical and plastic vision. It is sometimes violent, demonic and emotional. And it tells various stories. You may find yourself there.

Artist:
Toshihiko Okuya

TOSHIHIKO OKUYA

Toshihiko Okuya is a Japanese master of digital painting. In his work, the strangeness of human existence is expressed in an allegorical and plastic vision. It is sometimes violent, demonic and emotional. And it tells various stories. You may find yourself there. 1955 Born in Japan, Gifu Prefecture 1981 - Started illustration work with magazines etc 1982 - Illustration work such as children's books and picture books. Announcing maze and illustration puzzle with magazines, books 1983 - School for Children Education, Lecturer 1996 - Started work on graphic design, web design 2001 - Although he was producing oil paintings in parallel, he scanned the work and started making digital works on a personal computer.

EXHIBITS (SELECTION)

1989 "Illustration in Japan 1988" Exhibition (Seibu Art Forum) 2001 Mikuni Town Trick Art Competition Award Winning Work Exhibition (Mikuni RyuShoKan) 2008 44th Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition (Kanagawa Prefectural Art Museum) 2010 Epson Color Image Contest, Winning Work Exhibition (epSITE-shinjyuku)

PRIZES

1978 Creative Picture Book Recruiter Award, Excellence Award Winner (Creative Picture Book) 2001 Fukui Prefecture Mikuni Town 4th Trick Art Competition Special Prize Winner (Puzzle Art) 2008 44th Kanagawa Prefectural Art Exhibition, Selected (Oil Painting) 2009 Epson Color Imaging Contest Selected (Digital Art, Inkjet Print Works)

WEB

WikiArt: https://www.wikiart.org/en/toshihiko-okuya Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/okuya.toshihiko/ Tumblr: https://toshihiko-okuya.tumblr.com/

Bahram Hajou
Bahram Hajou’s paintings are subtle works of nature and humanity, and, inherent among the gentle strokes and original coloring, are tales of beauty and love, fear and solitude, forgiveness and understanding, anxiety and furtiveness, freedom and dependence. His power and strength are reflected in the energy of his works, much of which gives the impression of freedom of expression and readiness for dialogue.

Theme
Bahram Hajou’s art explores themes of social and personal consciousness, connection and disconnection. His art does not apply itself to the rules of space and time, as his subjects are suspended in space. This lack of a definitive space and time allows Hajou’s art to become timeless, as it transcends boundaries set by conventions. Instead, Hajou’s art renders itself to the viewer and thus his art becomes personally confrontational as his subjects directly face the viewer and demand a conversation. Hajou’s art tells the tale of a certain alienation... one that is felt through the canvas. The viewer is faced with a gaze coming from the canvas as the figures begin a dialogue with the audience. Some works of art display lovers, in some cases, they are in a loving embrace, whereas in others their relationship is marked by the distance between them. As viewers, we are left to think of our own relationship with our loved ones. We are left to think of our own personal alienation and detachment, both on the micro and macro scale. We are left with our role in society and the way we interact with those around us.


Artist:
Bahram Hajou

Bahram Hajou is a Syrian-born German artist who studied in the Fine Arts Academy, Dusseldorf and later graduated from the Art Academy Munster in Germany in 1984. Hajou’s work theme is the human in his loneliness translated into the language of symbols and in a continuity of motifs: Face, body postures, blank room, inaccessible towers, dilapidated homes, and landscape. Against a background characterized by subtle hues punctuated by sudden splashes of color, the human figure stares out or turns away, the body language expressing a range of emotions, love, fear, solitude, anxiety, understanding, freedom and dependence.

Exhibitions

2017 Kulturcentrum in Manama – Bahrain 2017 Art Karlsruhe (D) 2017 Karim Gallery, Amman (JORDAN) 2016 Foyer des Stadttheters Münster/Germany (D) 2016 Galerie Karsi Sanat´ta, Istanbul (TR) 2016 Galerie Ludwig Trossaert Antwerp (B) 2016 Sollefteå konst förening, (S) 2016 Überkopf Kunstbegegnen, Münster (D) 2016 Palagio Contemporaneo 2015 Galerie GNG, Paris, France 2015 Kunsthaus Langenberg e.V. Alldie Kunst (Norbrt Bauer), Langenberg/Düsseldorf (D) 2015 Office Kleine Galerie (Art against violence) Wien/Viena (A) 2015 Art Élysées (Petit Palace, Paris) (F) 2015 Art Fair, Istanbul contemporary, Istanbul (TR) 2014 Galerie Ludwig Trossaert (Antwerp - Belgium) 2014 Art House Wien, Austria 2014 Henry Matisse Price, Château Musée Grimaldi, France 2013 Galerie Ludwig Trossaert (Antwerp - Belgium) 2013 Galerie GNG Gilles Naudine, Paris 2013 White Box Gallery, New York 2012 Museum Cotemporary Art (Bratislava) Danubiana 2010 Art House Gallery Damascus (Syria) 2010 Aida Cherfan Fine Art Gallery in Beirut 2010 Galerie Kula (Museum Split/Kroatien) 2009 Artfestival Amman, Jordan (Symposion) 2009 Artfestival Patra, Greece (Symposion) 2009 Karim Gallery, Amman (Jordan) 2008 Hewar Art Gallery - Total Arts Gallery in the courtyard - Dubai 2008 Museum for modern Art, Latakia (Syria) 2008 Kunstkompakt 5, Gladbeck (Germany) 2008 Galerie Zeugma, Cologne (Germany) 2008 Kunsthandel Antonia v. Fraunberg, Düsseldorf (Germany) 2008 1. Price Meditterane Artbiennale in Trogir, Croatia (Symposion) 2008 Art House Gallery Damascus (Syria) 2007 Galerie Zeugma, Cologne (Germany) 2007 Galerie Green Art, Dubai (U.A.E.) 2007 Galerie Michael Nolte, Muenster (Germany) 2007 art club kunstverein, Burgwedel/Isernhagen (Germany) 2006 Kunsthalle Faust, Hannover (Germany) 2006 Galerie Holbein, Hannover (Germany) 2006 Galerie Carolyn Heinz, Hamburg (Germany) 2006 Galerie Al Hiwar, Riadh (Saudi Arabien) 2006 Kunstkompakt 4, Gladbeck (Germany) 2005 Galerie Kreuziger, Worbswede (Germany) 2005 Galerie Zeugma, Cologne,

Catalogs · expertises

• 2018 - Bahram - Vis-a-Vis mit Texten von Stephan Trescher, Hania Zawaneh, H. E. Alfred Simms-Protz • 2018 - Bahram Hajou - The Haunting Imagery Of The Painter, Binoche Fine Art, New York • 2012 - Bahram mit Texten von Rudi Fred Linke, RUDIFREDLINKEGALERIE, Münster • 2010 - Bahram - Ustanova u Kulturi, Galerie Kula (Museum Split/Kroatien) • 2009 - Bahram Retrospektive - ADIB-Verlag Amman Jordanien, ISBN: 978-9957-514-03-7 • 2006 - Dialogs - Hewar Art Gallery mit Texten von Dr. Dieter M. Keiner • 2002 - Bahram Menschenbilder - von Oberfinanzdirektion Münster mit Texten von Prof. Dr. Christoph Miething und Dr. Dieter Büter • 2000 - Bahram Dialog - mit Texten von Prof. Dr. Christoph Miething • 1997 - Bahram - mit Texten von Bachar Isa, Prof. Dr. Christoph Miething und Malva • 1990 - Bahram - mit Texten von Dr. Reinhard Hasseider • 1990 - Bahram Quadrat - mit Texten von Dr. Dieter Büter

Beyond the Canvas: AI's Surreal Provocations
Welcome to "Beyond the Canvas: AI's Surreal Provocations," an avant-garde art exhibition that pushes the boundaries of creativity, challenging conventional notions of art with the use of cutting-edge AI-generated images. This captivating collection takes you on a journey into the uncharted territory of surrealism, where the imagination knows no bounds. In this groundbreaking project, the artist harnesses the limitless potential of artificial intelligence to craft images that are as thought-provoking as they are visually striking. These surreal and provocative compositions traverse a diverse landscape of themes, from statues passionately protesting for their rights to the harmonious blend of disparate artistic styles, each piece provoking a unique emotional response. As you explore "Beyond the Canvas," you will encounter a world where reality and fantasy coexist in unexpected ways. Marvel at the defiance of classical statues as they rise up to advocate for their rights, blurring the lines between the inanimate and the sentient. Witness the fusion of artistic styles that defy categorization, inviting you to contemplate the interconnectedness of creative expression across time and culture. This exhibition is a testament to the power of AI as a tool for artists to explore uncharted realms of creativity. "Beyond the Canvas" challenges traditional art forms, inviting you to reconsider the very definition of art and the boundaries of the human imagination. Join us on this extraordinary journey into the surreal, where AI serves as a conduit for the artist's vision, pushing the envelope of what is possible in the realm of artistry. "Beyond the Canvas" is a celebration of creativity's boundless potential, provoking thought and emotion in equal measure. Immerse yourself in this world of surreal provocations and let your own imagination run wild, as we redefine the art of the possible.

Artist:
Klaudio Mehmeti

AI Digital Art

Guennadi Ulibin
The exhibition presents two main lines of Ulibin's work. Despite their external differences, they are united by a common philosophical concept. The first line is a series of paintings that show the post-historical world - the result of human activities based on the principle of reckless consumption and exploitation. These paintings are like open portals to a world freed from technological civilization, in which humanity opens up completely new development paths based on self-improvement, knowledge of one’s inner potential and harmony with the Universe. This is the time when the course of the history of mankind and its meaning are rethought. Man is the most perfect thing on Earth and the potential of human capabilities is much greater than that used in the framework of modern civilization. Any, even the most high-tech machine, is for a man only a tool - a substitute for his own undisclosed abilities. Naked human on bare earth is the main motive of the compositions. Civilization and technology no longer exist, only its remnants, in the form of strange objects, once high-tech machines rise above the surface of the earth or sea, - a pile of metal, like a defeated idol of a technogenic system. The space of heaven and sea symbolizes the infinity of the universe and freedom, the same infinite. The Earth, as a renewed space, is part of the Universe, - mysterious, but at the same time open to human knowledge and giving it inspiration. Women personify the future of humanity. They are hope and inspiration, as well as a symbol of love and beauty - the beginning for the creation of a new beautiful world based on the principle of knowledge and understanding of the infinite Universe.
The second line in his work also has a deep philosophical content. Most of the works in this series are made in the schedule - coal on paper. These are compositions that are the result of my imagination, reflection and searching for answers to the main questions. They are united by the theme of the meaning of life, knowledge of the fundamental principles of being and evolutionary development. The process of comprehending the ideas for expressing them in the form of graphic or pictorial compositions has gone far beyond the scope of fine art and has become a philosophical method for studying reality. This led to the fact that it became possible to implement my creative ideas in large multi-figured paintings. So the picture “Diaries of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse” appeared. In this picture, the Apocalypse, as an emergency intervention in the course of the evolutionary-historical process, is not the end of the world, but its beginning. The Apocalypse is a moment of spiritual and intellectual enlightenment - understanding the true mission of human, as the embodiment of the mind on earth with the goal of cognition and understanding of the infinite Universe.

Artist:
Guennadi Ulibin

Guennadi Ulibin is an artist who is originally from Russia. He has a fine arts degree from the Saint Petersberg Academy of Fine Arts. When we immerse ourselves in the style and ways of the art world it is difficult to classify the characteristics of his works and subject matter. His work is hyperrealist and we regularly find surrealist elements and objects which at times we cannot properly identify. These phantasmagorical elements appear side by side with human figures and surprise because they are painted so realistically and provoke a sense of an unreal reality within Ulibin’s compositions as they are directly captured in the place they represent. Perhaps we can view Guennadi’s work as a form of transcendental realism trying to show us people who, it seems, suddenly, for some mysterious reason, have traveled to another dimension or another world. Real people, made of flesh and blood with their own unique characters, thoughts, and feelings. Nudes on a bare landscape are the main theme in his creations. Technological civilizations no longer exist as there are only the remains of inexplicable machinery depicted as giant silhouettes, which sometimes look like ghosts protruding from the land or emerging from the sea. But the protagonist in his works is always humanity. Despite the apparent stillness emanating from the posture of his characters, one can appreciate enormous energy from within everyone. In the solitude and thoughts of his characters, the painter creates a psychological universe.

Exhibitions

2003: International festivals of modern art. Seville. Spain The international festival of modern art De Arte. Madrid. Spain Circulo Mercantil e Industrial. Seville. Spain Gallery Gema Lazcano. Madrid. Spain Exhibition devoted corrida. Exhibition at the center of the culture of cityOsuna. Spain. Exhibition Modern secrets . Gallery Clave . Spain Gallery Castello 120. Madrid. Spain Exhibition hall Osborne. Puerto de Santa Maria. Spain International Bienale of modern art. Florence. 2002: International festivals of modern art. Seville. Spain Gallery Pablo Ruiz. Malaga. Spain Gallery SanVisente 31. Seville. Spain Gallery Art Gallery Encarna Gomez. Marbella. Spain Exhibition at the center of culture of city Puebla del Rio. Spain Plaza de Armas. Seville. Spain II Bienal of modern figurative art. Gallery Clave. Murcia. Spain I competition devoted to the international day of protection environmental. Exhibition at the centre of culture of city Osuna. Spain. Hermanamiento artistico entre Sevilla y San Petersburgo. An exhibition hall at the centre of TV and radio of an announcement Andalucia. (RTVA). Seville. Spain Exhibition hall of the telecentre Canal Sur. Malaga. Spain Exhibition Tondo. Gallery Clave. Murcia. Spain Palacio de Pena Flor. Ecija. Spain The international festival of modern art. Gante. Belgium. Gallery Castello 120. Madrid. Spain 2000: Charitable exhibitions for the restoration of church Sacred Agustin. center of culture of city Osuna. Spain. 1999: Exhibitions Ballet and dance an Exhibition hall of the union of the artists. St.-Petersburg. Exhibition of degree works. An exhibition hall of Academy of arts. St.-Petersburg. 1997: Exhibition devoted to the teacher. An exhibition hall Academies of arts. St.-Petersburg. Exhibition of the students and teachers in Lenexpo. St.-Petersburg 1996: Exhibitions Northern light Chattanooga. Tennessee. USA. 1993: Exhibitions of Landscape painting. An exhibition hall of Academy arts. St.-Petersburg. .

Solo exhibitions

2003: Galleries Clave. Murcia. Gallery Pablo Ruiz. Malaga. 2001: Exhibition at the centre of culture of city . Casino Cultural de Estepa. Exhibition at the centre of culture of city Lora de Estepa. Gallery Sargadelos. Seville. Exhibition hall Plaza del Altozano. Seville. 2000: Exhibition halls CajaSur- Reyes Catolicos. Cordoba. 1999: Casino de Osuna. Palacio de Pena Flor. . 1998: Exhibition at the centre of culture of city.

Achievement

In 2003 was awarded "The premium Lorenzo Medichi on Bienale international of modern art" in Florence.

Richard Thorn - Richard Thorn SWAc – Artist & Tutor
Richard Thorn spent his early years drawing which led naturally into painting in watercolor. After pursuing a career in music (after leaving art college) he returned to painting in my chosen medium. Since that time his watercolours have gone through many changes. Appreciation of colour, tone, and composition have been my principal concerns. Light, texture and (spatial) distance are Thorn's chief interests, and these elements predominate his compositions and subject matter. For him, painting is a continuum – an exploration. But with watercolor, it is the medium that seems to be forever ahead of time.

Artist Statement
"I like to paint the soul of the scene I’m working on, depicting the essence of that which is before me. Watercolour is the master, I am the student."

Artist:
Richard Thorn

Born in Torquay, England 1952, Richard’s art began with drawing. His love of the countryside and the sea drew him to sketch and paint nature in an around his close environment. Since those early days, his paintings have been exhibited around England, Europe, and America. The Artist is principally self-taught apart from his schooling and a spell at art college after leaving school.

Biography

Thorn began painting professionally In the early 1980s. Since then he has produced many fine paintings of the commanding Devon and Cornish landscapes and coastline specializing in watercolour. Having lived for most of his life in and around Torbay he has committed the area's most picturesque coastline to paper in sublime fashion making the sun dance across the water like no other. The South West has a “quality of light” that attracts many British artists and Richard Thorn is no exception. He is drawn to the intensely bright and suffuses light, together with the many variations in the coastal and inland landscape of the area. In addition, he has enjoyed sojourn's in Spain and Venice from which he created equally emotive compositions in hot Mediterranean tones to great effect. Richard has had many exhibitions and one-man shows. His strong distinctive style and his penchant for light has made his work sought after by Galleries and Collectors throughout the country. In 1998 Richard exhibited his "Images of Portugal" at the Anglo-Portuguese Society in Belgrave Square, London. He is currently preparing a book for publication of his drawings and sketches. He has won two awards at the Royal Institute (for painters in watercolour) at the Mall Galleries in London - 2016/17 and his book - Down an English lane - was published in 2016.

Philippe Bluzot - Appearances
His paintings are unsettling due to its reality, they flirt around with photographic illusion, without actually being hyper-realist. Especially since the painter offers a mirror of our life or a life that one is determined to conceal (death, life in the street...). Ordinary or even banal scenes are gilded in a sensitive manner. The artist says "It's about re-constructing a sensitive space, where the hand's role, usage of pigments, composition, values, quest for materials are all important questions, just like investigating appearances of the world in which we are immersed. I rub against this reality and try to reveal or trigger a presence due to visual power, in order to titillate the look".

Artist:
Philippe Bluzot

Philippe Bluzot was born in 1959 in Montluçon (Allier). The artist draws inspiration from Vermeer, Chardin, Balthus or even Rothko to depict everyday life. In 1981, Philippe Bluzot made a contribution to the « Poudre d’or » association with Jérôme Mesnager, one of the first street painters. They share this passion to highlight forgotten beings. His paintings are unsettling due to its reality, they flirt around with photographic illusion, without actually being hyper-realist. Especially since the painter offers a mirror of our life or a life that one is determined to conceal (death, life in the street...). Ordinary or even banal scenes are gilded in a sensitive manner. The artist says "It's about re-constructing a sensitive space, where the hand's role, usage of pigments, composition, values, quest for materials are all important questions, just like investigating appearances of the world in which we are immersed. I rub against this reality and try to reveal or trigger a presence due to visual power, in order to titillate the look".

Antonio Finelli - Drawings
Timeless Portraits by Antonio Finelli. Timeless as the refinement of the face portraiture, near and authentic faces of the Fayoum, the elegance of the details of the Renaissance painting already affected by the Flemish and, above all the deep and inner research of the nineteenth century. Finelli, with his forceful mark, practical knowledge and wisdom, illuminates the details of the white hairs and the wrinkled epidermis but hides what he doesn’t want to show. He never gives a context, he never describes; we just catch their eye and their smiles, we feel free to see in those faces whoever we want to and to reflect ourselves in them. Flawless and penciled paintings as instantaneous and essential pictures made with a hard pictorial mark. He doesn’t copy from the past but he belongs to it, or rather he belongs to that academic practice of the past to set free from it. Observing his work, Finelli already frees himself from the past. He doesn’ t try to enter into the contemporary age, he doesn’t imitate. He just draws. Mimmo Paladino for Antonio Finelli

Themes
Antonio Finelli states: “All my drawings have always ‘Self-portrait’ as name, this choice is due to two specific reasons: firstly because even if the word “self-portrait” means the representation of your own person, in the diversity of my drawings there is always a wire that links them and represents me, like the choice of the subjects, the photographic cut, etc. and secondly, because the faces that I draw haven’t to be read by the viewer as a representation of the person drawn; in fact, in my drawings, there aren’t tracks that let identify the name, the age or the provenance of the subject, what matters is the skin and the tracks of time imprinted on it."

Artist:
Antonio Finelli

Antonio Finelli (1985) is a professional artist who splits his time between Rome and Campobasso, Italy. He creates fascinating hyperreal portraits of elderly people that talk about time and the traces it leaves in our lives and faces. Finelli's artistic education started during his Secondary High School Art project at G. Manzù in Campobasso, after that, he moved to Rome to improve his artistic talent in the Academy of Fine Arts. Notable importance for his professional education was the acquaintance and the collaboration with world famous artists : Mimmo Paladino, Enzo Cucchi, Giosetta Fioroni, Luigi Ontani, Carla Accardi, Felice Levini, Giuseppe Penone, Savinio Ruggero, Gianni Dessì, Giuseppe Gallo, Giuseppe Salvatori, Jannis Kounellis, Paola Gandolfi, Stefano Di Stasio, Piero Pizzi Cannella, Bruno Ceccobelli, Maurizio Mochetti, Andrea Aquilanti, Marilù Eustachio, Aldo Turchiaro, Alfredo Pirri...

Personal Exhibitions

2019 – “In Vultu Veritas” Marcello Barbanera curator, Museum Of Classical Art in Rome. 2018 – “Kalós” Aurelia Nicolosi curator, KōArt Unconventional Place Gallery in Catania. – “The Passage of Time” Maria Laura Perilli Curator,Triphè Gallery in Rome. 2017 – “Ecce Homo” Vittorio Sgarbi Curator, Atelier Marcello Tommasi in Florence. – “BocsART”(Artist House), Alberto Dambruoso curator, Cosenza. 2016 – “Pelle” Vittorio Sgarbi and Lorenzo Canova curators, Spazio Cent8anta in Isernia. 2015 – “L’Illusione del Corpo” Lorenzo Canova and Piernicola Maria Di Iorio curators, Aratro Gallery – Archive of Electronic Arts – Laboratory for Contemporary Art in Campobasso. 2014 – “Rendez-vous” Alessandra Tontini curator, Incontro d’Arte Gallery in Rome – “De Senectute” Maria Laura Perilli curator, Triphè Gallery in Cortona (AR). 2013 – “Antonio Finelli: l’Osservatore del Tempo” Franco Fonzo and Roberta Gubitosi curators, introduced by Mimmo Paladino, Web Art Gallery in Treviso. – “Se non la Realtà” curated by “TerraNullius”, Aranciera di San Sisto in Rome. 2012 – “De Passage” (Artist House), introduced by Mimmo Paladino, Abbaye de Léhon in Dinan (France). 2009 – “Studi Accademici” Rosanna Ricci curator, Sadurano Salus Gallery in Castrocaro Terme (FC). 2006 – “Studi Accademici”, Maschio Angioino in Riccia (CB).

Collective Exhibitions

2019 – “Speculum”, Urano Space in Rome. – “XLVI Premio Sulmona”, Polo Museale Civico Diocesano in Sulmona (AQ). – “Open Cluster”, Studio D’Arte Pisani in Rome. 2018 – “La Società della Stanchezza – Dispositio ex Clausione Linearum” (Artist House), Museo Diocesano San Matteo in Salerno. 2017 – “Five”, Catania Art Gallery in Catania. – “Ricognizioni”, BoCs Art Museum / Complesso Monumentale di San Domenico in Cosenza. 2016 – “Anamorfosi”, Galleria Civica d’Arte Contemporanea Montevergini in Siracusa. – “Pio Alferano Award” (Award of the President of the Jury Vittorio Sgarbi), Castello dell’ Abate in Castellabate (SA). 2015 – EXPO 2015 “Il Tesoro d’Italia”, Eataly Pavilion (expo area), Milano. – “48° Vasto Award”, Stables of Palace Aragona in Vasto (CH). – “Expo Arte Contemporanea Italiana”, Villa Bagatti Valsecchi in Varedo (MB). 2014 – “Reale” Bruno D’Arcevia – Antonio Finelli – Paul Kostabi, Kunsthaus Sottecchi in Messina. 2013 – “Biennale Internazionale d’Arte Di Palermo”, Malfitano Whitaker Palace in Palermo. – “ArtePerOGGI 2013 Award”, Dioscuri Theatre, Rome – Quirinale. – “Revelations in Reality”, 287 Spring Gallery in New York. – “6 + 1”, Incontro d’Arte Gallery in Rome. – “Art Fair Miami Beach”, Miami Beach U.S.A. – “Ritratti d’Autore”, Stelline Foundation in Milano. 2012 – ” ArtePerOGGI 2012 Award” (First classified), Dioscuri Theatre, Rome – Quirinale. – “The ways of art”, Crisolart Gallery in NEW YORK. – “Arte in Fiera Dolomiti Aword” (First classified), Longarone Fairs in Longarone (BL). – “Il Ritratto: Apparenza ed Enigma”, 11 Dreams Art Gallery in Tortona (AL). – “Muri, Metamorfosi e Dintorni”, Laboratory Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome. 2011 – “ArtePerOGGI 2011 Award” (Second classified), Dioscuri Theatre, Rome – Quirinale. – “Arteria 2011” Valle Theatre in Chiaravalle (AN). 2010 – “Caravaggio Ombre e Mistero”, O.A.D. Gallery in Rome. – “Saturaprize” (First Classified), Stella Palace in Genova. – “10° Concorso Nazionale di Pittura e Scultura” (Third

Johnson Tsang - Ceramic Art
Born in Hong Kong in 1960, artist Johnson Tsang employs realist sculptural techniques accompanied by his incredible surrealist imagination. Tsang pushes the boundaries of the viewer’s imagination. In Tsang’s magical realism, he is able to see each object with a new soul and function and does not rest until he has finally extracted it. After being familiar with the world as it is seen through Tsang’s eyes, we step into a new creative hemisphere, he adds a sort of beauty and an unforgettable meaning to everyday objects, constantly reinvented in his anthropomorphic sculptures. He takes them to a whole new existential level in a surreal, fantastic and magical manner, one that invites us to dream. Tsang’s porcelains are provocative, they challenge us and they have an irreverent stance. His sculptures convey this sensation in which they seem to be able to shape themselves and the metamorphic and anthropomorphic character is yet again displayed with full intensity in which the energy and movement are almost always present. They make us step into their inner and sensorial world, takes us to their passiveness and inner silence. A frequent feeling of pain, oppression or being crushed is also evident. In the series of babies Tsang depicts a playful world that is intensively fun and cartoonish, in which the babies’ big faces underline their traits and emotions. The babies show an evident disbelief towards the world and the beings around them, as if they aren’t able to see themselves abiding by this world’s laws. Creativity never ends, Tsang has a surrealist imagination which never becomes complacent, developing instead new techniques which give us innovative and unexpected approaches at all times.

Artist:
Johnson Tsang

Ceramic Art

Born in Hong Kong in 1960, artist Johnson Tsang employs realist sculptural techniques accompanied by his incredible surrealist imagination. Tsang pushes the boundaries of the viewer’s imagination. In Tsang’s magical realism, he is able to see each object with a new soul and function and does not rest until he has finally extracted it. After being familiar with the world as it is seen through Tsang’s eyes, we step into a new creative hemisphere, he adds a sort of beauty and an unforgettable meaning to everyday objects, constantly reinvented in his anthropomorphic sculptures. He takes them to a whole new existential level in a surreal, fantastic and magical manner, one that invites us to dream. Tsang’s porcelains are provocative, they challenge us and they have an irreverent stance. His sculptures convey this sensation in which they seem to be able to shape themselves and the metamorphic and anthropomorphic character is yet again displayed with full intensity in which the energy and movement are almost always present. They make us step into their inner and sensorial world, takes us to their passiveness and inner silence. A frequent feeling of pain, oppression or being crushed is also evident. In the series of babies Tsang depicts a playful world that is intensively fun and cartoonish, in which the babies’ big faces underline their traits and emotions. The babies show an evident disbelief towards the world and the beings around them, as if they aren’t able to see themselves abiding by this world’s laws. Creativity never ends, Tsang has a surrealist imagination which never becomes complacent, developing instead new techniques which give us innovative and unexpected approaches at all times.