The Armory Show

Last March I went to the Armory Show on Piers 92 and 94.  This is a yearly event, bringing modern and contemporary art from all over the world to NYC.  It is hosted in a couple large warehouses, which get very crowded, with lines of people waiting to get on the stairs that connected the different show rooms, or even to use the restrooms.  I did not like the atmosphere of the show, I remember it was hot, and difficult to walk around.  Some of the art work was interesting, some installations and computer animations drew my attention.  Other pieces were too out there for me, such as money hanging out to dry.  I'm going to post a few pics to give you a better idea of the place and the art work found there.

 

Jacob Collins at Adelson Galleries

I met Jacob Collins a year ago at his studio.  He was working on a portrait, and the model (a black man) was posing just as I got there.  How excited I was to find that same painting, now finished, in Jacob Collin's latest show at the Adelson Galleries! 

The gallery is located near the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Uptown Manhattan.  This is an elegant area and so is the gallery.  In addition, Jacob Collins's art made the place even more beautiful!

 On display I saw about 30 pieces, mostly paintings, but also a few drawings.  In general the paintings were medium size, with the exception of two large female nudes in oil.  Those were the most expensive pieces also (in the vicinity of one hundred thousand dollars), but in my opinion it was due to the size, because as far as the artistry I preferred other pieces more. 

As I am now painting still lifes, I was immediately drawn to his.  I loved the elegant compositions, the transparency of shadows and of backgrounds, and how he's captured so well the texture of the objects (glass, bread, cheese, and an amazing tablecloth).

 His portraits were also incredibly beautiful, in technique as well as expression.  The models in his paintings seem alive!  Again, he integrates really transparent shadows (the toned canvas many times shows through) with opaque lights.  He balances many contrasts in very subtle ways, like soft and hard edges, warm and cool colors, highly finished and barely sketched areas.

 Finally, a few landscape paintings were on display, and some really surprised me.  A number of sunsets were borderline abstract paintings.  I did not expect this from such a traditionalist as Jacob Collins, but I enjoyed the paintings, and I realized that all artists experiment with new ideas and techniques.  Here are a couple more pictures from the show.

My visit to Arcadia Gallery in Soho

In the beginning of August I went to check out Arcadia Gallery in Soho, Manhattan.   I was mostly interested in viewing Rob Liberace's work, and I was not disappointed.   I've come across his art work in a number of magazines, and immediately I've been intrigued and awed by his figure drawings.  To my surprise, the one drawing of his in the gallery is very large, almost life size.  It is made in black charcoal, with touches of sanguine, and white chalk.  Liberace's piece is beautifully executed, with an astonishing attention to anatomical detail and careful rendering of the human forms. Loose contours and broken lines are balancing the detailed modeling giving a sense of motion to the whole piece and a contemporary "look".  I would also like to mention that the paper is primed and toned by the artist, and drippings are still visible once again making it feel contemporary and unique.  Finally, the overall gesture, and energy of the drawing, plus the size make this a piece that grabbed my attention right away, and did not let go.

Arcadia also has one of Rob Liberace's oil paintings on display, a piece that I also enjoyed, and I am adding here for you to view.