Abstract by Design
dal 8/4/2003 al 7/5/2003
Segnalato da
8/4/2003
Abstract by Design
Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art, New York
Paintings in oil by Robinson Murray, a New England landscape and abstract painter active in the 1960s and 1970s, paired with Nyack-based painter John Costa Rosis, who created a new body of abstract landscapes on glass.
Featuring Robinson Murray: Paintings from the Estate
and John Costa Rosis: New Paintings on Glass
New York, NY - Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art (PSCA) announces the opening of a
new exhibit entitled, ABSTRACT BY DESIGN, featuring paintings in oil by Robinson
Murray, a New England landscape and abstract painter active in the 1960s and
1970s, paired with Nyack-based painter John Costa Rosis, who created a new body
of abstract landscapes on glass.
Murray was a graphic designer and art director in his professional life,
however, when he retired, his hobby of painting became a consuming passion. In
a period of approximately 25 years, he created lush, colorful oil paintings
influenced by his surroundings in Duxbury, Massachusetts. In this time of
fervent activity, he produced more than 250 paintings. Approximately half of
these works remain in the estate, which is represented exclusively by PSCA. In
viewing Murray's creative output, one sees the major trends of the artworld of
his time executed in his own inimicable style. The estate represents an
enormously valuable and rare opportunity to revisit painting from this pivital
and turbulent moment in the history of contemporary painting with a breadth and
depth that is truly remarkable.
John Costa Rosis departs from the collaged works presented earlier in the
gallery to focus on a new body of paintings on glass that are influenced by the
charming and historic landscape in and around Nyack on the Hudson River. The
recent work features reverse painting on glass and related paintings on canvas.
The series further explores Rosis' involvement with abstract composition,
painterly brushwork, and structure. These aspects are combined with abundant
color found in nature including exotic blossoms and earth colors. The
compositions and titles evoke forms and natural phenomena such as ridges,
fields, and open sky.
Reverse painting on glass is the opposite of painting on canvas, which is an
additive process. When painting on glass the first brushstrokes applied are the
first viewed on the other side. Color and form lie behind the surface of the
glass. The smooth surface of the glass holds the gestural handling of the paint
in dynamic tension as if the moving forms are suspended in time. Each glass
sheet floats in a specially designed frame which allows the edges of the glass
to be visible.
Opening April 9, 6 - 9 PM, thru May 7.
Following this exhibit, PSCA will present Katy Martin: Flesh, Paint, and
Plaster, opening May 14, 6 - 9 PM.
TIME 6 - 9 PM
ADMISSION Free
RSVP 646 613 1252
The gallery is open on Wednesday through Saturday from Noon to 6 PM, and by
appointment.
paul sharpe contemporary art
PSCA is founded on the premise that the artist comes first and is the raison
d'être of the art world. The role of the gallerist is to nurture creative
accomplishment and to cultivate the collectors and curators who can sustain the
artists. The artists represented are those whose work one would wish to collect
and to enjoy, while helping to support their careers. PSCA is led by Paul
Sharpe, formerly of the Whitney Museum of American Art. The space itself is
meant to encourage a dialogue in issues in art today and as such is designed as
a salon rather than a white box. The color scheme is blue, camel, and white and
it is inspired by a Justin Knowles painting of the mid 1960s. The concept is to
create a space where artist and art lovers can congregate and appreciate fine
contemporary art.
images from the exhibit "abstract by design"
Image: Robinson Murray Blue Haze, 1968, Oil on Canvas,
48 x 36 inches
Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art
86 Walker Street Floor Six New York NY 10013
(Walker is one block below Canal Street, between Broadway and Lafayette)
646 613 1252