Sloane Merrill Gallery and the Boston Figurative Art Center (BFAC) announce their first collaboration in the form of a themed group exhibition titled 'Back to Back' opening Friday, April 12th at 75 Charles Street, Boston.
Below is the call to artists to submit for the juried portion of the exhibition.
Please feel free to contact Sloane Merrill Gallery with any questions at 617.227.1775 or by email at info@sloanemerrillgallery.com
Julia -- all finished!
Her skin is flawless, her lips are full, her hair encompasses several shades, and her eyes are beautifully piercing. And her buttons! Scott painted the pearls with the perfect sheen and opalescence.
Julia came together beautifully -- bravo to Scott! For more information on Scott, take a browse through his website: http://www.bartner.nl.
For any portrait commission inquiries, please contact the gallery directly: info@sloanemerrillgallery.com.
Today, we decided to go outside the gallery for our frames. This week, we had the pleasure of playing host to new gallery artist -- Daniele Cestari! Daniele is from Ferrara, Italy but is currently in the midst of spending two months in the United States. It is always fun to explore your city with someone who has never been there. We took him to some of our favorite places -- along with discovering new favorites!
All this fun took us on a Wednesday night visit to the MFA. Though we were only there for a few hours, we all loved walking around and seeing some of our favorite pieces! While there are hundreds of frames we could have chosen -- from simple to elaborate -- we chose to feature a frame in a frame. These beautiful frames can be found on Level 1 in Room 137 -- 18th Century Furniture: Design & Construction.
The shadows that are cast below each frame are just as elegant at the frames themselves.
Thank you to Daniele for a wonderful week -- and a reminder to everyone to visit their local art museum once a month!
Next step -- the first layers of color! You can see the flesh tones bringing life to Julia's face, especially with the subtle rosiness to her cheeks. Scott is a master of contrast and shadow, however slight, allowing her nose and chin to become much more dimensional. Our favorite element of Scott's work is easily the draw of his eyes! He creates figures with captivating eyes that bring the viewer right to the sitter or model.
Check back next week for Scott's progress on Julia! For any portrait commission inquiries, please contact the gallery directly: info@sloanemerrillgallery.com.
Happy Friday! After three weeks of featuring detailed frames, this week we are going simple. Sometimes simple and modern work better depending on the painting. This recently arrived piece from Joshua Flint is titled 'Perfect Temerature'. Appropriately named as our weather has been all over the place this week!
The flat black frame allows Josh's gorgeous color palette to stand out. Views of the inner and outer corners allow you to see the depth of the frame. The clean lines of the frame also work to complement the drip affect on the painting, the more organic shape of the figures, and the structured lines of the architecture.
Stop by to see Josh's piece in person and be sure to check out his great blog!
The artist's process: exciting, agonizing, exhausting, and fulfilling.
Over the next couple of weeks, we'll be showing you an exclusive look at how Netherlands-based portrait painter Scott Bartner constructs one of his astonishing pieces. Meet Julia, she's currently an underpainting or grisaille.
We love seeing the inner workings of Scott's process and know you will as well!
Next image soon enough...
This beautiful painting and quaint frame come to us from Jussi Poyhonen. Jussi, originally from Finland, spent some time with studying with Odd Nerdrum as well as studying at the Florence Academy of Art and the University of Art and Design in Helsinki, for a number of years before moving to Florida. He has recently returned to Florence in order to teach at the Academy.
This picture shows a bit of the profile of the frame, with the scoop. It's such a detailed frame for the size of the piece. The gilding is beautifully burnished with a crimson finish.
One of the best details on the frame is this metal hanger. Most frames from Florence come with this for hanging, instead of being wired. It creates a nice accent.
Keep an eye out for some more beautiful frames from Jussi. He recently sent us four landscapes that were painted and framed in Florence. Jussi says that many of the Florentine framers still do the gilding themselves.
It's Friday again! This week we are happy to feature a frame, and painting, by Carlo Russo. Carlo is another one of our artists who makes his own frames. Having been to his studio, and seen him working through this frame, we know how much he thinks about the color, profile, and finish on his frames.
Carlo did an amazing job with the gold leaf detail. The gold picks up on the browns and tans of the painting, playing off her skin tone perfectly. The frame looks classic, even though it was only made a few months ago.
If you haven't seen this painting or frame in person, be sure to stop by the gallery soon! It's hanging in a prime spot behind the nook desk!
For seven Wednesdays, starting February 6, 2013, Ali will be orchestrating a lecture series through Beacon Hill Seminars. To quote the Beacon Hill Seminars website, this is a great organization composed of people
“who have a vigorous interest in continuing their intellectual growth. It is dedicated to a concept of learning with and from peers. Members of Beacon Hill Seminars create, participate in, or lead a diverse group of courses designed to follow a seminar format of small group discussions and learning.”
Here's the rundown on the course:
Aristotle used three terms to delve into the meaning of representation: object, manner, and means. Applying these terms to the twenty-first century painter, one might have a vibrant, pulsating city as the object, the desire to capture this vantage in a distinctive realist style as the manner, and a fresh palette of Winsor and Newton oils as the means. Through representational painting, the artist conjures the electricity and power of a city.
In seven sessions we will share our visual experiences with representational paintings, discuss the current reengagement with realism taking place in the art world, and hear from experts whose passions range from the techniques of the Dutch Masters to the camera obscura and from John Singer Sargent to the use of the iPhone 5 in capturing images for painting.
Expect several prominent guest lecturers and at least one excursion as the seminar advances. Open minds and spirited conversationalists desired.
James Welu, Director Emeritus of the Worcester Art Museum, has the unique perspective of someone who trained as a studio artist before entering the world of art history and eventually specializing in seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish art. With many con-temporary representational painters focusing on the aesthetics and skills of the Dutch Masters, Jim will share his knowledge of the period and its immortal marks on the production of art.
David Lowrey, Fenway Studios artist, preserves the tradition of Boston’s finest realists – Benson, Paxton and Tarbell – through traditional painting. David has built working models for the camera obscura, which he employs in his creative process and we will experience during his guest lecture focused on the enduring techniques of artists past.
Joseph McGurl, a graduate of the Massachusetts College of Art, has been referred to as one of the acknowledged leaders in the current American landscape school. Joseph's paintings are often seen in relationship to the great 19th century luminist painters but with a thoroughly modern approach to style and subject. For him, the process, rather than the product is the most important part of a painting. Rather than relying on photography, this method gives him the freedom to create paintings based on his imagination, memory, and his sketches.
Gregory Prestegord, a graduate of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and youngest artist featured at Sloane Merrill Gallery, will discuss his desire to paint real visual experiences and his elaborate use of the iPhone camera as a tool. Be prepared for a studio demonstration in the gallery.
Ali Ringenburg has a strong commitment to the tradition of representational work and the artistic profession. Before opening her gallery, she worked with Nashville-based interdisciplinary artist Adrienne Outlaw, at the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Contemporary Arts Center, and most recently was the director at Principle Gallery in Alexandria, Virginia. She holds a BA in art and art history and English literature from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.
For more information on how to get involved with Beacon Hill Seminars, please visit their website. Seminars are open to all Beacon Hill Seminars members. Registration closes Wednesday, January 16th. We are so looking forward to hosting the seminar!
We are happy to be starting our weekly blog post called Framed Friday! Every Friday, we will be featuring our favorite frame from the week. Sometimes they will be on pieces we have in the gallery and sometimes they will be from places we have visited.
This week we'd like to show you this beautiful frame (and painting) by Justin Hess. Justin makes all his own frames so that each frame is its own work of art to compliment each painting.
Justin goes in to depth about how in make frames in his book Controlling the Creative Process: A Painter's Guide to Methods & Materials. He talks about coloring frames, adding gold leaf, and creating a texture. Please feel free to stop by the gallery to take a look through Justin's book, which talks about more than just framing or purchase a copy for yourself here.
