The figure takes center stage as a range of artists  — each with his or her own style and medium  — participate in a tantalizing group exhibition.
 

Julia Levitina, “Spring,” bronze, 14 1/2 x 6 1/2 x 3 1/2 in. Axelle Fine Arts Galerie

 

Julia Levitina, “Caryatid,” bronze, 32 x 6 1/2 x 8 in. Axelle Fine Arts Galerie

 
Ukrainian sculptor Julia Levitina is introduced as the newest addition to the Axelle Fine Arts Galerie roster of artists during its annual “Summer Group Show” in New York City. Her piece titled “Old Man & Sea” has a physiognomic attention and expressive modeling that would leave Auguste Rodin smiling. There is a sense of bodily discovery  — what the artist terms “insight”  — also evident in works such as “Spring” and “Caryatid,” which have a classical simplicity of pose. Particularly attractive is Levitina’s range of technique, from the irregular, expressive surface of “Heraclitus” to the smoothed, polished finish of “Spring.”
 

Julia Levitina, “Heraclitus,” bronze, 18 x 7 x 5 in. Axelle Fine Arts Galerie

 

Ric Roux-Fontaine, “Souvenir de l’inconnu,” mixed media on canvas, 26 1/4 x 31 1/2 in.
Axelle Fine Arts Galerie

The classical features of Levitina’s sculptures are counterbalanced by the paintings of Ric Roux-Fontaine. Pictures such as “Souvenir de l’inconnu,” a mixed media painting displaying a flaming giraffe walking on a moon-like surface, and “Goya’s Dream,” have a surrealist element that adds a bit of fun and playfulness to the show. The range of work continues within the gorgeous naturalistic landscapes of Frenchman Benoît Trimborn.  While the figure is absent in much of Trimborn’s art, the presence of humanity is often implicit. In “Chemin au colza,” the viewer stands on the edge of a long dirt road that slices through a well-groomed field of yellow flowers. The perspective and scale have been imagined so that the road encompasses most of the canvas. Similarly, we are drawn into the composition by a man-made canal in “Canal dans le brouillard,” a quiet scene that plays with our perception of rhythm as the pattern of trees recedes into the distance.
 

Ric Roux-Fontaine, “Goya’s Dream,” mixed media on canvas, 47 1/4 x 55 in. Axelle Fine Arts Galerie

 

Benoît Trimborn, “Chemin au colza,” oil on canvas, 45 x 68 in. Axelle Fine Arts Galerie

 

Benoît Trimborn, “Canal dans le brouillard,” oil on canvas, 30 x 79 in. Axelle Fine Arts Galerie

Other artists featured in the show include Albert Hadjiganev, Quentin Garel, Patrick Pietropoli, Beth Carter, and Goxwa.

“Summer Group Show” opened on July 1 and will be on view until September 13.

To learn more, visit Axelle Fine Arts Galerie.

This article was featured in Fine Art Today, a weekly e-newsletter from Fine Art Connoisseur magazine. To start receiving Fine Art Today for free, click here.

 


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Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster is the former Editor of Fine Art Today and worked as an editorial and creative marketing assistant for Streamline Publishing. Andrew graduated from The University of North Carolina at Asheville with a B.A. in Art History and Ceramics. He then moved on to the University of Oregon, where he completed an M.A. in Art History. Studying under scholar Kathleen Nicholson, he completed a thesis project that investigated the peculiar practice of embedded self-portraiture within Christian imagery during the 15th and early 16th centuries in Italy.

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