NYC watercolor paintings - Brosen - FineArtConnoisseur.com
Frederick Brosen (b. 1954), “Delancey Street,” 2019, watercolor over graphite on paper, 11 1/2 x 9 1/4 in.

“Frederick Brosen: Recent Watercolor Paintings” will be on view at Hirschl & Adler Galleries (New York) February 6 through March 6, 2020.

More from the gallery:

From the Upper West Side to SOHO and out to Coney Island, Frederick Brosen paints the honest and overlooked splendor of New York City’s rainy street corners and gritty façades. Fourteen watercolor paintings, ranging in scale from 10 x 9 inches to 45 x 32 inches, celebrate the city that has served as the artist’s career-long muse and lifelong home. These paintings offer quiet moments of reflection amidst the bustle of NYC, and their skilled-handling demonstrates that Brosen is a true master of watercolor.

NYC watercolor paintings - Brosen - FineArtConnoisseur.com
Frederick Brosen, “Grand Street and Broadway,” 2019, watercolor over graphite on paper, 45 1/4 x 32 in.

As a native New Yorker, Brosen is not seduced by tourist-trap vistas. His keen eye finds the cracks in the skyline that open to urban expanses unconsidered by most, such as the blues and pinks of passing clouds heightened in their intensity by the heaviness of a high-rise and the solidness of a street corner, as in “West 74th Street.” Brosen carries his ability to balance such pictorial dichotomies into his scenes of Coney Island, but with the added challenge of the park’s spectacle.

NYC watercolor paintings - Brosen - FineArtConnoisseur.com
Frederick Brosen, “West 74th Street,” 2019, watercolor over graphite on paper, 35 x 23 1/2 in.

“Jones Walk, Coney Island” shows the artist looking past the vendors’ stalls, the ironwork, the signage and neon lights (painted with a vibrancy rarely, if ever, seen in watercolor) to capture the softly dying light of the day, its delicateness belied by the visual noise of street level. Brosen finds that quietness, and the resulting painting lets the viewer in on it as well. Ultimately, Brosen’s watercolors give the viewer that rare moment in New York City when one can stop, look around, and feel as if they alone are enjoying this moment.

NYC watercolor paintings - Brosen - FineArtConnoisseur.com
Frederick Brosen, “Jones Walk, Coney Island,” 2019, watercolor over graphite on paper, 19 x 12 1/2 in.
NYC watercolor paintings - Brosen - FineArtConnoisseur.com
Frederick Brosen, “Broome Street,” 2019, watercolor over graphite on paper, 19 x 13 in.

“Frederick Brosen: Recent Watercolor Paintings” opens at Hirschl & Adler Modern on Thursday, February 6, and runs through Friday, March 6, 2020. Located on the 9th floor of the Fuller Building, at the corner of 57th Street and Madison Avenue, Hirschl & Adler Modern is open Monday through Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.


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