Featured Artwork: Mary Bentz Gilkerson

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November 30, 2018

Clearing After Storms
5 x 7 in.
Oil
$325

Using the ever-changing color and light of a impression, the artistry of Mary Bentz Gilkerson’s paintings connect people to the experience of place.

“Almost daily for the last five years I’ve made a small painting inspired by the landscapes I travel through, mainly near the roads and highways around Columbia, SC, especially Lower Richland,” says Gilkerson.

Mary is drawn to the ordinary spaces we move through, especially ones that are within view from the road.

“In a roadside view I find a strange intersection of nature and culture. We move so fast that we don’t take time to observe the world around us in the way that people did before modern transportation and technology came along. In my work, I seek to focus on the shifting patterns of light and color that tell us what time of day and season it is, to note the small and subtle, as well as the large and grand.”

Gilkerson holds an MFA in drawing and painting from the University of South Carolina. A native South Carolinian, she lives and works in her Columbia studio after retiring as a professor of art at Columbia College. She has received grants from the South Carolina Arts Commission and the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties in addition to having been selected as a Southern Arts Federation Fellowship Finalist. Her work is in the permanent collections of McKissick Museum, Palmetto Health, Morris Communications Company, and Seibels Bruce Group, among others.

See more of Gilkerson’s work and join her email list at https://marygilkerson.com.
Also view Gilkerson’s work at if ART Gallery in Columbia, SC and online at http://ifartgallery.blogspot.com/.

Join Gilkerson’s free community for artists at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtWorkLiving/.

Coming Soon: Young Guns Art Show and Cocktail Party

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Fine Art Today

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November 30, 2018

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Upcoming Fine Art Show > The Young Guns of the Coors Western Art Exhibit & Sale is led by a group of young, vibrant individuals whose interests merge among art, education, and philanthropy. Originating in 2013, the Young Guns gather each year for an art show and cocktail party where they have the rare opportunity to engage with artists and have a chance to purchase many art pieces for their own use and collection.

Exciting changes to the art show this year! In addition to the art exhibit, the Young Guns Reception will have live music, old-time photo booth, and silent auction items. In attendance will be the curator, many artists, and the oversight committee members for the Young Guns. Proceeds from the event help support the National Western Scholarship Trust.

Young Guns of the Coors Western Art Show — Young Guns supporters at the art show

“Young Guns” is for 20- and 30-somethings.
$45 per person. Tickets for the art show are sold through Eventbrite.
Event date: Thursday, December 13, 2018
Event location: National Western Complex Expo Hall, Denver, Colorado

For more details, please click here.

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Throwback Thursday Art of the Week: The Patron Saints of Austria

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Fine Art Today

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November 29, 2018

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Drawing by Albrecht Dürer — Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528), "The Patron Saints of Austria," woodcut, 8 15/16 × 15 11/16 in.; Rogers Fund, 1922

In this new weekly “throwback Thursday” series from Fine Art Connoisseur, take a look at an important artist or historic artwork.

This week’s feature is a woodcut titled “The Patron Saints of Austria,” (above) by Albrecht Dürer.

Click here for additional articles related to Albrecht Dürer.

Hazards May Be Present: The Ongoing Impact of One Event

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Fine Art Today

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November 29, 2018

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Joel Daniel Phillips - FineArtConnoisseur.com — “A Tidal Wave Two Miles High,” charcoal and graphite on paper; 41 x 60.5 in.

“Hazards May Be Present” centers around a large-scale video installation, comprised of 21 hand-drawn frames that form a looping animation of the 1946 nuclear test that eventually caused the irradiation of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The video can be viewed here, complete with an original composition by L.A.–based film composer Rafael Leloup.

Through the lens of re-examined historical documentation, the exhibition explores the history surrounding the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, and how one event forever shaped the physical and social fabric of the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.

“Each of the drawings comes directly from an actual, recorded moment, and together they create a sense of dislocation — are the images truthful? A dream? It is this tension between imagination and reality, actual past and imagined apocalypse, that I wish to explore,” Phillips says. “This is a history that should have been burned into our collective cultural psyche, and yet our social ambivalence and amnesia are such that many are unaware of these events entirely.”

As a counterpoint to the historical images, the show is balanced by a series of contemporary still lifes, testaments to the ongoing impact of one event on the substrate of an entire neighborhood.

In addition to the debut of this new body of work, the exhibition reception will also be the release of Phillips’s brand-new monograph, “No Regrets in Life.”

“Hazards May Be Present” is on view through December 22, 2018, at Hashimoto Contemporary (San Francisco, CA).

Upcoming: “The Future Was Now,” , January–April 2019 at Philbrook Museum of Art (Tulsa, OK).

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Original Plaza Hotel Portrait of Eloise on Auction

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Fine Art Today

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November 28, 2018

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Portrait of Eloise - Art Auctions - FineArtConnoisseur.com — Hilary Knight's original Plaza Hotel portrait of Eloise. Tempera on board. Estimate: $100,000-150,000

On December 5, Bonhams Fine Books and Manuscripts art auction and sale includes The World of Hilary Knight featuring his original Plaza Hotel portrait of Eloise, (estimate: $100,000-150,000), a portrait that captures the irrepressible spirit of one of the most influential children’s book characters in history.

Toting a history as lively as its inspiration, this portrait was painted as a birthday gift by Hilary Knight for Eloise co-creator Kay Thompson in 1956, on the eve of Kay’s appearance on Edward R. Murrow’s Person to Person on CBS, where she proudly displayed the painting to guest host Jerry Lewis. Shortly thereafter, she loaned the work to the Plaza Hotel where it hung ceremoniously in the lobby as an homage to their most famous (imaginary) resident.

However, on the night of a Junior League Ball at the Plaza, November 1960, it disappeared. As Mr. Knight tells the story, “Kay called me, ‘Drunken debutantes did it!’ And soon it was all over the news, in the columns, and Walter Cronkite confirmed it on the evening news.”

The famed portrait of Eloise had been stolen. Despite the press and the hubbub, the portrait failed to reappear. Some years later, Mr. Knight received a call: “The painting had been found in a dumpster, frameless.”

Once identified as the missing artwork, it was returned to Mr. Knight, who had already replaced the Plaza portrait with a new one: an oil painting that still hangs there today. Mr. Knight rolled up the original and put it in his closet, forgetting about it for the next 50 years, until it was revived for an Eloise exhibition at the New York Historical Society 2017. It is now being offered at auction for the first time.

Additional highlights from collection includes:

Art auctions — Archive of Original Art for an unrealized Hilary Knight Collaboration with Truman Capote, Can A Pig Fly?
Capote, Truman. 1924-1984. Knight, Hilary, illus. $4,000-6,000

Hilary Knight art auction — Nearly Complete Book Art By Hilary Knight For His Cinderella. $5,000-8,000

For more information and a full list of forthcoming auctions, please visit bonhams.com.

Featured Artwork: Christopher Best presented by South Street Art Gallery

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Fine Art Today

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November 26, 2018

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Warm and Cool
8 x 10 in.
Oil
$425
Available at South Street Art Gallery, Easton, MD

Christopher Best is an American artist, painting mostly outdoors or in “plein air.” He finds the moods of nature, seen through the quality of light, to be his main inspiration.

“Christopher paints endearing scenes from around southern Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay. His vignettes are rendered with thickly applied, bold brush strokes and his palette is unique. He is an up and coming young artist who should be on everyone’s watch list!” says Alan Brock, owner of South Street Art Gallery in Easton, Maryland.

After studying at the Savannah College of Art and Design he returned to Maryland where he studied with an established outdoor painter. These years were very formative in the way that he was introduced to the language of the landscape, and instilled a deep appreciation for the outdoors. Christopher often paints the same places over and over in order to get to know a scene and obtain a window into a specific feeling: “It’s a sort of conversation with the scene. My reason for engaging in that conversation is to convey to the viewer the importance of taking time to look at our environment, to let it press into our minds a sense of order, and beauty, giving us the platform to better understand and express ourselves.” He finds the challenge of making a painting under a time constraint outdoors to be a draw rather than an inconvenience. “It forces me to make quick decisions and develop a sort of innate confidence that relies on informed intuition. “

He resides in Crownsville, Maryland, with his wife, fellow artist and silversmith Karin.

View more of Christopher’s painting and follow South Street Art Gallery on Facebook and Instagram.

South Street Art Gallery is the destination for an unending journey of discovering artwork by internationally recognized gallery artists, as well as guest artists. Visit often to see new works in a variety of mediums and an expansive range of scale.

2018 Native Art Market — DC and NYC

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Fine Art Today

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November 26, 2018

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Contemporary and Traditional Indigenous Artworks From Across the Americas Will Be Featured at the 2018 Native Art Market

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian will host its annual Native Art Market December 1–2, in Washington DC, featuring works from 35 Native artists. The two-day event offers a unique opportunity for visitors to purchase traditional and contemporary artworks — including silver and semiprecious jewelry, ceramics, fine apparel, handwoven baskets, traditional beadwork, dolls, paintings, prints, and sculpture — by some of the finest Native American artists from across the hemisphere.

During the museum’s 13th annual Native Art Market in Washington, art lovers and the community can learn about Native arts and cultures. This year features emerging, innovative, multi-talented and critically acclaimed artists representing more than 30 Indigenous nations.

The Roanoke Museum Store will also be open as usual, offering Native American items illustrating how different artists interpret cultural traditions and art forms. On the museum’s second level, the store features jewelry, textiles, and other works by Native artisans; souvenirs; and children’s books and toys. The name “Roanoke” reflects the importance of waterways to Native commerce and alludes to the shells once used as currency by local Native peoples.

For more information about the 2018 Native Art Market, please click here.

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Museum Receives Significant Donations and Expands with New Gallery

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Fine Art Today

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November 25, 2018

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The Briscoe Western Art Museum (San Antonio, TX) recently announced recent significant gifts it has received from several donors, including the Jack and Valerie Guenther Foundation, Judy and Warren Knowlton, and Debbie and John Montford.

“The Briscoe Museum is deeply grateful for these generous gifts,” said Liz Jackson, vice president of the Briscoe Western Art Museum. “Our collection is rapidly growing due to the many donations of Western American art and artifacts we have received over the past year.”

Due to the bounteous contributions from donors, the Briscoe Museum has opened a new gallery on its first floor. Fittingly dubbed “The New Works Gallery,” the space will feature a rotating display of the museum’s newest acquisitions. Benevolent contributions to the museum from donors and patrons range from fine paintings and bronze sculptures to an extensive antique spur collection.

Notable museum donations over the past year include “The Conqueror” by George Carlson (shown above), bestowed by the Jack and Valerie Guenther Foundation, “The Healer” (2017, bronze) by John Coleman, a museum purchase made possible by Judy and Warren Knowlton, and “Fandango” by an unknown artist (shown below), purchased with funds provided by Tyneil and F. A. Northcott McFaddin II, Warren and Judy Knowlton, The Plum Foundation – Debbie and John T. Montford, Mr. and Mrs. McLean Bowman, and the Muriel F. Siebert Foundation – Jane Macon.

Additionally, new works will be added to the McNutt Sculpture Garden, which currently houses a substantial collection of Western-influenced bronze sculptures.

Another significant donation supplied to the museum by Debbie and John Montford, active Briscoe Western Art Museum board members and donors, highlights the collectors’ impressive spur collection, consisting of more than 55 pairs from different craftsman and countries and dating as far back as 1790.

“We are thrilled to add such interesting and beautiful works to our museum collection that align with our mission to preserve the art, history, and culture of the American West,” stated Jackson.

Museum-goers are able to enjoy the remarkable collection of spurs and recently donated art in the New Works Gallery, open to the public during regular museum hours and free with admission. For more information, visit www.brisocemuseum.org.

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Announcing Art Miami 2018

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Fine Art Today

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November 23, 2018

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Art Miami returns for the 29th Edition along with the 7th Edition of Context Art Miami, featuring international galleries, investment quality blue chip and contemporary works, innovative special projects, and philanthropic partnerships.

This year’s fairs will kick off on December 4 with a private VIP preview evening, before opening to the public on December 5 and continuing through December 9.

The Platinum VIP Preview will benefit the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), sponsored by Christie’s International Real Estate. This will be the first opportunity for collectors, curators, museum professionals, interior designers, and art world luminaries to acquire the finest investment quality modern and contemporary works by established, emerging, and cutting-edge artists from more than 250 international galleries.

For the second year, the fairs will be held at the prestigious waterfront location of One Miami Herald Plaza on Biscayne Bay, within walking distance of Museum Park and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, nestled between the Venetian and MacArthur Causeways in the heart of Downtown Miami.

On December 6, Art Miami and Chef Daniel Boulud will host a special four-course dinner with wine pairings to celebrate Art Miami 2018 Lifetime Visionary Award recipients Mr. and Mrs. Dennis and Debra Scholl for their contributions to the cultural landscape of Miami. A portion of the proceeds from the evening’s dinner will benefit the Perry J. Cohen Foundation.

Art Miami and Context Art Miami attract more than 85,000 attendees annually, and expect to exceed that number this year. The fairs offer convenience and a renewed connectivity to the activities and collectors on Miami Beach with accessible parking and a complimentary shuttle service between the fairs and JW Marriott Marquis Miami and Hotel Beaux Arts, and PAMM.

Art Miami will continue to feature amenities that improve the guests experience and that allow visitors to spend an entire day at the fairs. There are six hospitality areas, including a waterfront café, an indoor café, outdoor dining space, cocktail lounge, and an outside cocktail deck overlooking beautiful Biscayne Bay.

For more information about the artists, exhibitors, and special events at Art Miami, please visit www.artmiami.com.