In this ongoing series for Fine Art Today, we take a longer look at the history and features of a soon-to-be-available artwork of note. This week we highlight a New York State landscape that’ll have you looking forward to fall.

There’s something to love about every season, but for me autumn has a special charm. Perhaps it’s the crisping of the air, the delights of a harvest, or the cacophony of vibrant colors that sweeps across the landscape. Whether or not fall is your favorite, Thomas Worthington Whittredge’s “Scene on the Upper Delaware” will certainly have you looking forward to it as the season begins September 22.

Whittredge’s painting headlines an upcoming American Art sale at Sotheby’s in New York. In it, the viewer is placed in upstate New York within rolling mountains along the Delaware River. Sweeping from the lower left of the canvas toward the right is an old farm road, bracketed by a fence and rugged stone wall. A carriage pulled by four horses comes our way. The day is crisp and clear, and several maple trees have turned a brilliant neon red. The composition has an enchanting layering to create a sense of space. A large diagonal created from a nearby mountain cascades from the upper left of the canvas, balancing the strong diagonal lines from the Delaware and its adjacent road. Also noteworthy is Whittredge’s expressive brushwork, found prominently in the prairie grasses and flowers toward the painting’s bottom right.

The oil painting is available via Sotheby’s on October 6 in New York with an estimate of $50,000 to $70,000. To learn more, visit Sotheby’s.

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You’ve got until December 10 to take a fantastic creative journey with artist Neil Rizos during his latest solo exhibition, featuring bronzes, paintings, drawings, pastels, etchings, and more!

More than 50 works by artist/explorer Neil Rizos are currently on display at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History, located in Jamestown, New York. He works in a wide variety of media, including bronze, painting, pastel, and printmaking — Rizos’ techniques are as unique as the many places he visits.

Although the artist has a predominant creative interest in birds, viewers will certainly get a feeling for Rizos’ lifelong exploration of art and nature. “For more than 25 years,” the museum writes, “Rizos has pursued his interest in birds, art and the natural world. He has travelled widely, participating in bird research projects with public and private agencies in North America and Europe. In 2016, he was invited to Austria to observe the European Union’s Northern Bald Ibis reintroduction program. He has been recognized with numerous awards and artist residencies, and his work is in notable private and public collections internationally, including the US Library of Congress.”

Discussing his new works, Rizos said, “Birds are the starting point of my artistic journey. Although the species are often recognizable, my purpose is not to copy appearances. Rather, my intention is to make my personal, interior experience visible in a way that engages the viewer deeply, moving through form into that which cannot be grasped, only experienced.”

To learn more, visit the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.

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.

Wisconsin has some exciting news — and they’re certainly shooting for the stars during this grand opening. Interested in finding out more?

Wisconsin will soon be home to a brand new art museum, located in Wausau’s vibrant downtown. The Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art will feature works by internationally established artists from coast to coast with a goal to “unleash the regions creative energy and to engage a broad and diverse audience in conversation about how art connects us, allowing us to grow and thrive as a community,” as the museum’s website asserts.

They’re certainly kicking things off right, welcoming established artist Alyssa Monks for the Grand Opening on October 7, 2017. The reception will also showcase the art selected for the 2017 National Juried Art Exhibition with Monks announcing the Best of Show winner — an award that comes with $10,000.

The museum already has a great lineup of exhibitions slated for 2018, including their 2018 National Juried Exhibition, and solo shows with David Shevlino, Samantha French, and Jacob Dhein.

To learn more, visit the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art.

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.

The watercolors of Christopher St. Leger follow the tradition of illustrated journals as the artist explores themes of mood, place, and impermanence. Where can you see his latest?

“My paintings grow from an exploration between mood and place,” writes Christopher St. Leger. “Each work is a delicate anchor as well as an approach, a question to spur on the thread of conversation.” Now through October 28, visitors to Gallery Shoal Creek in Austin, Texas, will have a chance to re-experience these moods and places through St. Leger’s latest body of watercolors — a tour-de-force of color, atmosphere, and skillful edge control. Indeed, “the current portfolio takes the viewer from Austin,” adds the gallery, “to places distant or remote, and back to Lockhart, Texas, where the artist lives and works.”

Watercolors are perfectly suited for St. Leger’s creative goals as their strong atmospheric qualities help capture a sense of ephemerality or a fleeting snapshot. “He transforms these images with his loose rendering style,” his website suggests, “an attitude of experimentation which may stem from teaching himself to paint, into something perhaps personal, but also ambient and more enduring. Each painting is approached as if with a question that invokes a dialogue between the artist and his surroundings, between a cautious being and an irrational force.”

To learn more, visit Gallery Shoal Creek.

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Arcadia Contemporary in Culver City, California, has a special exhibition of award-winning artworks on view you don’t want to miss.

On September 16, Arcadia Contemporary opened a large exhibition of artworks from the Art Renewal Center’s 12th Annual International Salon. However, the selections on view have a closer connection to the gallery — they were all winners of the Arcadia Contemporary Award in the ARC Salon.

Represented artists include Ben Bauer, Rachel Bess, Daniel Blimes, Candice Bohannon, Alex Callaway, Leslie Fornalik, Zoey Frank, David Gluck, Amanda Greive, and Steven J. Levin.

To learn more, visit here.

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Massey Lyuben Gallery is proud to present a thought-provoking solo exhibition of paintings by Eric Helvie, whose innovative process is generating quite a discussion.

On view now through October 7, “O” is the second solo exhibition of paintings by Eric Helvie at Massey Lyuben Gallery. Featured in this show are Helvie’s newest oils, based on images the artist captured on his phone as they loaded from his Instagram feed. Using the screenshot feature on his mobile device, the artist then painstakingly rendered what he saw in oils.

“The seven new works seamlessly move between abstraction and photorealism, presenting a foggy and filtered reality where all subjects are equally obscured,” the gallery writes. “These purposefully unclear compositions, still ‘loading,’ present a peaceful limbo. The image will never become clear and we are left contemplating an indistinct, albeit richly painted middle ground.

“The result is a body of work that simultaneously elicits tension and reflection. In contrast to the immediacy of social media and the digital age, Helvie’s paintings offer an inherent slowness: in order to really see the image, they demand patience, submission, and meditative appreciation. By isolating the image from its context, captions, and comments, the artist removes any narration and offers viewers the pure essence of the image. Choosing to only present the ‘loading’ circle centered and floating in a cloudy square, Helvie nods towards a timelessness outside of our specific reality.”

Learn more by visiting Massey Lyuben Gallery.

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.

The occult and gothic renaissance have been hauntingly brought together by Last Rites Gallery, just as October is about to arrive.

Last Rites Gallery is delighted to present “Transcendence” now through September 30 in New York City. The group exhibition explores the occult, gothic renaissance, iconography, and more through the creative visions of Darby Lahger and Jasmine Worth. “Both artists’ work explores the exploitation of the disenfranchised, while giving them a voice and strength all their own,” the gallery suggests.

“Darby Lahger’s charcoal and graphite drawings were constructed from a deep state of introspection, while simultaneously exploring themes of old folklore. The development of her new series stems from personal experience, as she created freely and in the moment, resulting in art that is primarily autobiographical in nature. An emotive strength exudes from her drawings, creating visual expressions that leave lasting impressions on the viewer. Lahger’s art-brut approach results in works reminiscent of neo-romanticism.

“Jasmine Worth challenges the false dichotomy displayed in classic, religious works of art. Drawing inspiration from the Early Renaissance and Pre-Raphaelites, Worth reimagines the Madonna with a contemporary countenance, producing imagery that is as relatable as it is intriguing. As opposed to figures portrayed as either completely virtuous, like the Virgin Mary, or unchaste, as with Mary Magdalene, Worth’s velvety, stoic oil portraits showcase a broad spectrum of culture, tradition and femininity.”

To learn more, visit Last Rites Gallery.

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.

A fascinating selection of paintings by Beatriz Elorza are the center of attention at Rafael Gallery in New York City. Titled “Blooming Emotions,” the show invites viewers to compare and contemplate two groups of the artist’s recent paintings.

On October 3, Rafael Gallery in New York City will open “Blooming Emotions,” featuring two bodies of work — one created in New York City and one in London — by Beatriz Elorza. According to the gallery, Elorza’s larger-than-life works present a wonderful conundrum, “walking a tightrope between abstract and representational art, with the latter serving as a point of entry, inviting us to a deeper exploration of the emotional content.”

Discussing her evolution and work, Elorza adds, “Growing up in Santander, I was surrounded by the beauty of the sea landscape, and came to realize that nature itself is all beauty. That’s why I found my inspiration in nature. Painting is an escape from my architectural background, where straight lines define boundaries and intrude upon free movement. My paintings talk about life, about freedom, the freedom I feel when I’m in front of my white canvas. Nature provides a vehicle for me to combine and express the dynamism and tensions of my unconscious. Each painting evolves in an unpredictable way — I follow my instincts and let the painting guide me through the whole process, trusting the marks my unconscious leaves through the brush on the canvas.”

To learn more, visit Rafael Gallery.

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.

Gallery 13 North in Lambertville, New Jersey, is proudly presenting a beautiful selection of landscapes by Marcel Juillerat (b. 1942). Featuring character-ridden barns and winding rivers from the Mercer County region, this display of traditional mastery will have you wishing for more.

On view now through October 21 at Gallery 13 North are more than 20 medium- to large-scale works by award-winning Swiss-born artist Marcel Juillerat. Pictures from throughout the artist’s 40-year career are featured, and viewers will delight in a flow of traditional usage of light and shadow, transcending to complicated abstract pieces, all in one space.

“The exhibition includes both a 36 x 36-inch realistic painting of waves crashing on surfaces of rocks, as well as the emotional composition of his portrait pieces,” the gallery writes. “Juillerat’s work has received considerable attention both locally and nationally. He is known for his elaborate realistic quality use of oils and his polished work of implementing an impasto technique style on every piece of artwork. During his 40 years as a painter, Juillerat has already participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions. Recently, he exhibited at the Salmagundi Club in New York City and won the 2017 Catherine Lorillard Wolf Award for ‘Old Farm House.’”

Marcel will be on hand for a talk during the closing reception on Saturday, October 21. To learn more, visit Gallery 13 North.

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.

ArtPrize has officially kicked off in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The event attracts more than 500,000 visitors and thousands of artists each year.

From September 20 through October 8, Grand Rapids, Michigan, is bursting at its seams with artists, collectors, connoisseurs, and more as the 9th Annual ArtPrize takes place. The festival is an open, independently organized international art competition with more than $500,000 in prizes awarded each year, including a $200,000 prize awarded entirely by public vote and another $200,000 awarded by a jury of art experts.

According to the event webpage, “Any artist working in any medium from anywhere in the world can participate. Art is exhibited throughout downtown Grand Rapids — museums, bars, public parks, restaurants, theaters, hotels, bridges, laundromats, auto body shops, vacant storefronts and office spaces. Artists and venues register for the competition then find each other through an online connections process in late spring. No one at ArtPrize selects a single artist or artwork, directs an artist where to show work or directs a venue what to show. In 2016, 1,453 works created by artists from 40 states and 44 countries were exhibited in 170 venues.”

To learn more, visit ArtPrize.

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.