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.

As one of the leading masters of the Italian High Renaissance and the preeminent sculptor of the 16th century, Michelangelo Buonarrotti will always be an exciting draw for museum-goers.

On October 7, the Loveland Museum in Colorado will open a blockbuster exhibition featuring bronze casts of six of Michelangelo’s bossetti — small sculptural models made of clay, wax, and wood. Titled “Touched By The Hands of God: Michelangelo’s Models,” the exhibition provides “crucial insights into the complex technical methods and aesthetic concepts followed by Michelangelo in executing such monumental carved works as the ‘David’ and the ‘Captive Slaves,’” the museum writes. “The creation of bronze casts allows for Michelangelo’s sculptural designs to be made available to a wider viewing public and the durable nature of bronze permits a unique interactive museum experience in which visitors can touch and explore the artistry of Michelangelo’s creations.”

A free Artist-To-Artist Exhibit tour will be hosted at the museum on Friday, October 13 at 3:30 p.m. with Loveland sculptor Jack Kreutzer. On Thursday, November 16, at 5:30 p.m. the museum will host a Gallery Talk with Jim Richerson, CEO of the Sangre de Cristo Arts Center.

To learn more, visit the Loveland Museum.

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.

Fine Art Connoisseur magazine has set up a temporary website for artists, galleries, museums, and auction houses to register and tell their stories about Hurricanes Harvey & Irma (and Maria was still dangerous as this was being written). In addition, we’re offering them a chance to participate in a free ad spread that we hope will get spaces reopened and collectors buying.

*Please visit this site to register: https://fineartconnoisseur.com/hurricane

A message from Eric Rhoads, Publisher of Fine Art Connoisseur magazine:

Dear Friends,

As publisher of various art magazines and newsletters, I feel that we have a responsibility to help artists, galleries, and museums impacted by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

When Katrina hit New Orleans, many galleries there were in trouble. Tourism fell way off, and locals were consumed with things other than buying art.

At that time we stepped in and offered free advertising to help some of those galleries survive, and we later learned that it helped a lot. Thankfully, collectors with good hearts looked at the websites, found art they liked, and did some purchasing.

We feel an obligation to give back during this storm as well. We know of one gallery in Texas whose building collapsed. We also know that there are galleries that will be impacted by a lack of traffic and tourism, and galleries affected by flooding in their space or simply the distraction of storm-related issues in their communities, keeping people from visiting and buying.

We have set up a quick temporary website for people affected by the storm to register and tell us their stories.

We will reach out to these galleries, artists, and museums, and offer them a chance to participate in an ad spread to try to get people to visit and buy from them, to help sustain them during this difficult time.

We are not charging them for this special ad space, which will be in the next issues of PleinAir and Fine Art Connoisseur magazines, and promoted on the magazines’ websites as well.

We know there’s a long road to recovery even as flood waters recede, so please keep these people in your thoughts and prayers.

This is a time when we, as a community of artists, galleries, collectors, museums, and auction houses, can come to their rescue. I encourage you, particularly if you were going to buy art anyway, to consider visiting these people online and making purchases.

Yours truly,

Eric Rhoads

Publisher

PS: This is not a time for competitive differences. Therefore I encourage all of my sisters and brothers in the arts community to come together, and for local galleries and artists not affected to help those who are. I also call on all other art magazines and websites to step up and offer a similar program.

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 Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival is currently in full swing with auctions, exhibitions, luncheons, dinners, musical entertainment, and more. Whether you’re in attendance or not, we’ve got some details you’ll want to consider.

The 33rd annual Jackson Hole Fall Arts Festival opened on September 6 and will continue through the 17th at the base of the Teton Mountains in Wyoming. Thousands of art enthusiasts are drawn each year to experience the diverse artwork and breathtaking natural surroundings that make Jackson Hole a leading cultural center in the United States.

There’s an incredible range of significant events that can be enjoyed in 2017, including the Western Visions Show & Sale at the National Museum of Wildlife Art (NMWA), which includes over 100 of the top wildlife artists in the world.  On the slate this year are several exciting events, including a Sculptor Panel Discussion with renowned sculptor Walter Matia, who will lecture on the history of animal sculpture from 1831 to 1975. Also hosted in 2017 will be a Benefactor Welcome Cocktail Party, an Artist Party, a Conversation with the Museum’s Curators Past & Present, and of course the Show & Sale.  “In honor of our 30th anniversary, the Show & Sale features artists whose work is in the Museum’s permanent collection,” the NMWA writes.

All of the events will culminate in the Jackson Hole Art Auction on Friday, September 15. The auction is recognized as one of the premier art events in the country, defined by the high standard of works offered in a variety of genres including wildlife, sporting, figurative, landscape, and Western art by both renowned past masters and contemporary artists.

Exciting for collectors is the fact that phone and absentee bidding is accepted. Registration for the auction is still open and may be found here.

There are also several significant exhibitions taking place at numerous world-class galleries in Jackson Hole. On September 15, Legacy Gallery will open a three-man exhibition of works by Josh Elliott, Glenn Dean, and Kyle Polzin. From September 8 through 18, Astoria Fine Art will present works by Mark Eberhard and Joshua Tobey. Through October, Trio Fine Art will be showcasing works by Michelle Decker. Running through September 30, Trailside Galleries will be showing works by Dustin Van Wechel, Bonnie Marris, Mian Situ, Alfredo Rodriguez, and John DeMott.

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.

Almost 400 collectors and art enthusiasts met 49 leading Western artists last weekend for the 12th annual Quest for the West show and sale in Indianapolis.

$968,415 was the grand total for last weekend’s Quest for the West show and sale at the Eiteljorg Museum in Indianapolis. The exhibition, which presents 162 artworks, is now open to the general public with regular museum admission and will continue through October 8.

A new feature in 2017 was a miniature art sale in which artists offered burgeoning collectors the chance to acquire smaller, more affordable paintings. Enthusiastic buyers snapped up almost all of them on September 8.

“As one of the Eiteljorg’s key fund-raising events, Quest for the West provides an opportunity to support Western artists by connecting them with collectors who make it possible for them to pursue their creative visions,” said museum President John Vanausdall. “We are inspired by the Western artworks that beautifully convey the complexity of the American West, past and present, and are looking forward to museum visitors enjoying the exhibit over the next month. We are very pleased that the first ever Quest miniature art sale was enthusiastically embraced by artists and collectors alike.”

To learn more, visit the Eiteljorg Museum.

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.