They don’t make ‘em like they used to. That’s certainly the case with a lot of things, especially cars, trucks, and motorcycles from the mid- to late 20th century. Contemporary realist Shannon Fannin loves capturing these delightful designs in her paintings, which feature during a solo exhibition here.

The Link & Pin Art Gallery in Austin, Texas, is proud to be currently showcasing new works by award-winning vehicle painter Shannon (Shan) Fannin. Opened on September 1 and continuing through October 1, “Chrome to Canvas” is a remarkable display of realism through subjects not typically seen in the field.

Indeed, Fannin has established a national reputation for her dynamic and colorful realist acrylic paintings, which offer viewers tightly cropped scenes of chromed-out bumpers of vintage and luxury cars. They are often executed in large scale, and Fannin has mastered the mirror-reflected distortion and warped effects of light seen on the surfaces of highly-polished vehicles. In fact, while her paintings are pure realism, her subjects naturally imbue a strong sense of abstraction as well that keeps audiences continually engaged.

Curator and Publisher Didi Menendez has suggested that “Shan Fannin’s bright paintings of vintage vehicles ignite our memories when everything was shiny and new and America was still a place for discovery. When we could stretch out our legs and feel time stand still.” Les Kiser, an international motor sports commentator, said, “Shannon’s approach to realism consistently captures the passions of not only her own talent, but also those of automotive designers and in many of the reflections, the admiration of spectators. Never have I seen such depth captured in a painting.”

To learn more, visit Link & Pin Art 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 Anna Held Audette Collection recently opened its fall exhibition at the New Haven Lawn Club in Connecticut, drawing focus to three distinct phases of the artist’s career when she experienced significant shifts in approach and interest.

On view from September 6 through October 28 at the New Haven Lawn Club are remarkable selections from the Anna Held Audette Collection. Among the artworks included are delicate, subtle drawings and prints on paper, in addition to lively, colorful oils on canvas.

“This exhibition explores three distinct phases of Anna’s artistic career,” said curator Renee A. Santhouse. “Each of these phases is in a separate, adjacent room in the exhibition area. Moving from room to room, the viewer experiences the shift in the artist’s thinking and interests over time. Some of Anna’s artworks are premiering at this exhibition; they have never been on display in the past.”

Via the exhibition press release, “Anna was born in 1938, the daughter of Julius Held, an eminent art historian, and Ingrid Marta Held, the Conservator for the New York Historical Society. Since 1962, Anna Held Audette was a student, exhibiting artist and educator in New Haven. She met her future husband, Louis Audette, while they were both students at Yale University. Anna maintained her house and art studio in New Haven, with her husband and two daughters. Her artwork is in numerous public and private collections worldwide. An artist to the core, she painted and drew for many more years, almost every day of her life, until her demise in 2013.”

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 Georgia Museum of Art in Athens is proud to be showcasing selected works from the significant collection of Giuliano Ceseri.

Born in Italy and the son of a tenant farmer, Giuliano Ceseri was exposed to a range of great artworks from a young age, purchasing his first engraving at the age of 11. That engraving was only the beginning of what would become a massive private collection of prints and drawings that today numbers in the thousands. In 1995, the collector placed about 1,500 of those works on long-term loan to the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, and selections from among them compose a current exhibition titled “Modern Masters from the Giuliano Ceseri Collection,” on view through November 12.

“Previous exhibitions of Ceseri’s collection have focused more often on the Renaissance-era drawings that make up a large portion of the works he owns,” the museum suggests. “This exhibition, on the other hand, consists of drawings by 19th- and 20th-century artists, both American and European, including one of the earliest Ceseri bought, at the age of 14. That drawing is by Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, a highly regarded 19th-century French muralist. Although it is unsigned, the sketch of a washerwoman has writing on it that resembles that on other studies by the artist.

“While still a child, Ceseri worked in a factory that made nightlights, then as a waiter, buying drawings and prints as he was able to in antiques shops. He eventually parlayed his sharp eye into a career as a gallerist and moved to the United States in the 1970s.

“The works on display, selected by former Pierre Daura Curator of European Art Lynn Boland, show a wide range of styles, subjects, and purposes. Some are studies for finished works, some come from sketchbooks, and others appear to have been made as more finished works. Media are equally varied. Peggy Bacon’s caricature of her fellow artists uses lithographic crayon, a drawing by Giorgio de Chirico uses red chalk and watercolor, and Robert Henri’s two works in the show both make use of charcoal.

“Even as they differ, each work has an immediacy that sets it apart from paintings or prints by the same artists. Collectively, they offer an opportunity to study widely disparate approaches to making marks on paper. They also serve as an inspiration. Often, we think of collecting art as only for the wealthy, but Ceseri’s story shows that persistence and education are just as important as financial means.”

To learn more, visit the Georgia Museum of 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.

An award-winning lineup of faculty from the Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery in Tequesta, Florida, are currently showcasing their recent works for all to see. After battling Hurricane Irma, the Sunshine state could use some beauty.

The Lightouse ArtCenter Gallery and School of Art opened the doors on its fall exhibition on September 5, and it features outstanding works by its award-winning lineup of faculty members. On view through October 28, the show features a range of mediums by the represented artists, including alcohol inks, oil, encaustic, pastels, and watercolors. Stylistically, the show displays plein air, surrealism, abstraction, expressionism, and realism.

Curator Janeen Mason remarked, “This is an exciting launch to the 2017-2018 season. Our faculty members are all well-known, award-winning professional artists creating art with their own unique sensibilities and styles. This show is certain to inspire the imagination and engage all the senses.” Executive Director Nancy Politsch added “The Lighthouse ArtCenter has a gifted group of 35 faculty members with extraordinary talents, many of whom are included in public and private collections throughout the country. We are so proud to put their creativity on display to launch our new season.”

Represented artists include Chad R. Steve, Chris Kling, Manon Sander, Karen Leffel-Massengill, Ralph Papa, Jim Rigg, and Danuta Rothschild. To learn more, visit the Lighthouse ArtCenter Gallery.

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A world-class display of oil and acrylic paintings is just around the corner at Castle Gallery in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Who’s included?

Fine art collectors will surely want to attend the NOAPS (National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society) “Best of America” exhibition this fall. As its titled suggests, the show features juried paintings from across the country submitted by members of the prestigious organization. Represented artists in 2017 include Priya Ahlawat, Lee Alban, Tom Altenburg, Del-Bourree Bach, Suzie Baker, Victor Blakey, Andrea Bojrab, Liz Bonham, JM Brodrick, Hebe Brooks, Charlene Brown, Karne Budan, Karen Cahill, Juan Cantavella, Mitch Caster, Victoria Castillo, Jane Chapin, Marc Chatov, Adam Clague, Steven Creighton, Matthew Cutter, Tony Damico, Mary Ann Davis, Fred Doloresco, Glen Edwards, Barbara Edwards, Shirley Fachilla, Alison Fang, Shannon Fannin, Karolyn Farrell, Nicole Finger, Rusty Frentner, Berry Fritz, Hans Guerin, Masoud Habibyan, Diann Haist, Nancy Haley, Albert Handell, Randall Harden, Linda Lucas Hardy, Anne Harkness, Diana Harvey, Ray Hassard, Dennis Heckler, Kim Hill, Samuel Hoffman, Paula Holtzclaw, Al Hopkins, Ellen Howard, Brenda Howell, Frankie Johnson, Barbara Jones, Steven Jordan, Andrew Knez Jr., Sheryl Knight, Steve Ko, Linda Kollacks, Sandra Kuck, Christina Kuo, David Larkins, Tom LaRock, Krik Larsen, Christopher Leeper, Shana Levenson, Cheng Lian, Tai Meng Lim, Ober-Rae Livingstone, CJ Lukacsik, Dale Macafee, Miguel Malagon, Will Maller, Catherine Marchand, Steve McCoy, Patrick Meehan, Rosa Montante, Walter Mosley, Michelle Murray, Farshid Namei, Linda Nearon, Pamela Newell, Barbara Nuss, Sivananda Nyayapathi, Dr. Terry Nybo, Melanie O’Keefe, Frances Pampeyan, Jose Pardo, Lyn Phariss, Sharon Pomales, Barron Postmus, Craig Pursley, Igor Raikhline, Christina Ramos, Diane Reeves, Michael Reibel, Scott Royston, Lawrence Rudolech, Monique Sakellarios, Trish Savides, John Schisler, William Schneider, Ming-Mei Sheeh, Sandhyaa Shetty, Pamela Shumway, Jerry Smith, Cindy Sorley-Keichinger, Ken Spencer, Ann Stevenson, Thalia Stratton, Shawn Sullivan, James Swanson, Stephanie Paige Thomson, Patricia Tribastone, Cecy Turner, David Tutwiler, J Russell Wells, Robin Williamson, Simon Winegar, Natalie Wiseman, Kay Witherspoon, James Wolford, Jenny Wu, Jian Wu, and Jie Zhuang.

The exhibition opens on October 16 and will continue through November 11. To learn more, visit Castle Gallery.

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Featuring works by many of the best representational painters in New England today, this esteemed organization recently opened its Annual Regional Juried exhibition, and naturally, it is a must-see.

Hanging from September 9 through September 30 at the President’s Gallery is the Annual Regional Juried Exhibition presented by the Guild of Boston Artists. The exhibition is an invitation to artists outside the Guild to show their best work and compete for prestigious awards. The paintings dazzle viewers each year, and 2017 is more of the same.

To learn more, visit The Guild of Boston Artists.

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.

Corridor Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, has recently mounted a robust exhibition centered around all things nature, featuring a range of works by 16 accomplished artists and curated by Meridith McNeal.

As the summer season wanes, leaves begin to change color, wilt, and fall to the ground. Those lush layers of green got into a symphony of color before the winter blues and grays set in. A remarkable exhibition currently on view at Corridor Gallery is celebrating all things nature — and natural — through the creative visions of 16 artists. Curated by Meridith McNeal, “In Our Nature” runs through November 19 and showcases works by Jane Ingram Allen, Claudia Alvarez, Edward Burtynsky, Juanli Carrión, Una Chaudhuri, Richard Estrin, Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez, Valerie Hegarty, Robin Holder, Brece Honeycutt, Oliver Kelhammer, Jan Mun, Portia Munson, Florence Neal, Beverly Ress, and Marina Zurkow.

Via the gallery webpage, curator Meridith McNeal offers a wonderful story-like description of the exhibition:

In my little backyard in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, amongst the rose bushes, bamboo, herbs, ivy, holly, mosses, ferns, and honeysuckle, I have seen squirrels, possums, raccoons, mice, cats, blue jays, robins, cardinals, doves, pigeons, orioles, humming birds, butterflies, moths, spiders, dragon flies, slugs, snails, a rather large number of mosquitos … and those are only the species I can identify without a reference book! 

If I am in the mood to expand my horizons, within blocks I can meander the verdant, tree-lined paths of Fort Greene Park, just one of the NYC parks that include nearly 30,000 acres of land composed of forest, woodland, freshwater wetland, and salt marsh ecosystems. As island dwellers, we New Yorkers are fortunate to have 76,066 acres of open water. For me, a short ride on the F train to Coney or a walk down to Valentino Park in Red Hook provides soul-soothing salty air as I watch waves lapping the Brooklyn shore.

It would not be out of the ordinary to cross paths with Florence Neal while walking along the pier in Red Hook. Florence’s water-based woodcuts (mokuhanga) depicting water are inspired by her daily morning walks both local and far-flung. Rush Teaching Artist Richard Estrin’s watercolors depicting seemingly small infractions upon the environment such as a littered path aim to focus our attention and beg us to consider our actions.

Another devoted walker, Brece Honeycutt, uses the term bewildered to describe the wonder of getting amazingly lost in the wilderness. Brece’s delicate stitched white-on-white pieces are portraits of Nature in her wintery incarnation. Seasons also inspire Beverly Ress who considers her meticulous drawings of no-longer-living plants and animals as a contemporary form of memento mori, honoring the passage of life and the process of letting go.

Claudia Alvarez’s ceramics and paintings are entrenched with the story of her immigration from Mexico. Referencing the abundant plants and flowers of her mother’s prodigious garden, Claudia examines her own relationship to identity, memory, and home. Juanli Carrión counts gardening and social practice among his artmaking techniques. Continuing his community gardens that celebrate cultural heritage, Juanli worked with Rush Summer Session to create a growing portrait of Rush students. 

Humans are not the only beings that emigrate. While searching for artists to include in this exhibition, I visited the Kentler Flat Files, a wonderful resource open to the public. When I first looked at Robin Holder’s prints at Kentler, I was particularly drawn to her depiction of movement. I can practically hear the flapping of bird wings in Mountain. Several years ago, my nephew and I watched a documentary about the deeply alarming worldwide bee crisis. It was imperative for me to include Jan Mun and her bee advocacy work in this exhibition. Jan has created an installation for this exhibition which includes an inactive beehive, paintings made with beeswax, and even seasonal honey she has harvested (which we encourage you to sample!).

In an age when so-called leaders unfathomably deny the unconscionable destruction of the earth and its bounty, Edward Burtynsky’s photographs of human-devastated landscapes captured from the air is profoundly important work. Burtynsky says it well: “[We] come from nature.… There is an importance to [having] a certain reverence for what nature is because we are connected to it… If we destroy nature, we destroy ourselves.” Valerie Hegarty, informed by the current turbulent state of our country while also excavating from America’s past, presents recent ceramic work exploring the erosion of our values right along with our natural resources. The lush floral paintings of Nancy Friedemann-Sánchez take a bit of detective work to really catch the nuanced concept. By magnifying images of Colonial still lifes, she lures us into the lush and lovely decorative elements. But look again, and you will notice in the background that a flood drifts by, exposing neglect and indulgence.

So what are we going to do about this? Jane Ingram Allen has rid the streets of paper detritus, which she has then embedded in her hand-made paper maps. In the photographs of her monochromatic installations Portia Munson takes on plastic. Munson explains: “We as a culture are defined by the objects we mass produce, consume, and throw away. I collect these objects and assemble them into congested installations, in essence using as my resource the refuse of consumer culture that usually ends up in landfills.” I am very excited to include in this exhibition a manifestation of Dear Climate, a piece by Una Chaudhuri, Oliver Kelhammer and Marina Zurkow. On view are a selection of posters — at once funny and caustic, and always spot on. I enthusiastically second their public address: “Dear Climate, we know: we blew it. … We want to find ways to shift relations — with the spheres, with you, and also with our own unruly and uncertain inner climates.”

In Our Nature, curated to kick off the Rush Education Year of Nature, celebrates the astounding natural resources in our midst, addresses humankind’s deep devastation of nature, and aims to stir up positive fervor to do our best to cherish and protect our environment as we go forward. I do believe that we can and must find it in our nature and for our nature to care and to care deeply.

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 Art Renewal Center (ARC) has teamed up with the European Museum of Modern Art (MEAM) in Barcelona, Spain, to offer lucky viewers a chance to see the largest exhibition of contemporary figurative art. Details here.

Two internationally renowned competitions — the ARC Salon and Figurativas — have been brought together this fall for a significant and historical exhibition of artistic mastery. On view from September 22 through November 26 at the European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, Spain, the show is composed of 83 contemporary realist works selected from the 12th International ARC Salon competition and 91 from the Figurativas contest representing the disciplines of painting, drawing, and sculpture. Among them are 50 paintings and 41 sculptures. The ARC Salon winners were selected from more than 3,100 entries representing 63 countries, while more than 2,600 artists from 80 countries applied for the 2017 Figurativas competition.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity to view some of the best artwork being created today in figurative art,” said José Manuel Infiesta, MEAM director and founder. “We look forward to hosting this expansive exhibit and introducing these artists to a broader audience.”

To learn more, visit the MEAM.

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 Booth Western Art Museum in Cartersville, Georgia, is set to present the fifth installment of its signature triennial exhibition series, “Western American Art South of the Sweet Tea Line,” which opens in just a few days.

On September 16, the Booth Western Art Museum will open the fifth installment of its signature triennial exhibition series, which will run through December 31. Titled “Western American Art South of the Sweet Tea Line V,” the show allows visitors to experience art that will transport them to the most beautiful locations in the West, while witnessing both the joys and hardships of life in the region. More than 90 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other objects compose the show, representing over 150 years of art history and 80 artists.

Via the museum press release: “The upcoming exhibition is co-curated by Booth Museum Executive Director Seth Hopkins and Director of Curatorial Services Lisa Wheeler, working with a wide range of private collectors and museums around the Southeast. The Sweet Tea Series began in 2005 and has become the Booth Museum’s signature exhibition, occurring every three years. The title, developed by the museum’s founding curator, Dr. W. James Burns, whimsically and loosely defines the geographic area which is home to these amazing works of art. The Sweet Tea Series truly complements the Booth Museum main galleries, which house the largest permanent exhibition space for Western art in America. The resulting exhibition presents a full cross-section of Western art, both historical and contemporary, and the full range of potential Western subjects.

“‘Sweet Tea V’ will include excellent examples from a wide range of artists including early painters like George Catlin, William Ranney, Charles Deas, Charles Bird King, and John Mix Stanley, who established the foundations for Western art in the early to mid-1800s. Included works by Charlie Russell and Thomas Moran epitomize the next generation of artists to depict the West. The Taos and Santa Fe art colonies are also well represented, with paintings by E.I. Couse, Joseph Henry Sharp, William ‘Buck’ Dunton, and Walter Ufer. The mid-1900s is a down period for Western art according to many sources, citing the growth of abstract expressionism and pop art, but paintings by Gerald Curtis Delano, Frank Tenney Johnson and Carl Rungius testify to the enduring love artists have for the West. Living master artists Jim Norton, Clyde Aspevig, and many others will bring the Western story up to the present. ‘Sweet Tea V’ also includes an emphasis on works by some of today’s top Native artists, including Kevin Red Star, T.C. Cannon, Dan Namingha, Tony Abeyta, and R.C. Gorman. Likewise, female artists have always been a prominent part of this exhibition series, and this iteration is no different with artists like Marjorie Reed, Carrie Ballantyne, and Amy Ringholz in the mix. In addition to dazzling paintings, several other mediums will be on view, including sculpture by Cyrus Dallin and Fritz White, photographs by Imogen Cunningham and Paul Strand, and folk art by Ben Ortega and Mamie Deschillie. The Sweet Tea Series is also known for a surprise or two in each installation – in ‘Sweet Tea V’ be on the lookout for a massive work by one of the hottest New York contemporary artists, Bo Bartlett.”

To learn more, visit the Booth Western Art 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.

The Brinton Museum in Big Horn, Wyoming, is celebrating its home state through a vibrant exhibition of works by five nationally known Western landscape artists.

Opened on September 10 and running through October 29, “Wyoming Point of View” is a fantastic exhibition of paintings by artists Lorenzo Chavez, Bruce Graham, Skip Whitcomb, Kathy Wipfler, and Dan Young. In addition to several outstanding landscape paintings, the exhibition will feature a selection of sketches in graphite, watercolor, and pastel. “Inspired by a deep passion and a respect for the beauty of the West,” the museum’s website reads, “for rolling meadows of iconic sage and rabbit bush, wide open spaces dotted by willows and streams, aspens and glorious mountain ranges, each artist brings his or her own vision of the land to life in art, working en plein air.”

To learn more, visit the Brinton 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.