Curated by renowned artist Dina Brodsky and curator/writer Trek Lexington, this miniaturist exhibition features a number of world-famous painters exploring the importance and meaning of the artist’s palette as tool, extension of oneself, and painting surface.

Opened on June 15 and on view through July 8 at the Abend Gallery in Denver, Colorado, is a wonderful exhibition with an innovative theme. Curated by renowned artist Dina Brodsky and curator/writer Trek Lexington, “Palette” features works by over 50 artists including — among others — Liz Adams-Jones, James Adelman, Benjamin Craig, Nick Gebhart, Evan Kitson, Tim Lowly, Jessica Pisano, Nicolas Sanchez, Mark Trujillo, John Wentz, Timothy Wilson, Zane York, and Miles Yoshida.

In “Palette” the artist’s palettes take center stage not only — as the title suggests — as a point of origin for a painting, but as artworks in themselves, as surfaces upon which to paint. Via the gallery, “Every artist has a unique mind, and a deeply personal, often idiosyncratic studio practice. Some adhere to strict routines, and others work for weeks or months, then pause completely in order to reflect, incubate an idea, or travel and take in new experience. One way to get a glimpse into the artist’s mind, as well as into their practice is the painter’s palette — a tool that has been around for centuries, as painting itself has gone through myriads of transformations through the years. It is both practical and intimate, acquiring layers of paint as well as memories, reflecting intent and execution, storing the ghosts of paintings that have long since left the studio. The palette is the point of origin from which ideas become realized and paint is transformed into a reflection of the human experience. Whatever shape or form the surface or substrate takes, it all begins when brush meets palette.”

To learn more, visit Abend Gallery.

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A deeply provocative and psychologically thrilling exhibition will soon be underway in Pasadena, California. Opening in July, “Mythos & Logos” is one heck of a mental and visual journey.

New works by painter Shaun Berke will be on view at Gallery 30 South in Pasadena, California, beginning July 1. Titled “Mythos & Logos,” the exhibition is intended to be both visually stimulating and thought-provoking, inspiring self-reflection within themes of memory, thought, time, and existentialism.

“These paintings might seem out of place in time,” the press release begins, “but that very quality is the entry point to better understand just how fleeting time really is. How we see time is bound up with how we see ourselves. We are nested in the present, always becoming. We are a moment, an ever-living fire. We are ephemeral and so is painting. More important than when we take place is the fact that we do at all. In so short a time we might learn to speak across the abyss.

“Look closer and we can see fragments of ‘thrownness.’ What we find on the surface of a painting are stories laid to rest––mythos. Interred in the painting is reason––logos; a ghost of existence, a shrine to death. Unearthed, this word breathes new life into memory. So the revenant stirs, remembers, sees by the light of a thousand stars. In Norse, the name of The Rememberer is Mimr, a giant and a sage whose head was brought back to life by a dear friend: Odinn, who gave his eye for greater sight and claimed a draft from the well of wisdom. Odinn’s search for knowledge is reflected in Heidegger’s view of painting––that the craft of painting is in drawing up to the light from the well of being. In the depths of allegory the light of wisdom reaches ever further. However, the constellations strewn from mythos are seen only by the light of logos. As mythos dreams, logos speaks dawn.”

To learn more, visit Gallery 30 South.

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Whether large or small, fierce or gentle, our planet’s wildlife is truly something to behold and appreciate. The nave of America’s largest cathedral, in America’s busiest city, is currently bursting at its seams with these world-class sculptures.

The National Sculpture Society (NSS) opened a significant juried exhibition on June 10 in Manhattan. Located at the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine — our nation’s largest cathedral — “A Blessing of Animals” features works of 26 important sculptors from around the United States.

On view through September 10, the animal theme will “delight visitors,” the NSS writes. “The sculptures on display range from life-size to heroic and are created by some of this country’s leading animal sculptors. Animals furry, feathered, finned and flippered are represented in the show. Highlights include an eight-and-a-half foot tall Grizzly bear; a babel-like tower of frogs; ravens conversing from fence posts; a stalking bobcat; and a group of animal friends engaged in the childhood favorite ‘Ring Around The Rosie.’ Whether made of bronze, stone, or steel, the animal sculptures embody the diversity of talent and imagination of the artists and will appeal to everyone.”

More than 70 talented sculptors applied for the show, which took several years of organizing to realize. Robin R. Salmon, vice president for collections and curator of sculpture at Brookgreen Gardens, as well as sculptors Sandy Scott and Greg Wyatt, served as jurors for the exhibition. Twenty-nine works of art were selected from more than 278 entries.

After its tenure in Manhattan, the exhibition will travel to Naples, Florida, where it will be on display from early October through late January 2018. Sculptors featured in the exhibition include Dan Chen, Tim Cherry, Darrell Davis, D.L. Engle, Bob Guelich, André Harvey, Tony Hochstetler, Amy Kann, T.D. Kelsey, Madeleine Lord, Roger Martin, Walter Matia, Leo E. Osborne, Dan Ostermiller, Louise Peterson, Gary Lee Price, Paul Rhymer, Rosetta, Stefan Savides, Sandy Scott, Joshua Tobey, David H. Turner, Kent Ullberg, Meg White, Wesley Wofford, and Rod Zullo.

To learn more, visit the National Sculpture Society.

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A Ukrainian artist will soon showcase his hauntingly gorgeous paintings during a solo exhibition in Santa Fe this summer. His work is poetic, rebellious, and enchanting. Find out who the esteemed host is and when the curtain comes down.

“Fantastical oil paintings that evoke a sense of freedom, haunting beauty and enchanting mystery,” is how Meyer Gallery describes the work of Ukrainian artist Vachagan Narazyan. The Santa Fe, New Mexico, gallery will open “Shapito-Circus,” a solo exhibition of the artist’s newest work, on June 30. An opening reception will be held on the 30th from 5-7 p.m.

Narazyan is an important member of the nonconformist art movement of the former Soviet Union, and his paintings are often described as poetic, but also rebellious in “response to the repression he experienced working as a professional artist under Soviet rule,” as the gallery writes. “The artist graduated from the Kharkiv Art and Industrial Institute in 1979 during the height of the nonconformist art movement and began painting in a dissident style to socialist realism, which artists were mandated to adhere to under Soviet rule. Rather than abide by his strictly classical training, the artist risked imprisonment to paint imaginative oil paintings largely themed around his boyhood memories of the circus, which he can recall setting up in the town square just below the front window of his grandparents’ home in Russia. As a boy, Narazyan was fascinated by the romantic lifestyle of the performers who traveled from village to village sharing alluring stories from places unknown to the young artist. Narazyan’s naive intrigue resurfaced as romanticized fantasy when he began his art career. The artist combined his mastery of old world techniques with new age imagery to form a secretive style that was uniquely his own, one that he continues to work in today with renewed symbolism and character models. Narazyan’s storybook scenes are poetic, dreamlike visions with whimsical characters in magical settings, uninhibited by the constraints of a mandated lifestyle.”

The exhibition will continue through July 6. To learn more, visit Meyer Gallery.

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Two world-class representational painters are sending out a call for artists to submit their work for an engaging digital exhibition. Who are they and when is the deadline?

They are arguably two of the most sought-after realist painters in the United States today; whenever we hear the names David Jon Kassan and Shana Levenson, our ears perk up. The artist couple recently sent out a call to artists for submissions for an exhibition they’re curating together, titled “Family.” Organized in concert with PoetsArtists, the show seeks to highlight the role and importance families have had for artists.

“Throughout the history of art, family has been a sacred subject for artists,” says the press release. “Most early paintings were commission-based illustrations from the Bible or portrait commissions for wealthy patrons, which didn’t leave much time for an artist to paint those that are closest to them. But when they did, there is a more personal connection that is present … something that is intangible.”

More information about submission guidelines can be found here. The deadline is July 15.

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Vincent Giarrano is pleased to be presenting a recent body of work aimed at capturing a group of young women who have made New York City their home. Where can you catch a view?

Gallery Henoch in New York City is the proud venue for Vincent Giarrano’s recent body of work titled “New York City Women.” In this series, the artist records a group of young women who have made Manhattan their home. “Many of his subjects are involved in the clothing industry as fashion designers, models, and provocateurs,” the gallery writes. “Like a reporter, Giarrano paints the details that surround their everyday lives, from postcard-laden walls of studio apartments to local hangouts. In doing so he documents their burgeoning independence and self-reliance.”

The exhibition will open today, June 15, and run through July 8. To learn more, visit Gallery Henoch.

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Two renowned artists will soon be featured together in Santa Fe, New Mexico, this summer for an important group exhibition. Will you know the names?

Manitou Galleries will open a two-man show on June 27 featuring new works by painters William Haskell and Bryan Haynes. The works of the two painters complement one another beautifully. Haskell is specifically drawn to the regional landscapes and villages of the American Southwest. His signature drybrush watercolors and acrylics are often recognized for their depth and detail that “goes beyond mere description of subject and draws the viewer into the painting for a more intimate connection with everyday forms and a sense of place,” the gallery writes.

Historical figures, Native Americans, and local characters dominate the New Regionalist paintings by Bryan Haynes. Sculpted with contemporary design, Haynes’ pictures carefully capture the valleys, mesas, bends, and curves of the New Mexico landscape. Drawing upon the WPA style of the 1930s and early 20th-century Regionalism, Haynes’ paintings have a classic luminosity and timeless appeal.

Opening June 27, the exhibition continues through July 7. To learn more, visit Manitou Galleries.

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A top Ivy League universities will soon mount an extraordinary exhibition of drawings rarely exhibited to the public. Featuring works by masters from the 17th through the 20th centuries, this is surely an exhibition not to miss. You won’t believe who lent the drawings either.

The world-renowned Ashmolean Museum has graciously lent a dazzling selection of more than 100 rarely seen drawings and watercolors from the 17th to the 20th centuries to the Princeton University Art Museum. Curated by Colin Harrison of the Ashmolean, “Great British Drawings from the Ashmolean Museum” features work by celebrated artists such as William Blake, Thomas Gainsborough, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, J.M.W. Turner, John Everett Millais, and Aubrey Beardsley. Showcasing portraiture, landscape, still life, narrative, and book illustration, the exhibition aims to provide a rich, comprehensive survey of the drawing tradition in Britain.

“Great British Drawings from the Ashmolean Museum” opens on July 1 and continues through September 17. To learn more, visit the Princeton University Art Museum.

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In this ongoing series, Fine Art Today delves into the world of portraiture, highlighting historical and contemporary examples of superb quality and skill. This week: “Man with Mustache” by a contemporary master whose name will not soon be forgotten.

Although recognized for his expressive and loose brushwork, contemporary master Zhaoming Wu makes every stroke count. Though they often appear fragmented and perhaps, to some, blurry, careful consideration of his works reveal details that continue to evoke a sense of wonder.

This week’s feature portrait is a superb example of not only Wu’s talent, but also a highlights how little our brains need to “get the picture.” Set against a gray-green background, a mustached man gazes out upon the viewer. He is wearing a dark cap and illuminated from just outside the upper right edge of the canvas. The sitter’s character and physiognomic details are captured with accuracy, sensitivity, and expression.

Close inspection of the canvas reveals how Wu has made every stroke matter. Consider the shadowed portion of the man’s face. Just below his eye are a handful of strokes in a warm red hue. At distance, these few strokes merge to form a beautiful flash of reflected light. Indeed, if one pays close attention, the entire visage is composed of similar strokes, from the man’s eyes, to his stylized mustache, pressed collar, and pierced lips.

All of Wu’s works produce similar, remarkable effects. With a keen eye for color and skillfully placed strokes of the brush, Wu captures an entire world of luminance, character, and so much more.

To learn more, visit Zhaoming Wu.

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.