Grenning Gallery in New York will soon open a major exhibition of landscapes by this celebrated American painter. He’s widely collected and found in major public collections around the country; do you recognize his work?

Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor, New York, is poised to open a significant solo show of recent landscapes by American painter Stephen Hannock (b. 1951). Although Hannock uses modern techniques and themes in his works, there is an undeniable luminousness to his work that recalls the great Hudson River School and other 19th-century masters.

The exhibition, which opens June 10, includes a diverse range of Hannock’s landscapes, from the large to the small, atmospheric to crisp, and from morning to nocturne. The largest painting in the show, titled “Flooded River with Red Maple,” is a clear demonstration of Hannock’s proficiency as a colorist. Peeking through a group of trees along the horizon, the sun has just begun to pierce through a morning fog, creating a stunning blend of warm hues that radiate into the cool, jewel-like blues and greens of the sky and water. Hannock explains that he is commenting on “seasonal sweeping away of debris gathered over the winter, which is an annual event.” The gallery adds, “Rather than looking at the devastation one can see in a flood, Hannock prefers to think about the cleansing ramifications.”

Also included in the exhibition are a number of rocket nocturnes, which were inspired by similar pictures by Whistler. There is a great deal of anticipation in these works, as the artist has strived to capture the stream of light as a rocket darts across the sky before the starburst explosion.

The exhibition will be on view through July 2. To learn more, visit Grenning 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.

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: “La Monomane de l’envie.”  Click here to learn more.

Perhaps best known for his monumental history painting “The Raft of the Medusa,” French romantic painter Théodore Géricault (1791-1824) was also an outstanding portraitist. During the waning years of the painter’s career in the early 1820s, Géricault was commissioned to execute a series of portraits by Dr. Georget, head of the Paris Asylum. These studies of the mentally ill — with their incredible sensitivity and psychological intensity — are portraits that have rarely been bettered in history.

Located in the Fine Arts Museum in Lyons, France, this week’s feature portrait is a dramatic visual probing of a female subject struck with “obsessive envy.” Painted in 1822, the subject is presented in half-length against an empty background. Géricault’s choice of presentation was adroit, as the tightly cropped space and lack of any spatial context forces the viewer to confront — rather uncomfortably — the disturbed sitter directly. Close inspection of the visage reveals a multitude of information and the subject is captured with incredible sensitivity. The woman — who is in advanced age — menacingly looks out of the picture toward the viewer’s left. Her mouth is very tightly pressed while her eyes are worn with red-rimmed emotion. Perhaps caught during an episode of her mania, Géricault has revealed physical facts with authenticity and verisimilitude, which contrast rather sharply from the painter’s early idealized portraiture.

Interest in mental illness among Géricault and his romantic contemporaries was a well-documented phenomenon and followed a burgeoning pseudo-science that believed the human face could reveal much about an individual’s character, especially with regard to madness, criminal activity, and the moment of death. The sad state of Géricault’s own health during this time might have also affected his interest in and thoughtfulness about the subject. In fact, Géricault died in 1824 after a long period of declining health, in particular a chronic tuberculosis infection. What is more, it seems Géricault’s own family had a history of insanity, making the psychological discomfort of his subjects all the more poignant. Undoubtedly weakened by his worsening condition, one could reasonably assume Géricault felt a certain identification with his subjects. All told, the five portraits that survive from this series, including the portrait here, are firmly positioned in the pantheon of great historical portraiture.

To learn more, visit the Fine Arts Museum in Lyons.

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.

Nineteenth-century French composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918) often invited his audiences to “see” art and abstract visual elements in his music. Collaborating with him across time is master painter Mary Pettis, who will soon mount a breathtaking solo exhibition that celebrates the music in art and the art in music.

The Minnesota Orchestra will perform five brilliant movements from Claude Debussy’s Images for Orchestra in Minneapolis on June 8, 9, and 10. Joining the performances at the newly renovated Orchestra Hall will be “Beyond the Surface,” a solo exhibition by expressive realist Mary Pettis featuring paintings created specifically for the concert.

Twenty paintings by Pettis will be on view, five of which pair directly with the five performed movements. To be sure, the exhibition is not a series of literal illustrations of Debussy’s Images for Orchestra, but rather a celebration of the connection between the languages of paint and Debussy’s compositions. “Pettis emphasizes the musicality of visual arts as a vehicle of deliberate expression,” according to the press materials. “And like Debussy’s compositions, this exhibition is designed to satisfy the viewer on both an intuitive and a technical level.”

The exhibition equally highlights expressive realism, a contemporary movement that fuses the purest elements of art (such as color, texture, and form) with familiar, timeless subjects. “Expressive realism employs, rather than shuns, the artistic language uncovered by the modern art movement. The result is an intensely fulfilling visual experience, both for the art novice and for those who are drawn to spend the time to look beyond the surface,” the announcement continues. “As Debussy invited his audience to look for images in the music, Pettis invites the viewer to see music in the images. [Debussy] often used nostalgic images and songs as source material for his tradition-breaking style. Mary uses a similar approach: she translates the visual world into evocative sensory experiences.”

The show’s signature painting, “The Cycle of Lilies,” is a representative example of this intriguing concept and is paired with the second movement of Debussy’s Images for Orchestra, titled Ibéria: Les Parfums de la Nuit. Viewers find themselves among a peaceful, tightly cropped grouping of waterlilies and cattails. Two brilliant flowers are in full bloom, adding highlights of white and giving the eye a resting point from the soft arrangement of green pads that sweeps across the linen. Cool blue and purple hues indicate the surface of the water and illuminate soft ripples that approach the viewer. Deep yellows, oranges, and browns compose elements below the surface, providing a strong foundation and balance to the palette.

“Like the melodic woodwinds echoing the oscillating motion of the accompaniment, the gentle movement of the water’s surface affects all of the plant life residing within it,” a description reads. “The weeds below reveal glimpses of hidden, nourishing depths felt in the ambient bass. The floating opalescent flowers catch the eye against the strong dark reflections of the unseen trees, in the same way that the light reedy oboe and the breathy flute bring their melody to the forefront of the orchestra. The lily pads lazily dip in and out of the water in syncopation, mirroring the flowing movement within the strings. And much like Les Parfums de la Nuit, the longer you let the work wash over you, the more enriched and immersed you become.”

That, folks, is 1/20th of the show. I will certainly be there, will you?

To learn more, visit Mary Pettis.

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.

by Anne Weiler-Brown

Two weeks ago, a group of art collectors were invited by the Coeur d’Alene Galleries to Northwest Montana along the Clark Fork River for a special rendezvous. Who attended and what took place? Your recap is one click away!

Nearly 50 collectors gathered in Northwest Montana this spring for a three-day retreat that featured, among other happening, artists Brent Cotton, Andy Thomas, Ben Pease, and Joe Kronenberg painting and sharing their perspectives.

Buddy Le and Ron Nicklas of Coeur d’Alene Galleries offered tips on building a collection, including advice to be confident in your tastes, be an informed buyer, focus on quality, document your art, and have a plan for future owners. Another topics of discussion: how to judge elements that contribute to the overall value of artworks and your collection, such as auction records, places in the permanent collection of museums, galleries, book and magazine references, appraisals, and market and liquidation values.

Other speakers included Duane Braaten, director of art and philanthropy for the C.M. Russell Museum, who discussed art auctions; William E. Farr, promoting his coffee table book on the late artist Julius Seyler; and a combined presentation on conservation and framing from conservationist Joe Abbrescia and Frame of Reference Fine Art framer Derek Vandeberg.

By all accounts, one of the highlights of the Rendezvous was the final day’s forum, with collectors, artists, and speakers sharing different perspectives about the Western art market.

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 unique new collection of works by artist Glenn Dean enjoyed a very successful opening night at Maxwell Alexander last weekend. Through this new body of work, Dean explored a new subject that historically has dazzled and will continue to dazzle collectors. Details here!

By Vanessa Françoise Rothe

On display through June 17, 2017, “Into the Night” has brought an evening glow to Los Angeles’s Maxwell Alexander Gallery. The exhibition features the artist’s recent exploration of a new subject — horses and riders set among twilight or nocturnal landscapes — and they have a subtle, soothing ambiance about them. The exhibition is both alluring and pleasing; the works share a peaceful note. Dean is famous for his color harmonies, and he delivers an exhibition consistent with that reputation, using warm and cool harmonies that mix with tonal grays. During the opening reception, Dean himself mirrored that harmony with a calm, confident air as he shared the moment with his fellow artists and clients.

With moonlit skies, wheat fields, beautifully rendered horses, and prairie scenes of the American West, the exhibition transports the viewer to stunning planes and rolling hillsides at dusk. A printed catalogue is available through the gallery.  Dean explains, “The body of work for this show is really an exploration of light and color…working within the transition from the fading light of day, to the moonlit night.  I wanted to explore how these changes in light effect how we see our surroundings and how the surroundings (and subjects) themselves visually merge together and into the night sky, nearly losing all definition unless defined by the direct light of the moon.”

Dean has been a fine landscape artist for many years, well-known in California and beyond, respected and followed by many. His ocean and California landscapes are widely collected, and Dean has, in the last few years, rediscovered the West with horses and riders as a main subject, traveling to paint in Utah, the hills of California, and on nearby ranches. These new themes will continue to offer an exciting new subject for him. The nocturnal collection takes this series further, adding the effects of night and dusk, and celebrates this main theme as his subjects roam and walk … into the night.

Maxwell Alexander Gallery is located at 6144 W. Washington Blvd. Culver City CA 90232

Inquiries: [email protected] or 310-839-9242

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.