Paula Swaydan Grebel, "Heater," oil on panel, 9 x 12 in.
Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin has announced two new exhibitions, featuring the work of celebrated landscape painter Rodger Bechtold and Paula Swaydan Grebel’s dreamy interior and still life paintings. The works are on view September 14 through October 12, 2024.
From the gallery:
Rodger Bechtold: In Response to Nature
Rodger Bechtold, “Tree Lines in Fall Colors,” Oil on Panel, 12 x 16 in.Rodger Bechtold, “Late Fall,” Oil on Panel, 12 x 16 in.
Rodger Bechtold’s oil paintings are a spirited celebration of the Midwestern landscape, marked by their exuberant colors and expressive brushwork. Influenced by his studies at the American Academy of Art and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and his mentorship under renowned painter Wolf Kahn, Bechtold’s paintings balance realism and painterly interpretation.
The artist’s pieces evoke a sense of joy and vitality, inviting viewers to immerse themselves in the beauty and tranquility of the Midwest. Through his expert use of color, light, and composition, Bechtold creates scenes that resonate with warmth and emotion, offering glimpses into the heart of the landscapes he portrays.
Paula Swaydan Grebel: Rooms
Paula Swaydan Grebel, “Heater,” oil on panel, 9 x 12 in.Paula Swaydan Grebel, “Chairs,” oil on panel, 9 x 12 in.
Flushed with color and finished with confident brushwork, Wisconsin artist Paula Swaydan Grebel’s work demonstrates quiet moments of the everyday. In her latest series of small oil paintings on canvas and panel, she transports us to light-drenched rooms and intimate views of thoughtful still-life arrangements. Each painting is a testament to Swaydan Grebel’s ability to capture the ephemeral, offering viewers a momentary glimpse into calm, domestic spaces.
As part of our effort to continue to help artists and art galleries thrive, we’re proud to bring you this week’s “Virtual Gallery Walk.” Browse the artwork below and click the image itself to learn more about it, including how to contact the gallery.
Westerland Roses, Jim McVicker, oil, 16 x 12 in; Huse Skelly Gallery
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A Shared Path, Kathryn Turner, oil on canvas, 24 x 24 in; Turner Fine Art
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Stay Close, Lee Alban, oil on panel, 24 x 18 in; Lee Alban
Want to see your gallery featured in an upcoming Virtual Gallery Walk? Contact us at [email protected] to advertise today. Don’t delay, as spaces are first come, first served, and availability is limited.
Mary DeNeale Morgan (1868-1948), "Blue Bay Pt. Lobos," oil on canvas, 14 x 18 in.
Carmel Fine Art Gallery is proud to present the “Ladies of Light” exhibition, featuring masterworks by female artists from both historical and contemporary periods, primarily hailing from California. This exhibition showcases the enduring legacy of exceptional women artists whose works captivate viewers with their compelling landscapes, still lifes, and portraits, demonstrating a mastery of color and composition that evokes deep emotional responses.
“Ladies of Light” Fine Art Exhibition
Carmel Fine Art Gallery, California carmelfineart.com
Through October 7, 2024
More from the organizers:
The exhibition includes the works of nine artists: two from the Early California period and seven contemporary artists. Among them is Mary DeNeale Morgan (1868-1948), one of Carmel’s premier plein air painters, known for her distinct style and fondness for painting Monterey cypress trees on location in oil and watercolor. Morgan’s unique approach earned her significant recognition, including being named one of the nation’s foremost women artists by Scribner’s Magazine in 1928.
Alongside her is Jennie Vennerstrom Cannon (1869-1952), another influential artist whose work is featured in the exhibition. Cannon was not only a remarkable artist but also a champion for women’s equality in art communities across northern California. Both Morgan and Cannon played pivotal roles in forming the Carmel Art Association in 1927 and were instrumental in inviting the celebrated New York painter William Merritt Chase to teach summer school in Carmel.
These two bold and visionary “Ladies of Light” paved the way for the seven contemporary women artists whose work will also be showcased.
Jacalyn Beam, “Beach Day,” oil on panel, 9 x 12 in.
Jacalyn Beam is a member of the American Impressionist Society (AIS), Oil Painters of America (OPA), Washington Society of Landscape Painters (WSLP), and a signature member of the Mid-Atlantic Plein Air Painters Association (MAPAPA). She participates in national juried art shows and hangs in galleries across the USA.
From Pennsylvania, Jacalyn often travels to Carmel to capture the California coastline, saying, “I paint outdoors because the world is rich with beauty, and it is the optimal way to see three-dimensional objects, the subtleties of light and shadows, atmospheric perspective, and ‘real’ colors. Plein air painting is also a lot of fun! You meet new friends – animal and human, have fleeting conversations with bicyclists and joggers, and experience the sounds and smells of the outdoors.”
Cathey Cadieux, “A Rare Occasion,” pastel, 14.5 x 18 in. (a celebration of the Bentley Centennial at the Quail Lodge)
Cathey Cadieux describes her art process as “Capturing the sublime.” She is a member of the Portrait Society of America, a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America and a Signature Artist Member of the California Art Club. She divides her time between her art studio on her picturesque property in Malibu, and her home in Pebble Beach where she pursues plein air painting in Monterey County and Big Sur.
Her painting “Winter Sunset from my Bedroom” was selected as the cover for California Light, A Century of Landscapes: Paintings of the California Art Club, published in April 2011. Her paintings are also published in Painting California, Seascapes and Beach Towns, in April 2017.
Coraly Hanson, “Gibson Beach,” oil on panel, 12 x 16 in.
Coraly Hanson paints her plein air landscapes as a way of expressing the infinite divine in nature, saying, “I love painting scenes from God’s majestic Creation to try to bring some hope, encouragement and rest to the viewer in this often-hectic world.”
Coraly has exhibited and won awards in numerous plein air exhibitions throughout Northern California. Following in the footsteps of master painters before her, she never tires of her frequent painting sessions capturing the magnificent views of Point Lobos and Big Sur.
Ellen Howard, “Peaceful Moment,” oil on panel, 12 x 12 in.
Ellen Howard has won numerous awards for her tranquil and peaceful paintings. She is an artist member and VP of the California Art Club, Oil Painters of America, and the American Impressionist Society. Her work has been featured in American Art Collector, Fine Art Connoisseur, and PleinAir® Magazine, as well as in the book The Great American Paint Out published by ACC Art Books. She was chosen as an artist in the “5 to Watch” section of Fine Art Connoisseur‘s August/September 2023 issue.
About her work, Ellen says, “Monterey County is a magical place to paint. For this exhibition, I explored various light conditions to capture the true essence of the area. Painting during heavy fog allowed me to create a peaceful, serene mood, while bright sunlight brought a vibrant energy to the deep hues of turquoise and vibrant greens in the ocean. My favorite time to paint is during the sunset when the warm glow of the sun filters through the cypress trees in a cascade of color.”
Laurie Kersey, “Peaceful Meadow,” oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in.
Laurie Kersey’s offerings for the exhibition include her interpretations of the atmospheric changes constantly occurring along the rugged coastline, the little beaches, crashing surf, and iconic trees of the Monterey Peninsula and Carmel area, from Big Sur, Point Lobos, and Pebble Beach. She is a Signature Member of the California Art Club, Oil Painters of America, and American Impressionist Society, and a Master Signature Member of American Women Artists. She has been honored with numerous awards including Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, the American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, the California Art Club Biennial Exhibition, and the PleinAir® Salon Online Competition. In addition, Laurie has been featured in Art of the West Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, PleinAir® Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, American Artist Magazine, USEF’s Equestrian Magazine, Horses in Art Magazine, and has been a first-place winner in the Artist’s Magazine’s annual competition.
Kim Lordier, “Raking Light Through Blue Fish Cove,” pastel, 27 x 40 in.
Kim Lordier’s art examines the patterns of nature, and how light transforms the mood of an environment. Known for utilizing rich color and a tapestry-like effect in her mark making, Kim weaves her spiritual relationship with the outdoors into her work. Her art has been showcased on the cover of Art of the West, PleinAir® Magazine, Southwest Art, and The Pastel Journal, as well as featured in Western Art and Architecture and Fine Art Connoisseur.
Acknowledged by jurors and her peers, Kim has received recognition for her landscapes at major plein air events, international magazine competitions, national pastel society shows and museum exhibitions. Her paintings are in private and public collections throughout the country, and have been exhibited at the Autry Museum, Thunderbird Foundation for the Arts, Coors Western Art Show, National Arts Club, Salmagundi Club, and Forbes Gallery in New York, Haggin Museum, Irvine Museum, Hilbert Museum, and the Laguna Art Museum.
She states, “I believe authentic creativity, in all forms, is an intimately human endeavor, a way to relate spiritually with one another, a way to feel connected to the beauty of our world. My art is grounded in life’s passions and joy. Ever grateful for the opportunity to visually express my voice in pure pigment, I dance to the rhythms of nature in pastel.”
Sarah Lamb, “Shells,” oil on linen, 13 x 22 in.
Sarah Lamb is a talented and dynamic realist painter. With classical skill—and through transparency, depth, and texture—she captures the minute details of everyday objects in her dramatic still lifes and luscious landscapes. She is influenced by iconic artists such as Chardin, Emil Carlson and Wayne Thiebaud. She draws inspiration from the world around her and has great admiration for the classical artists of the 18th and 19th centuries who were skilled in the use of the trompe l’oeil technique. She maintains a large collection of glass and silver vessels on hand, and carefully selects which will work best with each still life composition.
Sarah has achieved great success with sell-out one-woman shows in major galleries across the United States, such as the Spanierman Gallery in NY, the Meredith Long Gallery in Houston, TX, and the John Pence Gallery in San Francisco. Her remarkable talent has been featured in magazines such as American Artists, American Art Collector, and Southwest Art.
For more information about the fine art exhibition “Ladies of Light,” please visit carmelfineart.com.
Debra Joy Groesser in her gallery with her painting, “Faith, Hope and Healing”
What is the most interesting thing you have painted and why? Debra Joy Groesser: The funniest/most interesting thing I’ve painted was at a retreat in the Kansas Flint Hills with a group of artists a few years ago. We were staying at a ranch together. I was one of the first to arrive and was intrigued by several old rusty farm implements and equipment arranged around the entrance to the ranch. One had a big blade on the back, so I thought it was some kind of plow. None of the other artists knew what it was. What caught my eye was the backlit scene – the almost neon glow of the grass underneath it, the negative spaces of the wheels, and the beautiful colors in the rust. It ended up being my favorite painting of the trip. When I got home, I showed it to my husband, who grew up on a farm. To my shock and surprise, his first words were, “Nice manure spreader, honey!” I had NO idea that was what it was. He went on to explain how it worked, all the parts and what they did. So the lesson learned, which I like to share with my students, is that anything can be beautiful if the light is right – even a manure spreader!
We’d like to congratulate Mark Daly for winning Overall First Place in the July 2024 PleinAir® Salon, judged by artist Michele Dunaway.
Mark Daly, “The Schooner Stephen Taber,” Oil, 24×18 in., Overall First Place Winner in the July 2024 PleinAir Salon
“I was struck instantly by the luminosity emanating from this painting,” Dunaway said. “It captures a sense of realism and light that goes far beyond anything a camera could record. The artist’s sensitivity to color and color temperature in the sails coupled with the simplification of water, highlighting only the essential functional movement complements the dynamic composition.
“This painting exudes an old master quality, and I could see it hanging in a museum next to Winslow Homer or Turner and holding its own. The touch of red off center hits right where the smallest square and spiral of the golden mean would overlay which adds for a harmonious balance and movement to the painting.
“The technique and brushwork is subtle where it needs to be and powerful and bold in necessary areas. When a painting is executed so well that it makes me interested in a subject that I’m not normally drawn to, it is a testament to the artist’s impressive skill.”
Mark Daly, “The Hesper’s Reflection,” Oil, 20 x 16 in., PleinAir Salon November 2023 Best Vehicle
“My purpose for painting is to create joy,” says Mark Daly in his Artist Statement. “I paint city, boat, beach, and other memorable scenes by orchestrating people and places, sunlight and shadow, sea and snow, into visual stories.
“I start an oil painting by making sure there is a good design. I interpret, simplify, and connect the big shapes. I work the whole painting—uniting all parts to reinforce the composition while avoiding getting lost in unessential details. I provide enough visual clarity and drawing accuracy so that the viewer can understand the subject and add their own interpretation of the scene.
“I focus on values and expressive paint application. This helps me create an in-the-moment sense of light, mood, and movement in my work. I use all five senses when painting. For example, with a musical background, I consider how a painting should look and sound. This enables me to add more life to my compositions.
“My goal is to create art with the highest standards that stands the test of time.”
Mark Daly, “Restoring a Treasure,” oil, 20 x 24 in., as seen in the 2024 National Exhibition of the American Society of Marine Artists
About the PleinAir Salon:
In the spirit of the French Salon created by the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, this annual online art competition, with 11 monthly cycles, leading to the annual Salon Grand Prize winners, is designed to stimulate artistic growth through competition. The competition rewards artists with $50,000 in cash prizes and exposure of their work, with the winning painting featured on the cover of PleinAir® Magazine.
Winners in each monthly competition may receive recognition and exposure through PleinAir Magazine’s print magazine, e-newsletters, websites, and social media. Winners of each competition will also be entered into the annual competition. The Annual Awards will be presented live at the next Plein Air Convention & Expo.
The next round of the PleinAir Salon has begun so hurry, as this competition ends on the last day of the month. Enter your best art in the PleinAir Salon here.
Published six times per year, Fine Art Connoisseur is now a widely consulted platform for the world’s most knowledgeable experts, who write articles that inform readers and give them the tools necessary to make better purchasing decisions.
ON THE COVER Wendy Chidester (b. 1964), “Rem-Blick” (detail), 2024, oil on canvas, overall: 45 x 45 in., Springville Museum of Art, museum purchase, 100th Annual Spring Salon, in honor of the Springville High School 2023–24 student body.
Artists Making Their Mark: Three to Watch
We highlight the talents of Dustin Adamson, Mitch Shea, and Stephanie Paige Thomson.
Going Wild
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Dustin Van Wechel: Telling Animals’ Stories
By Rose Fredrick
Katie O’Hagan: Inspiration on Her Doorstep
By Thomas Connors
Kathy Anderson’s Artful Flowers
By Daniel Grant
An Object of Desire Casts Its Spell
By David Masello
Sustaining Howard Pyle’s Legacy
By Leslie Gilbert Elman
Great Art Worldwide
We survey 16 top-notch projects occurring this season.
Springville’s Salon Turns 100
By Brandon Rosas
Fall Into the West
There are at least six great reasons to celebrate the American West this season.
Favorite: Alasdair Nichol on Max Beckmann’s “Departure”
By David Masello
Fine Art Connoisseur‘s jargon-free text and large color illustrations are attracting an ever-growing readership passionate about high-quality artworks and the fascinating stories around them. It serves art collectors and enthusiasts with innovative articles about representational paintings, sculptures, drawings, and prints — both historical and contemporary, American and European. Fine Art Connoisseur covers the museums, galleries, fairs, auction houses, and private collections where great art is found.
Southeast aerial view of the Joslyn Art Museum, rendering courtesy Moare.
The expanded and transformed Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, will celebrate its civic dedication ceremony on September 10, 2024, welcoming the public for the first time to a complete reinstallation of its distinctive collection, including numerous recent acquisitions, a full restoration of its original building, and the debut of its 42,000-square-foot Rhonda & Howard Hawks Pavilion designed by Snøhetta.
Open to all free of charge, The Joslyn has increased gallery space by more than 40 percent for its wide-ranging and fast-growing collection, reoriented its entrance sequence through three acres of redesigned and rejuvenated public gardens, and created a dazzling new visitor experience, highlighted by an elevated entry garden featuring Mark di Suvero’s “Bodacious,” 2001, one of dozens of works in the Phillip G. Schrager Collection. The expansion and renovation project has taken place at the same time as billions of dollars in new investments are being made in the downtown and riverfront of Omaha, where The Joslyn is a vital resource for the city and a cultural landmark for the entire Great Plains region.
Three weeks of celebrations for the new Joslyn will begin with major donor events, a preview day for Museum members and community partners on September 8, and the ribbon-cutting and public opening on September 10. Festivities in the days that follow will include an educator open house, a homeschool families day, and the Young Advocates party, “Reimagined,” on September 28.
Jack Becker, Executive Director and CEO of The Joslyn, said, “On September 10, we look forward to welcoming everyone back to a Joslyn Art Museum that is both true to its proud history and thoroughly transformed. Snøhetta’s sensitive and innovative approach for reimagining The Joslyn enhances our existing buildings to give our ever-expanding audience a new experience while preserving our most cherished spaces, to reveal 5,000 years of human creativity from the world’s diverse cultures.”
Craig Dykers, Founding Partner of Snøhetta, said, “Honoring The Joslyn’s historic character while creating a fresh expression for the Museum’s future has guided our design. Our comprehensive reconsideration of the Museum grounds, the existing interiors, and the newest building all work together to create a more inviting entry for the growing spectrum of people that visit the Museum. Our goal has been to provide a harmonious place for guests, art, and gathering that will become a vessel for inspiration and creativity to flourish.”
Gallery view inside the new Hawks Pavilion, rendering courtesy Moare.
The 1931 Joslyn Building, designed by father and son John and Alan McDonald, stands side-by-side in the Museum’s public gardens with the 1994 Suzanne & Walter Scott Pavilion, the first commission in the U.S. by Norman Foster. The new Hawks Pavilion, designed by Snøhetta in partnership with Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture, grows outward from an atrium that joins these two earlier buildings. In contrast to their rootedness, the Hawks Pavilion seems to twist and rise as it emerges, floating atop a transparent first floor that encloses the new main entrance, the Phillip G. Schrager Atrium, the Museum shop, and a multi-function community space. These main level areas ascend gradually to the existing buildings along a gently sloping, ADA accessible walkway. A striking, curved set of steps leads directly to the gallery level. The effect of weightlessness recalls the striking cloud formations above the Great Plains, as well as the deep overhangs and horizontal expression of Prairie School architecture.
To inaugurate the Hawks Pavilion, a suite of the new building’s light-filled galleries will be installed with the first presentation of the Phillip G. Schrager Collection. Comprising fifty-two paintings, sculptures, drawings, and photographs that encompass some of the most important developments in postwar and contemporary art, the collection is perhaps the most significant gift of art in The Joslyn’s history. Artists represented include Richard Artschwager, Lynda Benglis, John Chamberlain, Richard Diebenkorn, Jim Dine, Tara Donovan, Robert Gober, Mary Heilmann, Jenny Holzer, Robert Irwin, Mike Kelley, Roy Lichtenstein, Morris Louis, Brice Marden, Laura Owens, and Gerhard Richter. The presentation will be accompanied by a fully illustrated, 144-page catalogue published by the Museum featuring an in-depth essay on Phillip G. Schrager and collection works.
The Hawks Pavilion also includes the Museum’s first dedicated works on paper gallery. The inaugural exhibition will be “Ed Ruscha: Paper,” featuring drawings, prints, and photographs from Ruscha’s recent gift to the Museum as well as work from the artist’s collection. Born in Omaha, Ed Ruscha has given The Joslyn 18 paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture from all stages of his career, from 1961 to 2017. The gift also includes a collection of Ruscha’s original artist books and is complemented by an additional gift from Ruscha of 20 works by his colleagues and friends in Los Angeles, including Terry Allen, Richard Artschwager, Joe Goode, Ed Moses, and William Wegman, dating from the 1960s through 2015.
The Joslyn Building will reopen with the first complete reinstallation of the permanent collection since the Museum’s inauguration in 1931. Bringing together artworks and artifacts across media, the new curatorial vision asserts the relevance of historical objects to contemporary concerns and diversifies the identities and experiences represented in the galleries.
This approach has transformed the American galleries, which now weave together more than 150 years of creativity across cultures and artistic traditions, no longer separating works by Indigenous and Euro-American artists and with a special focus on the Great Plains and Missouri River as sites of exchange. Iconic works by Albert Bierstadt, Mary Cassatt, and Grant Wood are reinterpreted to address the history of U.S. expansion from 1800 to 1950 and its continuing environmental and social impacts. More Native American art is on view than ever before, including notable works by Howling Wolf and Oscar Howe and exquisite examples of beadwork, quillwork, and ceramics by Indigenous women.
Significant additions to the collection on view in the 1931 building when the Museum reopens will include works by Elisabetta Sirani, Émile-Jean-Horace Vernet, Grafton Tyler Brown, Thomas Hudson, Robert S. Duncanson, and Elizabeth Catlett.
Grafton Tyler Brown (American, 1841–1918), “Lower Falls and Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, from Hayden Point,” 1890, oil on canvas, 21 1/4 × 14 1/4 in. (54 × 36.2 cm), Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, Museum purchase, gift of The Sherwood Foundation, 2022.9
For more information about the Joslyn Art Museum artworks and reopening, please visit www.joslyn.org.
The middle third of Sabin Howard’s composition for "A Soldier’s Journey" (full clay version), photographed in 2017
From the Fine Art Connoisseur September/October 2024 Editor’s Note:
Honoring the Past and Looking Forward
Fine Art Connoisseur magazine, September / October 2024
Every issue of Fine Art Connoisseur reminds me how exciting the field of contemporary realist art has become, across the United States and among practitioners of every age. A key marker of this vitality will go viral on September 13, when all eyes turn to Washington, D.C., for the installation and illumination of the National World War I Memorial in Pershing Park, two blocks from the White House. More than 4 million American men and women served in uniform during the “War to End All Wars” (1914–18), and 116,000 of them gave their lives, a figure especially shocking when we consider that the U.S. did not join the conflict until 1917, three years after it started.
The memorial’s focal point is “A Soldier’s Journey,” the 60-foot-wide bronze relief encompassing 38 figures conceived and executed by the New York City-based sculptor Sabin Howard (b. 1963). It traces the progress of an individual American combatant, who departs home, endures appalling ordeals, and finally returns to his family. Here we see not only soldiers: also depicted and honored for their contributions and sacrifices are nurses, spouses, and children.
Sabin Howard and architect Joseph Weishaar have endured their own journey; planning for the memorial began well over a decade ago, the groundbreaking occurred in 2017, and then came the pandemic. Howard has spent years developing his vision in New Zealand, England, and suburban New Jersey, working closely with his wife, Traci L. Slatton, who helped formulate his ideas around the composition’s narrative element.
I eagerly look forward to attending the unveiling this month, and I encourage everyone to follow the media coverage, which will alert the general public to the fact that great realist art is still being made. Fine Art Connoisseur has long covered the achievements of Sabin Howard, who excelled at the New York Academy of Art after studying at the Tyler School of Art’s program in Rome. Fortunately, there are many more talents out there excelling, including the team of sculptors Howard gathered to develop this project.
I am excited to learn where all of these gifted artists will turn next, and I encourage you to learn more about this month’s unveiling at sabinhoward.com/WWIcc.
What are your thoughts? Share your letter to the Editor below in the comments.
“Get Up. Show Up. Never Give Up.”, Nancee Jean Busse, acrylic, 18 x 24 in; $3600
Nancee Jean Busse: I strive to capture the essence of the natural world and the spirit of the American West as I experience them. Each of my pieces reflects my deep connection to nature. My work’s consistency is characterized by a keen attention to detail, use of color, and the powerful portrayal of both wildlife and human figures in their respective environments. Hopefully, my art evokes my sense of adventure and reverence for the American West.
“The Protector,” Johanne Mangi, oil on linen board, 14 x 11 in; available Centerpiece Gallery, Raleigh NC; $3700
Johanne Mangi: The Protector was juried into the Oil Painters of America’s October Eastern Regional Exhibition in Raleigh, NC. This painting was originally created as a demonstration piece for a Magazine. I chose this particular subject because of her confident demeanor. I was able to observe and take color notes from life of this dog which is a key component to my work.
To read and see more of Johanne’s work, visit: website
“Churro,” Johanne Mangi, 12 x 9 in., oil on board“The Gremlin,” Johanne Mangi, 12 x 9 in., oil on board
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