Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com is extremely pleased to represent the exceptional works of Chicago local contemporary artist Connie Noyes. Connie Noyes is a full time interdisciplinary artist in Chicago, whose works have been exhibited in various cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Paris, and Malaysia.
She received her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and a MA degree in Psychology from Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont California. She has been sponsored in international artist’s residencies and symposiums, more recently in The 5th International Visual Arts Symposium in 2007 at Monastir, Tunisia.
Noyes is known for creating art from discarded materials and working with many different media forms. She uses detritus as the skeleton of some works and uses energy and experimentation in her production process. Her audience says her works convey emotions, thoughts, and vulnerability.
Noyes’ work is featured in corporate, private, and museum collections including Starbucks and the Museum of Contemporary Photography. If you would like to view additional works of art by Connie Noyes and other local contemporary artists please follow this link http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Wednesday, December 3, 2014
Lynn Basa - Chicago Artists
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to represent the beautiful and amazing works of Chicago contemporary artist Lynn Basa.
Lynn Basa is an abstract painter and public artist living in Chicago. Her works are featured in the collections at universities, hospitals, and private residences. While Lynn is primarily a painter and printmaker, she also works in glass, stone, steel, and mosaic. Lynn works in her private studio in Chicago and has exhibited widely.
Basa earned a Bachelor of Arts, studio art and art history, at Indiana University in 1977. In 1981, she received a Masters in Public Administration, public art policy and management at the University of Washington. She is also the author of a book called The Artist’s Guide to Public Art: How to Find and Win Commissions, published in 2008.
In addition to painting, she completed public art commissions. Some public art commissions include the design for a terrazzo floor, measuring 6300 square feet at the Indianapolis Airport, and a Byzantine mosaic mural for the City of Claremont.
Currently, she teaches at the Graham School at the University of Chicago but she has also taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Sculpture department. She is represented in the permanent collections of the American Craft Museum, Rhode Island School of Design Museum and the Spencer Museum to name a few.
If you would like to view additional works of art by Lynn Basa and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Lynn Basa is an abstract painter and public artist living in Chicago. Her works are featured in the collections at universities, hospitals, and private residences. While Lynn is primarily a painter and printmaker, she also works in glass, stone, steel, and mosaic. Lynn works in her private studio in Chicago and has exhibited widely.
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| Opposing Forces oil and beeswax on panel 36” x 72” |
Basa earned a Bachelor of Arts, studio art and art history, at Indiana University in 1977. In 1981, she received a Masters in Public Administration, public art policy and management at the University of Washington. She is also the author of a book called The Artist’s Guide to Public Art: How to Find and Win Commissions, published in 2008.
In addition to painting, she completed public art commissions. Some public art commissions include the design for a terrazzo floor, measuring 6300 square feet at the Indianapolis Airport, and a Byzantine mosaic mural for the City of Claremont.
Currently, she teaches at the Graham School at the University of Chicago but she has also taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the Sculpture department. She is represented in the permanent collections of the American Craft Museum, Rhode Island School of Design Museum and the Spencer Museum to name a few.
If you would like to view additional works of art by Lynn Basa and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Marvelous Local Art by Cathy Bruni Norris
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to represent the beautiful and amazing works of Chicago contemporary artist Cathy Bruni Norris.
Chicago artist Cathy Bruni Norris began painting when she was 15 years old, developing techniques for pouring, tilting, and mixing paint she uses today. She studied at the American Academy of Art, where she received a BA in Water Color Illustration. She paints large scale canvases and polycarbonate material, doing some reverse acrylic painting.
Norris comes from a creative family. Her grandmother was a concert pianist, orchestra leader, and teacher, holding a degree from Mendesssohn Conservatory of Music in Chicago. Although Norris studied classical piano for nine years, she developed a passion for painting, carrying out her family’s artistic legacy with her art.
When Norris paints, she applies liquid acrylics and blends them to represent waves, fireworks, vapor trails, or moving colors. She maintains the sight of the finished work in her mind’s eye, focusing on the mixture and texture of her pigments. Her works have a mysterious quality and force its viewers to ask questions.
She has her own art studio in Chicago and recently held an art demonstration for the North Shore Affiliate of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
If you would like to view additional works by Cathy Bruni Norris and over 30 other fantastic local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago contemporary artists.
Chicago artist Cathy Bruni Norris began painting when she was 15 years old, developing techniques for pouring, tilting, and mixing paint she uses today. She studied at the American Academy of Art, where she received a BA in Water Color Illustration. She paints large scale canvases and polycarbonate material, doing some reverse acrylic painting.
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| Chariot acrylic on plexi panel 50” x 84” |
When Norris paints, she applies liquid acrylics and blends them to represent waves, fireworks, vapor trails, or moving colors. She maintains the sight of the finished work in her mind’s eye, focusing on the mixture and texture of her pigments. Her works have a mysterious quality and force its viewers to ask questions.
She has her own art studio in Chicago and recently held an art demonstration for the North Shore Affiliate of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
If you would like to view additional works by Cathy Bruni Norris and over 30 other fantastic local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago contemporary artists.
Chicago Art by Tom Francesconi
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com is extremely pleased to represent the exceptional works of Chicago local contemporary artist Tom Francesconi.
Tom’s paintings, featured on the site, have become nationally recognized for their richness of color and unique brushwork. His works have been published in magazines and in eight books, including the famous Splash 1. Tom is a member of several watercolor societies, including the American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society.
Francesconi studied art at Eastern Illinois University and later focused on watercolor at the American Academy of Art in Chicago. After 12 years as a commercial artist he returned to painting. Francesconi teaches weekly classes in Chicago and holds workshops throughout the United States, France, and Croatia. His work has been exhibited in many national exhibitions such as theNational Watercolor Society, Transparent Watercolor Society of America, and Watercolor West.
Francesconi has served as president of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America. His work has received awards, more recently the Lakes Region Watercolor Guild Award at the 2010 TWSA Exhibition. He has also written articles for the magazines Watercolor and Watercolor Magic (now Watercolor Artist).
If you would like to view additional works by Tom Francesconi and over 30 other phenomenal contemporary local Chicago artists please follow this link http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Tom’s paintings, featured on the site, have become nationally recognized for their richness of color and unique brushwork. His works have been published in magazines and in eight books, including the famous Splash 1. Tom is a member of several watercolor societies, including the American Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Society.
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| Art Institute watercolor on paper 22” x 28” |
Francesconi has served as president of the Transparent Watercolor Society of America. His work has received awards, more recently the Lakes Region Watercolor Guild Award at the 2010 TWSA Exhibition. He has also written articles for the magazines Watercolor and Watercolor Magic (now Watercolor Artist).
If you would like to view additional works by Tom Francesconi and over 30 other phenomenal contemporary local Chicago artists please follow this link http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Magnificent Art by David Molinaro
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com is pleased to represent the exceptional works of contemporary Chicago local artist David Molinaro.
Designer and experimental artist David Molinaro brings energy into his pieces, creating complex, serious, and playful images. He earned a BFA from Kent State University, studying visual communication, design, and illustration. His works contain design techniques, depth, and complexity, evoking a variety of emotions from his audience.
Molinaro has worked with graphic design and illustration, photography, painting, and even art direction. He expands on his interests of multi-media and the broad array of subjects he uses in his pieces. His finished pieces are described as balanced, elegant, colorful, and bold. He recently started working with oil on canvas, producing interesting images. He has works featured in numerous galleries online.
If you would like to view additional works of art by other local contemporary artists please follow this http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Designer and experimental artist David Molinaro brings energy into his pieces, creating complex, serious, and playful images. He earned a BFA from Kent State University, studying visual communication, design, and illustration. His works contain design techniques, depth, and complexity, evoking a variety of emotions from his audience.
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| Bulls Eye Popeye oil on canvas 44” x 44” |
Molinaro has worked with graphic design and illustration, photography, painting, and even art direction. He expands on his interests of multi-media and the broad array of subjects he uses in his pieces. His finished pieces are described as balanced, elegant, colorful, and bold. He recently started working with oil on canvas, producing interesting images. He has works featured in numerous galleries online.
If you would like to view additional works of art by other local contemporary artists please follow this http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Marvelous Fine Art from Chicago by Rodger Bechtold
Friedman Fine art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to present the marvelous works of contemporary Chicago artist Rodger Bechtold.
Nature-based painter Rodger Bechtold has painted uplifting interpretations of landscapes for over thirty years. He studied visual arts at the American Academy of Art, Chicago, and the School of the Art institute of Chicago. After many years in commercial art illustration, he decided to pursue painting landscapes full time.
Bechtold’s paintings have been seen in solo and featured exhibitions in museums and prominent galleries. His works are featured in many private and public collections including Charles Wm. Foster and Associates, Ltd. in Chicago. His works have been included in periodicals and books like The Artist and the American Landscape: Two Centuries of American Landscape Painting, by John Driscoll.
With his landscape paintings, Bechtold works between representation and abstraction to make his audience feel like they are at the featured place. Bechtold expresses energy, seemingly effortless brushwork, and vibrant colors. He focuses on Midwestern country sides, inviting his audience to develop an interest in the wondrous landscapes.
If you would like to view additional works by Rodger Bechtold and over 30 other fabulous contemporary local Chicago artists follow this link, Local Chicago Artists.
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| The Green Between oil on canvas 60” x 60” |
Bechtold’s paintings have been seen in solo and featured exhibitions in museums and prominent galleries. His works are featured in many private and public collections including Charles Wm. Foster and Associates, Ltd. in Chicago. His works have been included in periodicals and books like The Artist and the American Landscape: Two Centuries of American Landscape Painting, by John Driscoll.
With his landscape paintings, Bechtold works between representation and abstraction to make his audience feel like they are at the featured place. Bechtold expresses energy, seemingly effortless brushwork, and vibrant colors. He focuses on Midwestern country sides, inviting his audience to develop an interest in the wondrous landscapes.
If you would like to view additional works by Rodger Bechtold and over 30 other fabulous contemporary local Chicago artists follow this link, Local Chicago Artists.
Exceptional Fine Art by Doug Frohman
http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to represent the beautiful works of contemporary Chicago Artist Doug Frohman.
Doug Frohman is fascinated by how things in nature are arranged and relate to one another to produce the reality we see. In his paintings, he creates narratives that focus on logical relationships and the elegant construction of nature. His “Abstract Narratives” contain compositions within larger compositions, separated by panels resembling film frames. Each work contains a story with scenarios and characters that develop according to how the viewer makes associations and connections in the grouping of images.
In his most current art series called “Equations,” he explores proportional relationships and the emotional impact of color in a 3-D space. He starts each work with a simple structure and adds details in texture, color, and design that transform the work into a complex piece. Frohman likes to paint with a workman’s cement trowel instead of brushes, which emphasizes physicality in the work and the role of the surface in his canvas.
Frohman’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions in Chicago and the United States, including most recently the Kips Gallery in New York, NY in 2014, the Prudential Building in Chicago in 2014, and the Art Expo Chicago at Merchandise Mart in 2011. His pieces are found in private and public collections throughout the country, from the Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
To view more Chicago artists and their marvelous artwork, follow this link, Chicago Artists – Fine Art by Local Chicago artists.
Doug Frohman is fascinated by how things in nature are arranged and relate to one another to produce the reality we see. In his paintings, he creates narratives that focus on logical relationships and the elegant construction of nature. His “Abstract Narratives” contain compositions within larger compositions, separated by panels resembling film frames. Each work contains a story with scenarios and characters that develop according to how the viewer makes associations and connections in the grouping of images.
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| Inside Alhambra oil on canvas 84 in. x 64 in. |
In his most current art series called “Equations,” he explores proportional relationships and the emotional impact of color in a 3-D space. He starts each work with a simple structure and adds details in texture, color, and design that transform the work into a complex piece. Frohman likes to paint with a workman’s cement trowel instead of brushes, which emphasizes physicality in the work and the role of the surface in his canvas.
Frohman’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions in Chicago and the United States, including most recently the Kips Gallery in New York, NY in 2014, the Prudential Building in Chicago in 2014, and the Art Expo Chicago at Merchandise Mart in 2011. His pieces are found in private and public collections throughout the country, from the Weiss Memorial Hospital in Chicago to the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
To view more Chicago artists and their marvelous artwork, follow this link, Chicago Artists – Fine Art by Local Chicago artists.
Marvelous Zhou Bros Fine Art from Chicago, Illinois
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are proud to represent the marvelous work of the Zhou Brothers.
The Zhou Brothers are Chinese-American artists living and working in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. Before leaving China in 1986, the Zhou Brothers had become nationally recognized contemporary artists with shows in the National Museum of Art, Beijing; the Museum of Art, Nanjing; the Shanghai Museum of Art; the Guiling Art Museum; and the Guanxi Art Museum in Naning.
The Brothers work collaboratively on each piece they create, often communicating in a dream dialogue. In 1973 DaHuang and ShanZuo finished their first painting together, The Wave, and have created art in multiple media together since. Their live painting performances allow their audience to see their unique communication and techniques.
In 1986, when the Brothers moved to the United States, they settled in the Bridgeport neighborhood where they retain a private residence and studio. The Zhou Brothers founded the Zhou B Art Center in 2004, hoping to create a place in Bridgeport for artists and international dialogues.
“Looking at a Zhou Brothers painting is like drinking water from a well. The well is deep, as deep and true as human experience itself. Symbols and images 10,000 years old and yet so modern, Eastern motifs and Western abstraction – the wholeness of it beguiles the imagination.”
Shan Zuo and Da Huang’s Artistic Vision:
“Chinese critics have termed the brothers’ approach “Ganjue Zhui” ["Gahn-jweh joo-ee"]. Any attempt to translate this phrase is fraught with difficulties. The most literal translation would be “Feelingism,” but “Intuitionism” is in some ways less misleading. What both these terms suggest could be called a Taoist vision of the artistic process. Taoist language delights in paradox. Shan Zuo and Da Huang speak of the art of paintings as a language for saying the inexpressible. Feelings or intuitive perceptions that are beyond the reach of words may yet be captured on the canvas.
This could be seen as a key to viewing not only their art, but a good deal of other abstract or non-representational art as well. We must not look for a “translation” of the artwork into the realm of ordinary language discourse. No full verbal explication is possible, but the link between the original artistic inspiration and the response in the viewer occurs in the realm of feeling or intuition.
Shan Zuo and Da Huang spoke of one painting as follows: “In some abstract painting, life is black, pain is red, and hope is white. Another way to express profundity is with a curving and twisting line.” Merely by following this slight clue, one begins to see more clearly into the world of such canvases as Dream of Chicago, Man and Nature, Peace Symbol, and Life Symphony. Is that to say that given a full list of such “equations” one would understand their paintings after the fashion of someone solving a system of algebraic equations? The brothers might well answer a question like this with a quote from Chuang Tzu, the Taoist philosopher from the fourth century B.C.: “The white of a white horse is not [simply] white.” That is one classic statement of the true Taoist “theory of relativity.” You cannot take clues such as “pain is red, hope is white” as universally valid statements even within the realm of the Zhou Brothers’ own work. In another context, the colors might well carry different meanings. To quote Chuang Tzu once more: “There is nothing in the world bigger than the tip of an autumn hair, and Mount T’ai is tiny. Heaven and earth were born at the same time I was, and ten thousand things are one with me.” Only in this mode of perception is it possible to give a few square feet of painted canvas titles like Sun and Peace Bird or Dance of Eternity.
There is also a Taoist element in the brothers’ sense of the link between tradition and creativity. They believe that, dating back to imperial times, Chinese art has had a tradition whose weight and prestige tended to stifle creativity by making imitation of the masters a criterion of value in itself. Schooled in reverence for the great masters and coming from a culture that traditionally imagined the golden age as a lost world of the past, a lost world of which the present is but a badly flawed imitation, it has only been the greatest of Chinese artists that possessed the confidence to change the very language of art in order to say something new. For the Zhou Brothers, as for all the most insightful of creative minds throughout Chinese history, tradition is something that must be so internalized and assimilated that it becomes invisible or transparent. True artistic worth is only to be found in the original creative sparks that are refracted through the lens of tradition. Although the Huashan materials are a point of meditation and departure for Shan Zuo and Da Huang, the Zhou Brothers are painting from themselves.”
If you would like to view the works of the Zhou Brothers and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
The Zhou Brothers are Chinese-American artists living and working in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago. Before leaving China in 1986, the Zhou Brothers had become nationally recognized contemporary artists with shows in the National Museum of Art, Beijing; the Museum of Art, Nanjing; the Shanghai Museum of Art; the Guiling Art Museum; and the Guanxi Art Museum in Naning.
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| Open My Door No. 37 Oil on Lead and Silk 95 in. x 102 in. |
The Brothers work collaboratively on each piece they create, often communicating in a dream dialogue. In 1973 DaHuang and ShanZuo finished their first painting together, The Wave, and have created art in multiple media together since. Their live painting performances allow their audience to see their unique communication and techniques.
In 1986, when the Brothers moved to the United States, they settled in the Bridgeport neighborhood where they retain a private residence and studio. The Zhou Brothers founded the Zhou B Art Center in 2004, hoping to create a place in Bridgeport for artists and international dialogues.
“Looking at a Zhou Brothers painting is like drinking water from a well. The well is deep, as deep and true as human experience itself. Symbols and images 10,000 years old and yet so modern, Eastern motifs and Western abstraction – the wholeness of it beguiles the imagination.”
Shan Zuo and Da Huang’s Artistic Vision:
“Chinese critics have termed the brothers’ approach “Ganjue Zhui” ["Gahn-jweh joo-ee"]. Any attempt to translate this phrase is fraught with difficulties. The most literal translation would be “Feelingism,” but “Intuitionism” is in some ways less misleading. What both these terms suggest could be called a Taoist vision of the artistic process. Taoist language delights in paradox. Shan Zuo and Da Huang speak of the art of paintings as a language for saying the inexpressible. Feelings or intuitive perceptions that are beyond the reach of words may yet be captured on the canvas.
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| Double Stars Mixed Media on Canvas 94 in. x 82 in. |
This could be seen as a key to viewing not only their art, but a good deal of other abstract or non-representational art as well. We must not look for a “translation” of the artwork into the realm of ordinary language discourse. No full verbal explication is possible, but the link between the original artistic inspiration and the response in the viewer occurs in the realm of feeling or intuition.
Shan Zuo and Da Huang spoke of one painting as follows: “In some abstract painting, life is black, pain is red, and hope is white. Another way to express profundity is with a curving and twisting line.” Merely by following this slight clue, one begins to see more clearly into the world of such canvases as Dream of Chicago, Man and Nature, Peace Symbol, and Life Symphony. Is that to say that given a full list of such “equations” one would understand their paintings after the fashion of someone solving a system of algebraic equations? The brothers might well answer a question like this with a quote from Chuang Tzu, the Taoist philosopher from the fourth century B.C.: “The white of a white horse is not [simply] white.” That is one classic statement of the true Taoist “theory of relativity.” You cannot take clues such as “pain is red, hope is white” as universally valid statements even within the realm of the Zhou Brothers’ own work. In another context, the colors might well carry different meanings. To quote Chuang Tzu once more: “There is nothing in the world bigger than the tip of an autumn hair, and Mount T’ai is tiny. Heaven and earth were born at the same time I was, and ten thousand things are one with me.” Only in this mode of perception is it possible to give a few square feet of painted canvas titles like Sun and Peace Bird or Dance of Eternity.
There is also a Taoist element in the brothers’ sense of the link between tradition and creativity. They believe that, dating back to imperial times, Chinese art has had a tradition whose weight and prestige tended to stifle creativity by making imitation of the masters a criterion of value in itself. Schooled in reverence for the great masters and coming from a culture that traditionally imagined the golden age as a lost world of the past, a lost world of which the present is but a badly flawed imitation, it has only been the greatest of Chinese artists that possessed the confidence to change the very language of art in order to say something new. For the Zhou Brothers, as for all the most insightful of creative minds throughout Chinese history, tradition is something that must be so internalized and assimilated that it becomes invisible or transparent. True artistic worth is only to be found in the original creative sparks that are refracted through the lens of tradition. Although the Huashan materials are a point of meditation and departure for Shan Zuo and Da Huang, the Zhou Brothers are painting from themselves.”
If you would like to view the works of the Zhou Brothers and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
Marvelous Contemporary Art by Mike Hedges
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to represent the marvelous works of contemporary Chicago Artist Mike Hedges.
Born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, Mike Hedges uses oil-based paint or pastels to create vibrant colleges of color on each of his canvases. He is known for working on many paintings at the same time to work the paint in different directions and convey energy on the canvases. His paintings contain intense color relationships, balanced by form and texture.
Hedges begins his painting with drawing the form, which acts as a skeleton supporting the finished work. Then he applies mixed media with paints in energetic motions, making a surface with texture and color. His abstract, mixed media landscapes represent movement, vibrations, and conflict through color relationships. His works are admired for their elegant sense of control combined with chaotic movement.
Hedges spent two years studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and earned a B.A. in Studio Art at Loras College in Dubuque, IA in 1998. Since that time, Hedges has exhibited and sold his artwork throughout the Chicago area. His most recent exhibition was in 2013 at the Collage Collage Collage (Group Show) at McCormick Gallery Chicago. His works have been featured in private and corporate collections including Oak Park District Administration Building, Community Bank in River Forest, IL, and Delaney Law in Chicago.
If you would like to view additional works of Mike Hedges and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
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| A Million Ways #30 Oil Acrylic on Canvas 2013 60″ x 48″ |
Hedges begins his painting with drawing the form, which acts as a skeleton supporting the finished work. Then he applies mixed media with paints in energetic motions, making a surface with texture and color. His abstract, mixed media landscapes represent movement, vibrations, and conflict through color relationships. His works are admired for their elegant sense of control combined with chaotic movement.
Hedges spent two years studying at the Art Institute of Chicago and earned a B.A. in Studio Art at Loras College in Dubuque, IA in 1998. Since that time, Hedges has exhibited and sold his artwork throughout the Chicago area. His most recent exhibition was in 2013 at the Collage Collage Collage (Group Show) at McCormick Gallery Chicago. His works have been featured in private and corporate collections including Oak Park District Administration Building, Community Bank in River Forest, IL, and Delaney Law in Chicago.
If you would like to view additional works of Mike Hedges and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
Chicago Artists Presents Mario Gonzalez Fine Art
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to represent the exciting works of contemporary Chicago Artist Mario Gonzalez.
Artist Mario Gonzalez, born and raised in Chicago, was exposed to urban art forms and beautiful murals, which he used to develop his urban expressionistic style of painting. Gonzalez combines graffiti styles with pouring, dripping, and drawing to create stunning abstract paintings. His new urban style is referred to “ZORE,” which is now highly praised by local and international galleries and museums.
Gonzalez graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993, where he studied graffiti and fine art. Soon after, he began traveling to other countries to study art and participate in exhibitions. In his most recent trip, he traveled around the world for 64 days from a temporary residence in South Korea. He painted streets and subways in addition to murals and taught in galleries and museums internationally and locally. His works have been featured in Dwell and Healthy Homes Magazines in addition to online galleries. In 2014, the US Consulate sponsored him to represent Chicago in the International Meeting of Styles in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Gonzalez opened a studio at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, continuing his marvelous work. His works are famous for their presence in the acclaimed TV series “Chicago Fire.” Current exhibitions included solo exhibitions at the Zhou B Art Center and the Torres Gallery of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
If you would like to view the works of the Mario Gonzalez and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
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| Z – mixed media on canvas 44″ x 40″ |
Artist Mario Gonzalez, born and raised in Chicago, was exposed to urban art forms and beautiful murals, which he used to develop his urban expressionistic style of painting. Gonzalez combines graffiti styles with pouring, dripping, and drawing to create stunning abstract paintings. His new urban style is referred to “ZORE,” which is now highly praised by local and international galleries and museums.
Gonzalez graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993, where he studied graffiti and fine art. Soon after, he began traveling to other countries to study art and participate in exhibitions. In his most recent trip, he traveled around the world for 64 days from a temporary residence in South Korea. He painted streets and subways in addition to murals and taught in galleries and museums internationally and locally. His works have been featured in Dwell and Healthy Homes Magazines in addition to online galleries. In 2014, the US Consulate sponsored him to represent Chicago in the International Meeting of Styles in Wiesbaden, Germany.
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| Styles – mixed media on wood – 48″ x 48″ |
Gonzalez opened a studio at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, continuing his marvelous work. His works are famous for their presence in the acclaimed TV series “Chicago Fire.” Current exhibitions included solo exhibitions at the Zhou B Art Center and the Torres Gallery of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
If you would like to view the works of the Mario Gonzalez and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Fine Art of Chicago - Natasha Kohli
http://www.chicago-artists.com and Friedman Fine Art are pleased to represent the marvelous works of Chicago contemporary artist Natasha Kohli.
Natasha Kohli was raised in the Chicago area, brought up in an environment that readily encouraged her to draw from wide range of influences and sources of inspiration. Although she grew up in an Indian-American household, it can neither be said that she was brought up “traditionally” Indian nor “traditionally” American. Traveling across the world, from Delhi to Florence to New York, has led her to the understanding that no one place is an island. Instead, Kohli feels that each location is simply a part of the larger whole, both possessing unique traits and combining universally human elements in its own way. This has led her to develop a strong core identity that melds aspects of many different cultures and walks of life, occasionally in unconventional or unorthodox ways. This confidence in herself and her vision inspired her to pursue her own creative path without formal training, create her own small business without formal schooling, and continually redefine herself and her work in response to her experiences.
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| Yellow Jacket, Oil on Canvas |
Natasha’s work is not meant to be observed from afar with detachment; rather, it is meant to spur the observer to actively appreciate how the work complements the space it inhabits. When starting a piece, she first starts with the emotion and actions that she seeks to inspire. From this point she allows this impression to inform the artistic and aesthetic decisions she must make to that end. She begins to explore the medium upon which she is working, learning its limitations, boundaries, and strengths. From there she contemplates how it would appear in its finished form, be it on a wall or in a different installation. This inspires her to move beyond color and shape into the abstract realm of object-relations. Natasha states that her work “draws on the feelings evoked by shape, space and color” in the service of “challenging perfection” and “arousing new or buried emotions”. She accomplishes this by utilizing her unique sense of palate and reconfiguring shapes/lines to bring out their interrelationships. As of late, Kohli has found working with glass an engaging and rewarding medium, as it encourages her to consider both how the finish piece would appear on its own and how it would appear in an environment. The source of her inspiration lies in her lifestyle, striving to eat right, exercise, and participating in the vast range of experience that life has to offer. She finds beauty in the relationships that she has with loved ones, reading literature to seek outside perspectives, and searching her own internal dialogue to find truth and meaning. Her pursuit to harmonize these forces results in the highly stylized impact of her art.
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| 249 Oil on Canvas |
This body of work embodies modern concern of the relationship between beauty and inhabited space. Contemporary urban life finds us constantly considering this interaction, as redesigned lofts, exposed brick halls, and the use of light cause us to gain a new appreciation for how the old can be repurposed to great effect. In this piece, the flatness of glass is explored through the vivid presentation of lively lines expressive splatter. The minimization of color augments the artworks’ relation to the space surrounding it. As the sheen of the glass combines with the contrast of the paint applied to its surface, the resulting whole of the piece encourages the viewer to become participant, actively drawing the interior through gaps in the piece. The total effect of the piece leaves the observer in a contemplative state, considering the dynamic action that takes place as space and art combine to form a new whole.
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| 393 oil on canvas 26 in. x 42 in. |
If you would like to view additional works of Natasha Kohli and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
A Unique Local Chicago Artist: Keiko Nemeth
http://www.chicago-artists.com and Friedman Fine Art are pleased to represent the marvelous works of Chicago contemporary artist Keiko Nemeth.
The following is a review by a local Chicago art critic and author, Mr. Victor M. Cassidy on my work.
Painting is a “really compelling thing,” says Keiko Nemeth. “Painting transcends time and allows the mind to enter experience that’s otherwise not possible.” When she paints, time stands still and she speaks directly, intuitively to the viewer.
Nemeth responds to the beauty and energy of landscape. A walk in the woods may inspire a painting, but she provides no specifics of what she saw. Instead, her imagery only suggests water, trees, vegetation, light, and shadow. Nemeth grew in Japan and California where she was inspired by the light and scenery. The work she makes in Chicago embodies much of these experiences, while she continually probes the expressive possibility of her medium.
A key influence on Nemeth is the semi-abstract artists Richard Diebenkorn, who painted the brilliant colors of the California and New Mexico landscape from an aerial perspective. Diebenkom’s color is easy to recognize in Nemeth’s work, and she uses it expressively to make a strong painting – and never as decoration. Nemeth’s small canvases suggest the she also responds to Diebenkorn’s compositional sense.
Another influence is the abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell, whose large landscape-inspired paintings are known for their vigorous brushwork. The eye recognizes Mitchell’s impact on Nemeth’s large canvases, also in her murals.
“Terra” means “earthly experience” to the artists who responds to the light, color, and constant change of nature, but puts no specific details into her paintings. Thinking in purely visual terms, she satisfies the demands of the painting as she works.
Life is full of surprises! The artists thought that Terra No. 84 would suggest her response to nature, but the painting took over and two figures appeared in it as she worked. On the left is a woman gowned in dark red with her tangerine-colored skirt lifted by the breeze. A man in dark colors is visible at night.
Mana Nos. 1 & 2 (pair of oil on canvas paintings that each measures 76×82”)
Divided diagonally, Mana No. 1 contains familiar landscape forms and colors in its upper half while the lower half is tougher and less lyrical. There’s a touch of Monet in this painting.
If you would like to view additional works of Keiko Nemeth and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
The following is a review by a local Chicago art critic and author, Mr. Victor M. Cassidy on my work.
Painting is a “really compelling thing,” says Keiko Nemeth. “Painting transcends time and allows the mind to enter experience that’s otherwise not possible.” When she paints, time stands still and she speaks directly, intuitively to the viewer.
Nemeth responds to the beauty and energy of landscape. A walk in the woods may inspire a painting, but she provides no specifics of what she saw. Instead, her imagery only suggests water, trees, vegetation, light, and shadow. Nemeth grew in Japan and California where she was inspired by the light and scenery. The work she makes in Chicago embodies much of these experiences, while she continually probes the expressive possibility of her medium.
A key influence on Nemeth is the semi-abstract artists Richard Diebenkorn, who painted the brilliant colors of the California and New Mexico landscape from an aerial perspective. Diebenkom’s color is easy to recognize in Nemeth’s work, and she uses it expressively to make a strong painting – and never as decoration. Nemeth’s small canvases suggest the she also responds to Diebenkorn’s compositional sense.
Another influence is the abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell, whose large landscape-inspired paintings are known for their vigorous brushwork. The eye recognizes Mitchell’s impact on Nemeth’s large canvases, also in her murals.
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| Terra No. 80. Oil on canvas. 56×44” |
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| Terra No. 84. Oil on canvas, 56×44” |
Mana Nos. 1 & 2 (pair of oil on canvas paintings that each measures 76×82”)
Divided diagonally, Mana No. 1 contains familiar landscape forms and colors in its upper half while the lower half is tougher and less lyrical. There’s a touch of Monet in this painting.
If you would like to view additional works of Keiko Nemeth and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Jack Nixon A local Chicago Artist
Friedman Fine Art is pleased to represent the spectacular works of Chicago artist Jack Nixon. Jack is a contemporary local artist that specializes in graphite drawings of Chicago landmarks and architectural details.
Jack C. Nixon III (born October 1, 1956) is a contemporary American Photo-realist artist whose life’s work is dedicated to drawing and documenting the most beautiful architecture exteriors and interiors built in the United States before 1945. Influenced greatly by the Late Renaissance Italian illustrator and printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi and the French Ecole des Beaux-Arts illustrators, Jack works in graphite (soft-leaded pencils) on paper and publishes the drawings in small fine art print editions of giclee and photogravure. He currently lives and works from his home studio in Wilmette, Illinois.
Jack gravitated towards technical art classes in high school, having graduated from New Trier East in Winnetka, Illinois with art, history, and architectural and engineering drawing being his favorite subjects, winning his first notable drawing recognition from Northern Illinois University in 1973 while still in high school. But, having no love for math, he chose not to be an engineer or architect, choosing instead to study industrial design with Victor Schreckengost at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1970’s; switching majors to Graphic Design Communication from a preference for two dimensional composition, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1981.
Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower
Giclee Print 62 in. x 48 in.
“Studies in Light and Form: The Chicago Seven and The Michigan Avenue Bridge Sculptures” is the artist’s greatest work to date. A large, 30-35 foot modular art installation of six graphite drawings depicting the many architectural and sculptural splendors appearing on and around the southern foot of Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile” (the intersection of the Chicago River and the Michigan Avenue Bridge,) it took four years to complete over a twenty-four year period. The suite is composed of “Study in Light and Form: The Chicago River’s South Side Spires” and “Study in Light and Form: The Wrigley, Tribune, and Medinah Spires” which are two 50 x 66″ master works that are a matching and mirrored pair reflecting a bye-gone era of building design and architectural craftsmanship that may never be seen again in the United States. Flanked by the four Michigan Avenue Bridge Sculpture drawings “Defense”, “Regeneration”, “The Discoverers”, and “The Pioneers, the “Wrigley/Tribune” and the “South Side Spires” the set are painstaking illustrations that document and celebrate the construction frenzy of granite, marble, Indiana limestone, and terra cotta clad, Neoclassic, Gothic Revival, and Art Deco romantic imagination of America’s roaring 1920s.
A contemporary “tour de force” of produced with soft 2B, 3B, and 4B technical pencils, this monumental opus was conceived in 1987 as a special “double triptych” suite of six individual pieces. Each drawing is a separate, stand-alone work that can be enjoyed as such or can be displayed in a variety of combinations. Furthermore, the full suite can be repositioned with the two “South Side Spires” and “Wrigley/Tribune” triptychs facing each other on opposite walls or in rotunda. Standing in between them creates the 360 degree encircling illusion of viewing the bridge sculptures and the many towering buildings from the north and south banks of the Chicago River – simultaneously. As the southern entrance to Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile,” with the winding river forking in the west and Lake Michigan seen immediately to the east, the Michigan Avenue Bridge is the central axis of the most beautifully ornate, most dramatic, and most dynamic cityscape on earth.
Bowman at Grant Park
Giclee Print 39 in. x 28 in.
This massive masterpiece is the ultimate of the artist’s patient, determined, technical, and creative talents which he will never equal or surpass. Mr. Nixon’s drawing style is a variation of the difficult and tedious technique called trompe l’oeil (tromp loi (French for “to fool the eye”)) which involves extreme detail that creates another illusion where objects appear in three dimension. For “South Side Spires” (the most recent drawing finished in 2012), two weeks of careful study was needed in numerous sketchs to perfect composition: slightly repositioning two of the four Michigan Avenue Bridge Houses and the four main buildings; eliminating two floors in the Mather/ Lincoln Tower and one floor of the Carbon & Carbide Building; eliminating a few lesser buildings altogether; and squeezing the entire scene of 100 collaged photographs twenty percent in Photoshop to tighten the scene to match the proportions of the “Wrigley/Tribune” drawing. The two weeks of careful study and image manipulation was as important as the twelve months of singularly focused illustration. The original drawings are currently on individual loan to a number of Midwestern museums of contemporary art.
The artist is currently working on the Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station (seen in deep winter) as a 50 x 66″ drawing which has been an interest and a study of his since 1993.
Nixon’s artistic influences have not come from contemporary sources but have come from the classicism of centuries before. Nixon’s many inspirations have come from minutely detailed works that include engraved and illustrated antique maps of the world by Hondius; The German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), the eighteenth century Italian engravings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778); the beautiful French engravings of the architectural antiquities Description de l’Egypte publication (1809) of its ancient ruins shortly after Napoleon’s Armée d’Orient withdrawal from the middle east; the mid nineteenth century French École des Beaux-Arts watercolor and guache reconstructions of ancient Roman and Greek temples; John James Audubon’s print folios of birds, flora, and fauna (1838-40); Grant Wood and Andrew Wyeth, including the Brandywine Studio artists Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth. With those representational influences being most prominent, Nixon saw the potential for new, high quality architectural graphics of Chicago’s and America’s historic buildings, monuments, and ornamental decoration that could rival the golden era of etchings and engravings of ancient Rome, Athens, and Egypt. In 1987 he began to produce a series of master original graphite drawings called: “CLASSIC CHICAGO: THE ART OF ARCHITECTURE.”
____________________________________________________________________________
UNION LEAGUE CLUB OF CHICAGO – “CLASSIC CHICAGO” EXHIBITION RELEASE
It is rare for a curator to come across an artist with Jack Nixon’s talent. With a superb sense of composition and space, while practicing excellent draughtsmanship and rendering, Jack documents and editions grand urban landscapes and vignettes of Chicago with its buildings, monuments, and decorative stone fragments that glorifies the city’s late 19th and early 20th century Neoclassic, Gothic Revival, and Art Deco architectural styles.
Working graphite on paper, self-supplied with hundreds of photographs for reference, he achieves a special vision of Chicago that goes beyond reality. Mr. Nixon’s drawing of bas relief, such as the four sculptures on the corner houses of the Michigan Avenue Bridge become fine trompe l’oeil reliefs [(tromp loi) french for "to fool the eye"]. Deftly exhibiting [Ivan Mestrovich's] two bronze indian equestrians in Grant Park in bright light isolated from any background authors a new set of graphically substantial icons that match their monumental presence at [the intersection of] Michigan Avenue and Congress Boulevard.
The Wrigley, Tribune, and Medinah Spires drawing casts a pleasing balance of three spectacular buildings in the best possible light and juxtaposition. Mr. Nixon has subtly crafted a strong contrast between man’s hard, linear, vertical edifice with nature’s soft, billowing sky that creates a forceful three-dimensional confrontation with the viewer and these historic structures that by steps weak cliches associated with minor, less adroit illustration.
A master of Realism, displaying a new standard of old-world representation, Mr. Nixon provides us a uniquely contemporary view of architecture as art. It has been a pleasure for the Union League Club to debut Jack Nixon’s work. And I urge everyone who gets the chance, to view them in person. Slides and prints, although accurate, only suggest the powerful impact of the originals.
Board of Trade Giclee Print 21 in. x 32 in.
Dennis Loy, Curator
ARTROPOLIS / ART CHICAGO 2008 – The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Artists
“Wow! This work is absolutely amazing. This is the best artist in the exhibition.” Paul Morris, VP Merchandise Mart Art Events and past owner and founding director, New York Armory Show.
Exhibitions
Group Shows: Ft. Wayne Art Museum, Ft. Wayne, IN; Rockford Museum of Art, Rockford, IL; Swope Art Museum, Terra Haute, IN; Hot Springs Center For The Arts, Hot Springs, AR; Columbia College, Columbia, MO; Harper College, Palatine, IL
One Man Shows: Alden B. Dow Museum of Art, Midland, MI; Union League Club Of Chicago; University Club of Chicago; Mid America Bank
Collections
Amoco Company, BMO Harris Bank & Trust, Chicago Board of Trade, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Wrigley Company, Tribune Company, Royal Bank of Scotland, InterContinental Hotels, Equity Office, The Habitat Company, Northwestern Skin Cancer Institute, Bates and Carey Law
Recognition
H.E. Wooden Sr. Memorial Prize
Manifest Gallery 9th International Drawing Annual
Oak Park Art League Honorable Mention
Juried Best of Show: State Street Art Fair, Wells Street, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Water Tower, Chicago; Oakbrook Invitational; Hinsdale; La Grange; Highland Park; Evanston; Old Orchard, Skokie.
If you would like to view additional works of the finest contemporary Chicago artists working today please follow this link Chicago local contemporary artists.
Jack C. Nixon III (born October 1, 1956) is a contemporary American Photo-realist artist whose life’s work is dedicated to drawing and documenting the most beautiful architecture exteriors and interiors built in the United States before 1945. Influenced greatly by the Late Renaissance Italian illustrator and printmaker Giovanni Battista Piranesi and the French Ecole des Beaux-Arts illustrators, Jack works in graphite (soft-leaded pencils) on paper and publishes the drawings in small fine art print editions of giclee and photogravure. He currently lives and works from his home studio in Wilmette, Illinois.
Jack gravitated towards technical art classes in high school, having graduated from New Trier East in Winnetka, Illinois with art, history, and architectural and engineering drawing being his favorite subjects, winning his first notable drawing recognition from Northern Illinois University in 1973 while still in high school. But, having no love for math, he chose not to be an engineer or architect, choosing instead to study industrial design with Victor Schreckengost at the Cleveland Institute of Art in Cleveland, Ohio in the late 1970’s; switching majors to Graphic Design Communication from a preference for two dimensional composition, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1981.
Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower
Giclee Print 62 in. x 48 in.
“Studies in Light and Form: The Chicago Seven and The Michigan Avenue Bridge Sculptures” is the artist’s greatest work to date. A large, 30-35 foot modular art installation of six graphite drawings depicting the many architectural and sculptural splendors appearing on and around the southern foot of Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile” (the intersection of the Chicago River and the Michigan Avenue Bridge,) it took four years to complete over a twenty-four year period. The suite is composed of “Study in Light and Form: The Chicago River’s South Side Spires” and “Study in Light and Form: The Wrigley, Tribune, and Medinah Spires” which are two 50 x 66″ master works that are a matching and mirrored pair reflecting a bye-gone era of building design and architectural craftsmanship that may never be seen again in the United States. Flanked by the four Michigan Avenue Bridge Sculpture drawings “Defense”, “Regeneration”, “The Discoverers”, and “The Pioneers, the “Wrigley/Tribune” and the “South Side Spires” the set are painstaking illustrations that document and celebrate the construction frenzy of granite, marble, Indiana limestone, and terra cotta clad, Neoclassic, Gothic Revival, and Art Deco romantic imagination of America’s roaring 1920s.
A contemporary “tour de force” of produced with soft 2B, 3B, and 4B technical pencils, this monumental opus was conceived in 1987 as a special “double triptych” suite of six individual pieces. Each drawing is a separate, stand-alone work that can be enjoyed as such or can be displayed in a variety of combinations. Furthermore, the full suite can be repositioned with the two “South Side Spires” and “Wrigley/Tribune” triptychs facing each other on opposite walls or in rotunda. Standing in between them creates the 360 degree encircling illusion of viewing the bridge sculptures and the many towering buildings from the north and south banks of the Chicago River – simultaneously. As the southern entrance to Chicago’s “Magnificent Mile,” with the winding river forking in the west and Lake Michigan seen immediately to the east, the Michigan Avenue Bridge is the central axis of the most beautifully ornate, most dramatic, and most dynamic cityscape on earth.
Bowman at Grant Park
Giclee Print 39 in. x 28 in.
This massive masterpiece is the ultimate of the artist’s patient, determined, technical, and creative talents which he will never equal or surpass. Mr. Nixon’s drawing style is a variation of the difficult and tedious technique called trompe l’oeil (tromp loi (French for “to fool the eye”)) which involves extreme detail that creates another illusion where objects appear in three dimension. For “South Side Spires” (the most recent drawing finished in 2012), two weeks of careful study was needed in numerous sketchs to perfect composition: slightly repositioning two of the four Michigan Avenue Bridge Houses and the four main buildings; eliminating two floors in the Mather/ Lincoln Tower and one floor of the Carbon & Carbide Building; eliminating a few lesser buildings altogether; and squeezing the entire scene of 100 collaged photographs twenty percent in Photoshop to tighten the scene to match the proportions of the “Wrigley/Tribune” drawing. The two weeks of careful study and image manipulation was as important as the twelve months of singularly focused illustration. The original drawings are currently on individual loan to a number of Midwestern museums of contemporary art.
The artist is currently working on the Chicago Water Tower and Pumping Station (seen in deep winter) as a 50 x 66″ drawing which has been an interest and a study of his since 1993.
Nixon’s artistic influences have not come from contemporary sources but have come from the classicism of centuries before. Nixon’s many inspirations have come from minutely detailed works that include engraved and illustrated antique maps of the world by Hondius; The German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528), the eighteenth century Italian engravings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778); the beautiful French engravings of the architectural antiquities Description de l’Egypte publication (1809) of its ancient ruins shortly after Napoleon’s Armée d’Orient withdrawal from the middle east; the mid nineteenth century French École des Beaux-Arts watercolor and guache reconstructions of ancient Roman and Greek temples; John James Audubon’s print folios of birds, flora, and fauna (1838-40); Grant Wood and Andrew Wyeth, including the Brandywine Studio artists Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth. With those representational influences being most prominent, Nixon saw the potential for new, high quality architectural graphics of Chicago’s and America’s historic buildings, monuments, and ornamental decoration that could rival the golden era of etchings and engravings of ancient Rome, Athens, and Egypt. In 1987 he began to produce a series of master original graphite drawings called: “CLASSIC CHICAGO: THE ART OF ARCHITECTURE.”
____________________________________________________________________________
UNION LEAGUE CLUB OF CHICAGO – “CLASSIC CHICAGO” EXHIBITION RELEASE
It is rare for a curator to come across an artist with Jack Nixon’s talent. With a superb sense of composition and space, while practicing excellent draughtsmanship and rendering, Jack documents and editions grand urban landscapes and vignettes of Chicago with its buildings, monuments, and decorative stone fragments that glorifies the city’s late 19th and early 20th century Neoclassic, Gothic Revival, and Art Deco architectural styles.
Working graphite on paper, self-supplied with hundreds of photographs for reference, he achieves a special vision of Chicago that goes beyond reality. Mr. Nixon’s drawing of bas relief, such as the four sculptures on the corner houses of the Michigan Avenue Bridge become fine trompe l’oeil reliefs [(tromp loi) french for "to fool the eye"]. Deftly exhibiting [Ivan Mestrovich's] two bronze indian equestrians in Grant Park in bright light isolated from any background authors a new set of graphically substantial icons that match their monumental presence at [the intersection of] Michigan Avenue and Congress Boulevard.
The Wrigley, Tribune, and Medinah Spires drawing casts a pleasing balance of three spectacular buildings in the best possible light and juxtaposition. Mr. Nixon has subtly crafted a strong contrast between man’s hard, linear, vertical edifice with nature’s soft, billowing sky that creates a forceful three-dimensional confrontation with the viewer and these historic structures that by steps weak cliches associated with minor, less adroit illustration.
A master of Realism, displaying a new standard of old-world representation, Mr. Nixon provides us a uniquely contemporary view of architecture as art. It has been a pleasure for the Union League Club to debut Jack Nixon’s work. And I urge everyone who gets the chance, to view them in person. Slides and prints, although accurate, only suggest the powerful impact of the originals.
Board of Trade Giclee Print 21 in. x 32 in.
Dennis Loy, Curator
ARTROPOLIS / ART CHICAGO 2008 – The Invitational Exhibition of Emerging Artists
“Wow! This work is absolutely amazing. This is the best artist in the exhibition.” Paul Morris, VP Merchandise Mart Art Events and past owner and founding director, New York Armory Show.
Exhibitions
Group Shows: Ft. Wayne Art Museum, Ft. Wayne, IN; Rockford Museum of Art, Rockford, IL; Swope Art Museum, Terra Haute, IN; Hot Springs Center For The Arts, Hot Springs, AR; Columbia College, Columbia, MO; Harper College, Palatine, IL
One Man Shows: Alden B. Dow Museum of Art, Midland, MI; Union League Club Of Chicago; University Club of Chicago; Mid America Bank
Collections
Amoco Company, BMO Harris Bank & Trust, Chicago Board of Trade, Skidmore Owings & Merrill, Wrigley Company, Tribune Company, Royal Bank of Scotland, InterContinental Hotels, Equity Office, The Habitat Company, Northwestern Skin Cancer Institute, Bates and Carey Law
Recognition
H.E. Wooden Sr. Memorial Prize
Manifest Gallery 9th International Drawing Annual
Oak Park Art League Honorable Mention
Juried Best of Show: State Street Art Fair, Wells Street, Gold Coast, Lakeview, Water Tower, Chicago; Oakbrook Invitational; Hinsdale; La Grange; Highland Park; Evanston; Old Orchard, Skokie.
If you would like to view additional works of the finest contemporary Chicago artists working today please follow this link Chicago local contemporary artists.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Chicago Artists Presents Mario Gonzalez Fine Art
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to represent the exciting works of contemporary Chicago Artist Mario Gonzalez.
Artist Mario Gonzalez, born and raised in Chicago, was exposed to urban art forms and beautiful murals, which he used to develop his urban expressionistic style of painting. Gonzalez combines graffiti styles with pouring, dripping, and drawing to create stunning abstract paintings. His new urban style is referred to “ZORE,” which is now highly praised by local and international galleries and museums.
Gonzalez graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993, where he studied graffiti and fine art. Soon after, he began traveling to other countries to study art and participate in exhibitions. In his most recent trip, he traveled around the world for 64 days from a temporary residence in South Korea. He painted streets and subways in addition to murals and taught in galleries and museums internationally and locally. His works have been featured in Dwell and Healthy Homes Magazines in addition to online galleries. In 2014, the US Consulate sponsored him to represent Chicago in the International Meeting of Styles in Wiesbaden, Germany.
Gonzalez opened a studio at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, continuing his marvelous work. His works are famous for their presence in the acclaimed TV series “Chicago Fire.” Current exhibitions included solo exhibitions at the Zhou B Art Center and the Torres Gallery of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
If you would like to view the works of the Mario Gonzalez and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
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| Z – mixed media on canvas 44″ x 40″ |
Artist Mario Gonzalez, born and raised in Chicago, was exposed to urban art forms and beautiful murals, which he used to develop his urban expressionistic style of painting. Gonzalez combines graffiti styles with pouring, dripping, and drawing to create stunning abstract paintings. His new urban style is referred to “ZORE,” which is now highly praised by local and international galleries and museums.
Gonzalez graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1993, where he studied graffiti and fine art. Soon after, he began traveling to other countries to study art and participate in exhibitions. In his most recent trip, he traveled around the world for 64 days from a temporary residence in South Korea. He painted streets and subways in addition to murals and taught in galleries and museums internationally and locally. His works have been featured in Dwell and Healthy Homes Magazines in addition to online galleries. In 2014, the US Consulate sponsored him to represent Chicago in the International Meeting of Styles in Wiesbaden, Germany.
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| Styles – mixed media on wood – 48″ x 48″ |
Gonzalez opened a studio at the Zhou B Art Center in Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago, continuing his marvelous work. His works are famous for their presence in the acclaimed TV series “Chicago Fire.” Current exhibitions included solo exhibitions at the Zhou B Art Center and the Torres Gallery of the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago.
If you would like to view the works of the Mario Gonzalez and other local contemporary Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago artists.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Marvelous Fine Art from Chicago by Rodger Bechtold
Friedman Fine art and http://www.chicago-artists.com are pleased to present the marvelous works of contemporary Chicago artist Rodger Bechtold.
Nature-based painter Rodger Bechtold has painted uplifting interpretations of landscapes for over thirty years. He studied visual arts at the American Academy of Art, Chicago, and the School of the Art institute of Chicago. After many years in commercial art illustration, he decided to pursue painting landscapes full time.
Bechtold’s paintings have been seen in solo and featured exhibitions in museums and prominent galleries. His works are featured in many private and public collections including Charles Wm. Foster and Associates, Ltd. in Chicago. His works have been included in periodicals and books like The Artist and the American Landscape: Two Centuries of American Landscape Painting, by John Driscoll.
With his landscape paintings, Bechtold works between representation and abstraction to make his audience feel like they are at the featured place. Bechtold expresses energy, seemingly effortless brushwork, and vibrant colors. He focuses on Midwestern country sides, inviting his audience to develop an interest in the wondrous landscapes.
If you would like to view additional works by Rodger Bechtold and over 30 other fabulous contemporary local Chicago artists follow this link, Local Chicago Artists.
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| The Green Between oil on canvas 60” x 60” |
Bechtold’s paintings have been seen in solo and featured exhibitions in museums and prominent galleries. His works are featured in many private and public collections including Charles Wm. Foster and Associates, Ltd. in Chicago. His works have been included in periodicals and books like The Artist and the American Landscape: Two Centuries of American Landscape Painting, by John Driscoll.
With his landscape paintings, Bechtold works between representation and abstraction to make his audience feel like they are at the featured place. Bechtold expresses energy, seemingly effortless brushwork, and vibrant colors. He focuses on Midwestern country sides, inviting his audience to develop an interest in the wondrous landscapes.
If you would like to view additional works by Rodger Bechtold and over 30 other fabulous contemporary local Chicago artists follow this link, Local Chicago Artists.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Magnificent Art by David Molinaro
Friedman Fine Art and http://www.chicago-artists.com is pleased to represent the exceptional works of contemporary Chicago local artist David Molinaro.
Designer and experimental artist David Molinaro brings energy into his pieces, creating complex, serious, and playful images. He earned a BFA from Kent State University, studying visual communication, design, and illustration. His works contain design techniques, depth, and complexity, evoking a variety of emotions from his audience.
Molinaro has worked with graphic design and illustration, photography, painting, and even art direction. He expands on his interests of multi-media and the broad array of subjects he uses in his pieces. His finished pieces are described as balanced, elegant, colorful, and bold. He recently started working with oil on canvas, producing interesting images. He has works featured in numerous galleries online.
If you would like to view additional works of art by other local contemporary artists please follow this http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Designer and experimental artist David Molinaro brings energy into his pieces, creating complex, serious, and playful images. He earned a BFA from Kent State University, studying visual communication, design, and illustration. His works contain design techniques, depth, and complexity, evoking a variety of emotions from his audience.
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| Bulls Eye Popeye oil on canvas 44” x 44” |
Molinaro has worked with graphic design and illustration, photography, painting, and even art direction. He expands on his interests of multi-media and the broad array of subjects he uses in his pieces. His finished pieces are described as balanced, elegant, colorful, and bold. He recently started working with oil on canvas, producing interesting images. He has works featured in numerous galleries online.
If you would like to view additional works of art by other local contemporary artists please follow this http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Chicago Artist Jordan Scott
http://www.chicago-artsists.com is pleased to announce its representation of Jordan Scott on it’s new website of contemporary local Chicago artists.
I got my start drawing stream of consciousness faces for my father’s amusement at the age of 5 or 6. My father, a sculptor and painter, liked the idea of what my “un-muddled” mind could create without the baggage of any substantial life experiences and distractions. He felt this baggage could often close the valve, or shut the doors, to true spontaneous creativity and play. These figurative drawings progressed and evolved, and I was, for a time, obsessed with drawing my own left hand. I often did this at restaurants on paper placemats and napkins. Some of these left hands were very good, especially considering the age and lack of training of the illustrator at the time. My mother saved one of the earliest of these placemat specimens. It is currently on display in her kitchen in Northbrook, Illinois.
Years later, I accompanied my mother, who was in advertising, to a press proofing in a huge industrial print plant. She showed me some colorful packaging and then had me look at it under a loupe, or tiny handheld magnifier, and what I saw amazed me. The solid colors were, in fact, not solid at all but made up of thousands of individually placed dots. This was long before the time of personal computers and dot-matrix or ink-jet printers, and nothing had prepared me for this concept.
Today, I often reuse and recycle materials outside their originally intended purpose and context. My current work incorporates thousands of used and canceled postage stamps forming abstract landscapes and color fields. These pieces create an interconnected whole greater than the sum of its parts, just like the advertising packaging. One of my current bodies of work, the Vortex Series, uses a simple but effective pattern of quadrants (once similarly deployed by Frank Stella in his Black Series) and the pixilation concept to create a beautiful meditative pattern-field of color and motion.
I often use digital photography and computer aided graphics to help me organize and work through my ideas. Digital photography, and all its many facets, has become a true passion of mine and a creative support for my other mixed-media artwork. I am currently enrolled in the Digital Photography Certificate Program, a one-year intensive, at the Chicago Photography Academy.
To view additional contemporary works of art by local Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago local art and artists.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Melanie Parke - Chicago Fine Art
Friedman Fine Art is pleased to
represent the marvelous works of Chicago contemporary artist Melanie Park.
Melanie Parke’s work has been featured in several solo exhibitions, including the Modern Arts Midwest in 2008 and the Tory Folliard Gallery in 2012 at Milwaukee, WI. She studied at Herron School of Art, in Indianapolis, IN and received her BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied performance, voice, philosophy, and painting.
In her works, she shows the blend of abstraction with conceptual reasoning,
combining gestural features with mathematical lines, precise shapes, or graphic
forms. She sets up space with lush textures and heavily speckled marks. Building
from her initial images, she chooses colors to depict temperate or extreme
sensations. Her works imply interiors and landscapes, and her mark-making make
her audience question if the featured places exist.
In the early 1990s, she proposed 30 artist in residence programs in the National Parks, initiating 8 programs that exist today. Her works are featured in many collections including the United States Department of Interior, and Glencoe Capital in Chicago.
Please view additional works by this and over 30 other fabulous local contemporary Chicago artists by following this link http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Melanie Parke’s work has been featured in several solo exhibitions, including the Modern Arts Midwest in 2008 and the Tory Folliard Gallery in 2012 at Milwaukee, WI. She studied at Herron School of Art, in Indianapolis, IN and received her BFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she studied performance, voice, philosophy, and painting.
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| Island Drawings oil on canvas 48″ x 52″ |
In the early 1990s, she proposed 30 artist in residence programs in the National Parks, initiating 8 programs that exist today. Her works are featured in many collections including the United States Department of Interior, and Glencoe Capital in Chicago.
Please view additional works by this and over 30 other fabulous local contemporary Chicago artists by following this link http://www.chicago-artists.com.
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Rene Romero Schuler - A Local Chicago Artist
Friedman Fine Art is pleased to represent the marvelous works of Chicago contemporary artist Rene Romero Schuler. One of the most important and well-collected contemporary artists, Rene Romero Schuler has artwork on display in public collections in Chicago, including inside the Prudential Building and in the permanent archives at the Art Institute of Chicago. Schuler’s style has been described as abstract expressionism, with her own sensibility. A self-taught artist, Schuler pursued an education in interiors and started her own painting business in addition to creating her own works of art.
Whether on canvas, paper or through sculpture her works explore femininity, spirituality, beauty and convey optimism to her audience. In her paintings, Schuler applies oil paint in layers and uses palette scratches and bold colors to create tension. René Romero Schuler: Life and Works, a book released in 2013, showcases her images and her artistic process. She has been featured in numerous exhibitions, her most recent being at St. Thomas University in Miami, Florida in April 2014.
Currently, she teaches at the Illinois Institute of Art and Chicago City Colleges and holds lectures at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She is a board member of the Loyola University Museum of Art.
Please view additional works by Rene Romero Schuler and over 30 other fabulous local contemporary Chicago artists by following this link www.chicago-artists.com.
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| Alma oil on canvas 30 in. x 30 in. |
Currently, she teaches at the Illinois Institute of Art and Chicago City Colleges and holds lectures at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. She is a board member of the Loyola University Museum of Art.
Please view additional works by Rene Romero Schuler and over 30 other fabulous local contemporary Chicago artists by following this link www.chicago-artists.com.
Monday, August 18, 2014
A Unique Talented Chicago Artist – Jay Zerbe Art Collections
Friedman Fine Art features the marvelous works of Chicago contemporary artist Jay Zerbe. Jay uses color to make the space in his pieces appear deep or shallow, overlapping and breaking up shapes. He starts each piece by drawing or painting on the canvas, using preliminary collages and drawings. He creates the first layer and then sets the drawing aside for color or composition. He adds layers, rotating the painting often.
Zerbe completed a BA from the American University of Beirut, and an MFA in printmaking from Indiana University, Bloomington. Zerbe has worked as a graphic designer for PBS, web designer and virtual world designer for IBM. As a full time artist now, he has gallery representation in Chicago IL, Grand Rapids MI, and Detroit Michigan.
His work was first shown in Chicago in the 1977 Chicago and Vicinity Exhibition at the Art Institute. In addition to Chicago, his work has also been shown in Atlanta, Lincoln, New York, New Orleans, Novato, Nacogdoches, Omaha, and Santa Fe.
Jay Zerbe married in 2011, and he and his spouse have designed and are building a new home and studio in Michigan City, Indiana, outside of Chicago. Zerbe continues to work with color and shape abstractly to create visual appealing paintings.
For more Local Chicago Artists, follow the link.
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| Mud Flats oil on canvas 24 in. x 24 in. |
His work was first shown in Chicago in the 1977 Chicago and Vicinity Exhibition at the Art Institute. In addition to Chicago, his work has also been shown in Atlanta, Lincoln, New York, New Orleans, Novato, Nacogdoches, Omaha, and Santa Fe.
Jay Zerbe married in 2011, and he and his spouse have designed and are building a new home and studio in Michigan City, Indiana, outside of Chicago. Zerbe continues to work with color and shape abstractly to create visual appealing paintings.
For more Local Chicago Artists, follow the link.
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Chicago Artist: Mark Zlotkowski
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| IMG 4 oil on canvas 48” x 72” |
Zlotkowski worked several jobs in construction and engraving, which added to his experience of art and material. In 1992, Zlotkowski received MFA from Northwestern University and quickly took to teaching at DePaul University in its Department of Art and Media Design. He has taught classes in painting for over 20 years and continues to create pieces on the side.
Overall, his works have roots in symbolism and spirituality. He describes his process of painting like looking in a mirror, and seeing a reflection of what is yet to come. Recently, he is working on a series of paintings, one group with converging urban landscapes and another group inspired by his garden. Zlotkowski uses his works to encourage his audience to develop a deeper understanding of their own everyday experiences.
Zlotkowski currently lives with his two daughters on the North Side of Chicago where he paints and gardens often. He is represented at The 33 Contemporary Gallery in The Zhou B. Center, Chicago, IL. To purchase these fine contemporary works of art by local Chicago artists, contact us via our contact form.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Cathy Bruni Norris, A Local Chicago Artist
http://www.chicago-artsists.com is pleased to announce its representation of Cathy Bruni Norris on it's new website of contemporary local Chicago artists.
Cathy Bruni Norris is a prolific local Chicago contemporary artists working with acrylic paints dripped onto acrylic sheets.
Chicago artist Cathy Bruni Norris held a demonstration on June 17 at her Wicker Park studio, showing her artwork and painting techniques to her guests, the North Shore Affiliate of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
The demonstration lasted from 10:30.to noon, starting with refreshments and continued with Norris giving the 35 members a tour of her studio. After members walked on the first floor, looking at paintings, Norris led them downstairs for her talk about art and her dripping techniques with fluid acrylic medium and paint. She paints on sheets of plexi glass, letting the sheet of glass dry for 24 hours, and reveals the new, different-looking painting on the other side. She did a similar demonstration for her guests, revealing a finished work on the other side. Then she did a demonstration of a different drip technique on a small stretched canvas.
Norris was extremely proud of the demonstration and said, “Everyone was so mesmerized by my work.”
Norris explained how she creates New Media, digital art that she is known for. She takes her own drip paintings, scans them onto her computer, and manipulates the art in Photoshop to create new images. "I am interested in the symmetry,” she said, and focuses on mirror imaging. She prints the images onto fabric, crystal, and pleather. She displayed wallets with her imagery on them at the demonstration.
One of her favorite paintings, Debussy, was featured at the studio. She said she named it after the French composer Claude Debussy, whom she listened to as she painted the work. The painting is impressionistic, containing an array of blending colors. “This painting works in harmony,” she said.
The demonstration was the first she has given for her art and technique. Norris had the event to satisfy the many art-interested groups who visit studios throughout the city, and share her techniques to the art community. She also hopes the demonstration will generate new sales.
“I work for the discoveries and art has taken me on a journey,” she said.
To view additional contemporary works of art by local Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago local art and artists.
Cathy Bruni Norris is a prolific local Chicago contemporary artists working with acrylic paints dripped onto acrylic sheets.
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| Ethereal Landscape acrylic on canvas 48” x 72” |
Chicago artist Cathy Bruni Norris held a demonstration on June 17 at her Wicker Park studio, showing her artwork and painting techniques to her guests, the North Shore Affiliate of The Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
The demonstration lasted from 10:30.to noon, starting with refreshments and continued with Norris giving the 35 members a tour of her studio. After members walked on the first floor, looking at paintings, Norris led them downstairs for her talk about art and her dripping techniques with fluid acrylic medium and paint. She paints on sheets of plexi glass, letting the sheet of glass dry for 24 hours, and reveals the new, different-looking painting on the other side. She did a similar demonstration for her guests, revealing a finished work on the other side. Then she did a demonstration of a different drip technique on a small stretched canvas.
Norris was extremely proud of the demonstration and said, “Everyone was so mesmerized by my work.”
Norris explained how she creates New Media, digital art that she is known for. She takes her own drip paintings, scans them onto her computer, and manipulates the art in Photoshop to create new images. "I am interested in the symmetry,” she said, and focuses on mirror imaging. She prints the images onto fabric, crystal, and pleather. She displayed wallets with her imagery on them at the demonstration.
One of her favorite paintings, Debussy, was featured at the studio. She said she named it after the French composer Claude Debussy, whom she listened to as she painted the work. The painting is impressionistic, containing an array of blending colors. “This painting works in harmony,” she said.
The demonstration was the first she has given for her art and technique. Norris had the event to satisfy the many art-interested groups who visit studios throughout the city, and share her techniques to the art community. She also hopes the demonstration will generate new sales.
“I work for the discoveries and art has taken me on a journey,” she said.
To view additional contemporary works of art by local Chicago artists please follow this link Chicago local art and artists.
Monday, August 11, 2014
Greg Milne – Chicago Contemporary Artist
http://www.chicago-artists.com is pleased to have Greg Milne as one of its many professional contemporary local artists included on our website.
I bought my wife with my poetry. She was the editor of the our college poetry magazine, and my submissions evidently took her by surprise, she assuming that she knew all the poets in our very small liberal arts school. But I was no longer a poet, having morphed into an undergraduate biology major. The poetry that served as the dowry I wrote between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. She published the three I submitted. But I understood, then, the power of creativity – what it could purchase and, eventually, I would learn, what it couldn’t. In any case, I committed my life ever since to the birthing of objects.
I began the information series approximately 10 years ago. More accurately, five years before that, at a dinner where I wondered out loud if this relatively new Internet might serve as just that…a net. Could it be used to gather vast amounts of information? If so, what would the results look like. Could I make a piece containing the name of every body of water on earth? The name of every movie ever released? Eventually, using spiders and other data mining software, the scientist in me succeeded in procuring the raw material. The artist in me then took over, trying to give form, poetry, and meaning to this, the detritus of our existence.
The work, Everywhere Else, was a piece conceived as part of a series dedicated to the gathering and displaying of information. If the endeavor, in this case gathering the name of literally every single place that humans inhabit on the planet, was quixotic, printing it out as a single file was literally impossible. Approximately eight years after the inception of this series, printing technology caught up, and the piece graduated from its virtual existence. Everywhere Else is composed of the approximately 6 1/2 million names of every city, town, village, and hamlet on earth. At five feet by fifteen feet the piece cannot be read without the use of a powerful magnifier. It is, perhaps, the most information ever printed on a single piece of paper.
The heart of the work lies in the manner in which it imitates its subject. The world is large, as is the piece. The elements that make up the work, the names, are tiny, just as the vast majority of human settlements are miniscule, composed of nothing more than a few abodes. A smattering of inhabitants. Every single place humans call home is contained within this work… except for one. The place the piece resides. I believe the work highlights one of the more beautiful traits of humankind, a trait that led us to inhabit every corner of this sphere. A penchant, a love, for everywhere else.
Follow this link for more fine art from our local Chicago Artists. For more information, please contact us.
I bought my wife with my poetry. She was the editor of the our college poetry magazine, and my submissions evidently took her by surprise, she assuming that she knew all the poets in our very small liberal arts school. But I was no longer a poet, having morphed into an undergraduate biology major. The poetry that served as the dowry I wrote between the ages of thirteen and fifteen. She published the three I submitted. But I understood, then, the power of creativity – what it could purchase and, eventually, I would learn, what it couldn’t. In any case, I committed my life ever since to the birthing of objects.
I began the information series approximately 10 years ago. More accurately, five years before that, at a dinner where I wondered out loud if this relatively new Internet might serve as just that…a net. Could it be used to gather vast amounts of information? If so, what would the results look like. Could I make a piece containing the name of every body of water on earth? The name of every movie ever released? Eventually, using spiders and other data mining software, the scientist in me succeeded in procuring the raw material. The artist in me then took over, trying to give form, poetry, and meaning to this, the detritus of our existence.
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| Everywhere Else |
The heart of the work lies in the manner in which it imitates its subject. The world is large, as is the piece. The elements that make up the work, the names, are tiny, just as the vast majority of human settlements are miniscule, composed of nothing more than a few abodes. A smattering of inhabitants. Every single place humans call home is contained within this work… except for one. The place the piece resides. I believe the work highlights one of the more beautiful traits of humankind, a trait that led us to inhabit every corner of this sphere. A penchant, a love, for everywhere else.
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| Everywhere Else (detail) |
Friday, August 8, 2014
Michael Finnegan - A Local Chicago Artist
Friedman Fine Art represents the marvelous works of Michael Finnegan. Mike is one of Chicago’s finest contemporary local artists executing marvelous 3 dimensional works of art.
Michael Finnegan combines meticulous craftsmanship, sharp rhythmic compositions, and the underpinnings of jazz to create visually arresting sculptures, paintings, and installations.
While a composition major at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Finnegan maintained a painting practice that soon led to exhibits at an east village gallery, the Emerging Collector, in New York city. Initially influenced by the work of Francis Bacon, Finnegan’s painterly style and focus on the figure gave way to what today may be seen as hard-edged abstraction. He acknowledges the influence of color theorists Joseph Albers and Johannes Itten and Op-art painters, such as Bridget Riley. However, while visual comparisons to their art and that of the 1960s minimalists may be apt, Finnegan isn’t concerned with furthering a particular aesthetic ideology.
Finnegan’s tightly orchestrated compositions of color and pattern evolve from a love of music and its inherent melodic, harmonic and rhythmic structures. In a recent commission for Neiman Marcus, Finnegan creates visual riffs based on the harmonic form of two jazz standards, Tune Up and The Song is You. As with his previously executed, Coltrane-inspired painting Countdown, Finnegan develops visual groupings of color and shape that correspond to key signatures and chord changes. An intuitive arrangement of these motifs, or “chords,” is played out over a solid color field that visually establishes a strong tonal center for the various hard-edged, organic graphic elements. The result is compositions that are both spontaneous and cohesive.
Finnegan’s rhythmic arrangements also recall water, waves, sound, and light. Raised in Hawai’i and on the Chesapeake Bay, Finnegan lived and worked in Seattle and on Deer Isle, Maine prior to living in Chicago. Metaphorically, tangentially, and as analogs, these motifs, born from a life spent near the water, connect him to these places.
Strengthening the visual complexity of his work is an unerring commitment to craftsmanship. Finnegan’s sculptures are meticulous owing to a fastidiousness honed by years as a carpenter of furniture, cabinets, staircases, and historic preservation projects. Today, in his Chicago studio, Finnegan uses sculptural matrixes, in lieu of canvas, for paintings that one appreciates in three-dimensions. These hybrid works—sinuous arcs, stacked trapezoids, and complex boxes devoid of right angles—are painted smoothly and with polish. Materials include furniture grade plywood, Kevlar, canvas, and velvet, adhesive vinyl, and acrylic paint. Counted among his tools are pencils, sable brushes, power tools, industrial HVLP spray guns, and a laptop.
Finnegan’s installation art includes a lobby-transforming work in the world famous Sears Tower and The Olympia Center on Michigan Avenue, Chicago. He has also created works for private collectors and corporate commissions for such clients as BMO Harris Bank, Neiman Marcus and InSite Real Estate.
If you would like to view additional works by Michael Finnegan or other contemporary local Chicago artists please follow this link. Contemporary Fine Art in Chicago.
Michael Finnegan combines meticulous craftsmanship, sharp rhythmic compositions, and the underpinnings of jazz to create visually arresting sculptures, paintings, and installations.
While a composition major at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Finnegan maintained a painting practice that soon led to exhibits at an east village gallery, the Emerging Collector, in New York city. Initially influenced by the work of Francis Bacon, Finnegan’s painterly style and focus on the figure gave way to what today may be seen as hard-edged abstraction. He acknowledges the influence of color theorists Joseph Albers and Johannes Itten and Op-art painters, such as Bridget Riley. However, while visual comparisons to their art and that of the 1960s minimalists may be apt, Finnegan isn’t concerned with furthering a particular aesthetic ideology.
Finnegan’s tightly orchestrated compositions of color and pattern evolve from a love of music and its inherent melodic, harmonic and rhythmic structures. In a recent commission for Neiman Marcus, Finnegan creates visual riffs based on the harmonic form of two jazz standards, Tune Up and The Song is You. As with his previously executed, Coltrane-inspired painting Countdown, Finnegan develops visual groupings of color and shape that correspond to key signatures and chord changes. An intuitive arrangement of these motifs, or “chords,” is played out over a solid color field that visually establishes a strong tonal center for the various hard-edged, organic graphic elements. The result is compositions that are both spontaneous and cohesive.
Finnegan’s rhythmic arrangements also recall water, waves, sound, and light. Raised in Hawai’i and on the Chesapeake Bay, Finnegan lived and worked in Seattle and on Deer Isle, Maine prior to living in Chicago. Metaphorically, tangentially, and as analogs, these motifs, born from a life spent near the water, connect him to these places.
Strengthening the visual complexity of his work is an unerring commitment to craftsmanship. Finnegan’s sculptures are meticulous owing to a fastidiousness honed by years as a carpenter of furniture, cabinets, staircases, and historic preservation projects. Today, in his Chicago studio, Finnegan uses sculptural matrixes, in lieu of canvas, for paintings that one appreciates in three-dimensions. These hybrid works—sinuous arcs, stacked trapezoids, and complex boxes devoid of right angles—are painted smoothly and with polish. Materials include furniture grade plywood, Kevlar, canvas, and velvet, adhesive vinyl, and acrylic paint. Counted among his tools are pencils, sable brushes, power tools, industrial HVLP spray guns, and a laptop.
Finnegan’s installation art includes a lobby-transforming work in the world famous Sears Tower and The Olympia Center on Michigan Avenue, Chicago. He has also created works for private collectors and corporate commissions for such clients as BMO Harris Bank, Neiman Marcus and InSite Real Estate.
If you would like to view additional works by Michael Finnegan or other contemporary local Chicago artists please follow this link. Contemporary Fine Art in Chicago.
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Doug Frohman A Local Chicago Artist
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| Horizon Line Oil on canvas 96 in. x 72 in. |
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| Pandora Oil on Board 14 in. x 50 in. |
Another piece from the series, PANDORA follows the ABSTRACT NARRATIVE formula where bold colored passages swirl and interpenetrate each other forming a narrative line that supports the “story” found in each panel, but becomes much richer when sequenced across all four panels. These pieces are all painted with a workman’s cement trowel and layered extensively to achieve the final result. Mr. Frohman has exhibited most recently in the lobby of Chicago’s iconic Prudential Building and is scheduled for a solo exhibit in New York’s Chelsea district at Kips Gallery, NY.
Doug Frohman is a prolific contemporary Chicago artist working in oil on canvas.
To acquire follow this link, Fine Art Chicago Artists.
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