Elizabeth Peyton, Julian, 2006, Ukiyo-e woodcut, Leslie Sacks Gallery.  Click to inquire.

Daniel F. Gerhartz, Inheritance, Oil on linen, Eckert & Ross Fine Art.  Click to inquire. 

Feeling a bit musical this March (most definitely influenced by binge-watching Amazon’s Mozart in the Jungle), this month’s post highlights the cross-cultural disciplines of music and art.  While we covered dance a little while back and even paired certain artworks with a curated soundtrack, the depiction of music within art reflects the multiplicity of passions throughout various art forms. Whether depicting one belting out lyrics mid-song, pairs engaging in the collaborative recital of a concerto or perhaps persuasively trying to get out of practice, the art of music, demonstrates the luxury of leisure.

John Hubbard Rich, The Violin Lesson, Oil on canvas, George Stern Fine Arts.  Click to inquire.

Stephen Mackey, Song, Oil on panel, Arcadia Contemporary.  Click to inquire

One thinks of Gilded Age portraits, its nineteenth-century subjects enjoying music as a visual indicator of their status: reflective of their worldly, cultural self. Additionally, the musical additions featured in “Nature morte au trombone” by Claude Vénard from Guarisco Gallery is a modern take on the still-life, where old Dutch Masters’ depictions of musical instruments with broken cords was a memento mori, reflective of the temporality of life.

Jan Matulka, Owl and Violin, Oil on canvas, David Cook Fine Art. Click to inquire

Claude Vénard, Nature morte au violon (Still-life with Violin), ca. 1940, Oil on masonite, Guarisco Gallery. Click to inquire.

 

Artworks with themes of song and sound, cannot firstly, capture their auditory qualities; however, its visual representation becomes an identifier, a glance into the subject. Even more so, while you can’t hear the saxophone in Nothing Gets Past Mrs. Hussey, the funkiness of its visual composition will always vibrate through.

Andres Nagel, Nothing Gets Past Mrs. Hussey, Mixed media and oil on polyester and fiberglass. Tasende Gallery.  Click to inquire.

Mary Jane Ansell, Hope and the Reckoning, Oil on aluminum, Arcadia Contemporary.  Click to inquire.

Two heads are better than one. It takes two to make a thing go right. Just ask Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock.  The same can be said in the realm of Art History: whilst we rarely here about two artists working together to collaborate on one painting, it is often the collaborative effort of artists, such as Picasso and Braque, to develop the visual foundations of artistic movements and their ideologies, as potently explored through Cubism.  It was even said that one could not identify the hand of either Braque or Picasso in their gray-toned, fragmented compositions, as they developed their style side-by-side in the studio.

Natvar Bhavsar, SWAHAA II, Acrylic on canvas, Contessa Gallery.  Click to inquire.

Jean Charlot, Mexican Mother, Lithograph, David Cook Fine Art. Click to inquire.

In this collaborative effort of ideas, divorcing the individual, “genius” artist promotes the obvious notion that artistic ideologies and “movements” are often the synthesis of multiple artist’s styles and visual conceptions.  While artist’s relationships with one another transpire behind the scenes, the visual representation of “pairs” in artworks add an extra layer for their audience: at once we must analyze the individual, but we must also try to understand the relationship between the depicted pair.

Carducius P. Ream, Consolation, Oil on canvas, Eckert & Ross Fine Art.  Click to inquire.

Alan Feltus, Padova, Oil and alkyd on canvas over panel, Eckert Fine Art Gallery.  Click to inquire.

How can we sift for the dynamism between the depicted couple: does one hold more power, are they equal? The same questions can be applied to Bhavsar’s SWAHAA II, a juxtaposition of two colors with a detectable vibratory relationship, or in Thiebaud’s Ice Cream Cones: just as in life and art, a companion always makes things a little better (and sweeter). Wayne Thiebaud, Ice Cream Cones, Ink and wash on paper, Tasende Gallery.  Click to inquire.

Stephen Scott Young, Charmed, 1998, Watercolor, Surovek Gallery.  Click to inquire.

Léon-Augustin Lhermitte, Départ des laveuses, le soir, Oil on canvas, Schiller & Bodo European Paintings.  Click to inquire.

In Art History, there are a number of famous familial, platonic and amorous pairs: who’s your favorite pair in art history?

Albert Wein, Arcadian Idyll, Bronze, Levis Fine Art. Click to inquire.

Henry Moore, Mother and Child IV, 1983, Etching, Leslie Sacks Gallery.  Click to inquire.        

While Valentine’s Day is over and done with, many of those lovable feelings, leftover chocolates, and some-what fresh flowers carry over to today and into FADA’s latest blog post.  While Valentine’s Day often entails a routine of affections, this post both serves to celebrate amour and introduce FADA’s new Pinterest Page.  Pinterest’s curating capabilities mirror the similar intentions of art curation.  FADA’s Pinterst page, which will be used to deconstruct works of art from the FADA inventory and relate them to popular “pins” also allows for the curation of specific themes relating FADA galleries’ collections to Valentine’s Day.

Browse our page and boards, Flowers from FADA, I Heart FADA, and Date Night with FADA and see how relationships emerge between artworks from different historical genres.  The language of love is know to all, principles easily translatable to works of art.  

Tony South, Still Smokin, Oil on canvas, Rehs Galleries Inc. Click to inquire.

The Monkey: Quick-witted, charming, lucky, adaptable, bright, versatile, lively, smart.

Chinese New Year is celebrated this year under the auspices of the Monkey. The fantastic story detailing the contest held to determine the 12 animals is even more so a popular story on how the individual traits allowed each creature to complete the race. The animal identified with our birth year also lends itself to another way to analyze our personalities.  The animal representative of each year rotates every twelve years, each animal possessing certain traits which we often readily accept (or deny) as facets of our true self.  Like the astrological signs dictating our personal, business and love lives,  Chinese New Year’s animals, whether known for their stubbornness, wit, or brawn demonstrate different cultures’ embracement of the cosmos.  This is FADA‘s ode to the Chinese New Year Animals: do their traits listed below for each animal match up for you?  Check out which animal you are and learn more about each animal’s characteristics!

Mariano Rodríguez, Gallo y Flor (Rooster and Flower), Acrylic on canvas, Cernuda Arte.  Click to inquire.

The Rooster: Honest, energetic, intelligent, flamboyant, flexible, diverse, confident

James Wells Champney, Old Man Feeding a Dog, Oil on canvas, Godel & Co. Fine Art Inc.  Click to inquire.

The Dog: Loyal, sociable, courageous, diligent, steady, lively, adaptable, smart

Stuart Dunkel, Holy Cow, Oil on panel, Rehs Galleries, Inc.  Click to inquire. A combination artwork for the Boar and Rat.

Boar: Honorable, philanthropic, determined, optimistic, sincere, sociable

Rat: Intelligent, adaptable, quick-witted, charming, artistic, sociable.

Todd, Reifers, Oxen and Cart, Oil on linen, Eckert & Ross Fine Art.  Click to inquire.

The Ox: Loyal, reliable, thorough, strong, reasonable, steady, determined

William Lees Judson, Cats at Play, dated 1881, Oil on canvas, Redfern Gallery. Click to inquire. Our very playful interpretation of the Tiger: Enthusiastic, courageous, ambitious, leadership, confidence, charismatic

Joseph Raphael, Feeding the Rabbit, Oil on board, George Stern Fine Arts. Click to inquire

The Rabbit: Trustworthy, empathic, modest, diplomatic, sincere, sociable, caretakers

Leonard Baskin, Saint Anthony with the Red Monster, Wood engraving, Denenberg Fine Arts.  Click to inquire.

Another combination artwork and beastly interperation of both the Dragon and the Snake.

Dragon: Lucky, flexible, eccentric, imaginative, artistic, spiritual, charismatic

Snake: Philosophical, organized, intelligent, intuitive, elegant, attentive, decisive

Star York, Mares at Play (mini) Set of 5, ed. 1/30, Bronze, Guarisco Gallery. Click to inquire.

The Horse: Adaptable, loyal, courageous, ambitious, intelligent, adventurous, strong

Rosa Bonheur, Grazing Ewe, Bronze; dark brown patina with golden highlights, Red Fox Fine Art.  Click to inquire.

The Sheep: Tasteful, crafty, warm, elegant, charming, intuitive, sensitive, calm

With Oscar Nominatations abuzz, this post connects FADA‘s inventory to the diverse range of Oscar Best Picture nominations. From the snow-filled wilderness scenery of the Revenant to the bustling cosmopolitan backdrop of Brooklyn, FADA‘s inventory is just as varied and encyclopedic as this year’s dramas.

Mad Max: Fury Road

For those who watched Mad Max: Fury Road, the desert wasteland is the most consistent backdrop to the futuristic car chases between the title character and the tyrannical leader.  Sophie Harpes’s desert-scape, with its sinuous strokes recall the sand dunes of Mad Max‘s barren landscape.

Sophie Harpe, Desert Slot #2, Oil on canvas board, George Stern Fine Arts.  Click to inquire.

Brooklyn

The charming story of a young Irish girl making her way in America sings the same promising tune as Henry Bacon’s Dreaming Anew, Departing New York Harbor from Vallejo Maritime Gallery.

The Revenant 

KIMBERLEY FRENCH/20TH CENTURY FOX

The movie’s scene snow-scape, both a source of inspiration and a foe, initiates this tale of survival. Imagine traversing the majestic landscape in Raphael Lillywhite, Untitled (Winter, Colorado), Oil on artist board from David Cook Fine Art. Click to inquire.

The Big Short

The movie’s seriously flawed, Wall Street figures definitely share the same suave, suited-up appearance as the figures in Michael Carson’s aptly titled The Hunt, Oil on panel, from Arcadia Contemporary.

Bridge of Spies 

This historical thriller set in the 60’s recounts the Cold-War paranoia amidst attempts to secure an American prisoner of war from the Soviets. David Datuna’s mixed media flag from Contessa Gallery demonstrates the patriotic stakes of the film.

The Martian

Sharing the same “out-of-this-world” flare, Arcadia Contemporary’s fun “Conquerors of Outer Space” puts Matt Damon’s costume to shame.            

To start off FADA/blog in 2016, this post reflects upon 2015 (FADA’s 25th year) and the exciting 2015 gallery highlights shared by fantastic FADA members.  From acquiring important art historical works, conducting academic research, to receiving positive reception at Art Fairs, FADA galleries’ encyclopedic expertise shined through in their diverse and active participation in the Art World during 2015. Here’s to 2016 and FADA’s 26th year! Denenberg Fine Arts  tours curated exhibitions to museums.   They made a discovery in their inventory of a version of the famed painting by Cristofano Allori (Italian 1577-1621) that is either the studio or the hand of the artist.  It is currently in conservation, and will soon enter the literature as one of the finest versions, after that in the collection of the Queen of England, London, and that in the collection of the Pitti Palace, Florence.

Jonathan Novak Contemporary Art Having represented the artist for almost fifteen years, their 2015 exhibition “Jim Dine: A Retrospective” was their most encyclopedic and successful presentation of Dine’s work to date. Dine celebrated his 80th birthday in June and is actively creating important and beautiful works.

 

Rosenbaum Contemporary‘s 2015 gallery highlight was their exhibition Timeless Beauty featuring the timeless sculptures and mixed media works of Manolo Valdés and the lush fine art photography of Simon Procter and brought together the work of these two contemporary masters in their Boca Raton gallery.

 

 

SIMON PROCTER, Rolande Death of a Painter, C-print, 47.24 x 62.99 inches (120 x 160 cm), Edition of 10

 

MANOLO VALDÉS, Ivy Cabeza de Biarritz Dorada, 2010, Gold aluminum, Height: 33.07 inches (84 cm), Edition of 9

 

Contessa Gallery While Contessa Gallery had many highlights with premiers, exhibitions and art fairs throughout the past year, they saw tremendous success at Art Miami 2015. There they world premiered David Drebin’s revolutionary Photo Sculptures. This new medium allows viewers to experience Drebin’s cinematic narratives in a three dimensional fashion. Contessa Gallery debuted the highly anticipated Freedom Flag from David Datuna’s Viewpoint of Millions series. The flag was met with much praise for its contribution of bringing positive awareness to the LGBTQ communities. The gallery also hosted a separate booth entirely dedicated to the works of Mr. Brainwash. The booth featured never before seen works on mediums such as cement, wood boxes and wood panels. Contessa Gallery is looking forward to what 2016 will bring.

 

Rehs Galleries, Inc. >Along with selling important works by Jean B.C. Corot (1796-1875), Julien Dupre (1851-1910), Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839-1924) and Emile Munier (1840-1895), the gallery acquired an extremely important and unique painting by the 20th century British marine artist Montague Dawson (1895-1973).  Ocean Greetings was sold by W. Russell Button. Inc. of Chicago in 1946 to the Weyerhaeuser family of Washington.  The painting remained in the family’s collection until 2015 when the gallery acquired to work.  It made its way to a new collection weeks after it arrived.

Nedra Matteucci Galleries  presented an important historical exhibition, Robert Lougheed: A Brilliant Life in Art, featuring more than 80 works. Each piece in the exhibition was selected with the remarkable perspective of Lougheed’s dear friend, David Smith, a humble art connoisseur and private patron. Smith enjoyed a decades-long, deep and engaging “art” conversation and friendship with Lougheed; the consequence of that friendship was a large and comprehensive collection that reveals the brilliance of Lougheed.