Portrait of Wally Gilbert by Vernita Nemec
Wally Gilbert in London at Saatchi START Art Fair
Alan Gaynor's photograph has been accepted for inclusion in The Photo Review 2017 Competition issue.
Alan Gaynor, "Under Brooklyn Bridge". Photograph, 12”x 7” to 36”x 21” or larger on request
Congratulations to Alan Gaynor!
Ellen Burnett at The Platform Contemporary Art Show, Art Book Fair & Film Festival
Any Road Will Get You There (9.5"w x 9.5"h x 1.5") by Ellen Burnett
Viridian Artist's Newest member is exhibiting work at the Platform Contemporary Art Show:
Brooklyn Expo 72 Noble Street September 29th - October 1st 2017
From artist, curator and publisher Terrence Sanders comes the inaugural edition of
Platform Contemporary Art Show, Art Book Fair & Film Festival.
The Viewing Room features Gerard Frances, Anita Arliss, Chris Justice Cheryl Schainfeld, Bianca Sforni, Ellen Burnett, Walter Poole, Morgan Frew, Joey Solomon, Cynthia McLoughlin, Mo Hongxun & Ping Zheng.
Press Release: Wally Gilbert "Towers"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
Wally Gilbert
“Towers"
October 3rd- October 28th, 2017
Opening, Thursday October 5th, 6 to 8PM
Closing Reception: Saturday, October 28th, 4 to 6PM
Chelsea: Viridian Artists Inc. is pleased to present an exhibition of digital imagery by the artist/scientist/photographer Wally Gilbert, entitled “Towers”. The show opens October 3rd and continues through October 28th, 2017. In celebration, there will be a reception to meet the artist on Thursday, October 5th, 6-8PM.
Wally Gilbert has always been modest about his achievements. If you looked him up on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Gilbert) , you would learn that he is not only a Nobel Prize-winning scientist but also a Cambridge graduate, a Harvard professor, and a noted and honored expert in numerous other scientific investigations. But after retiring from Harvard in 2001, he turned to the artistic side of his brain and began a career in digital photography, transforming his images with Photoshop and undoubtedly other self-invented techniques to make fascinating compositions suggestive of depths beyond reality.
Gilbert has been working with digital photography now for over a decade, sometimes exploring color, sometimes focusing on black & white imagery. In this exhibit, his focus is on color and light which he investigates and manipulates, transforming fragments of photographs into a plethora of artistic and arresting abstract and sometimes nearly realistic artworks.
The artist/scientist continues his exploration of the digital media of photography, approaching it with scientific gusto, artistic freedom and the wisdom of experimentation, pushing and transforming his images by taking color to the extreme. The work in his latest exhibition begins with color, light and overlapping shapes, creating complex abstractions that leave the viewer to imagine their origins. This time, many of the images begin with towering architectonic structures, perhaps reminding us - with the title “Torn Building Towers”- of The Twin Towers of 9/11.
Gilbert explores the medium of photography zealously, searching for beauty and then translating that beauty into his own imagistic language of color and form. He first captures photographically a wide variety of subjects, translating the subjects into artistic images that he enhances digitally, pushing colors and shapes creatively and scientifically perhaps, reminding us that the thinking processes of artists and scientists are more alike than we previously realized.
With this new series of images, Gilbert continues exploring architectural imagery, but now repeating & altering it so that the images dance before your eyes. They glow with color driven to full saturation creating new interactions, until they have become “abstract meditations” at times approaching the psychedelic images of the 70’s. A time so different from now but perhaps not so for the show at the Whitney of 70’s Political Art which featured the works of many old friends.
"In his digitally altered photographs, Wally Gilbert slices up and weaves city scenes, cranking color values off the charts. Ember red burns against royal purple, and lemon-yellow pops against red and violet, in "Torn Building Tower – Triptych." Zing! The three narrow vertical panels echo forms of the buildings they depict, which tumble, fold, and open into dazzling, game-board grids." -- Cate McQuaid, Boston Globe, March 31, 2017
His art was featured in the Saatchi Fair in London in September in this year as well as numerous venues on the East & West Coast of the US. We hope that you will be able to meet this outstanding artist and share his vision through seeing these incredibly fascinating artworks.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact Vernita Nemec, Gallery Director at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com
Wally Gilbert will show at an Art Fair in London
START
at the Saatchi Gallery
September 13 to 17, 2017
Wally Gilbert and INKA Collaborative
Booth #2.6, at the Saatchi Gallery
Duke of York's HQ,
King's Road, Chelsea, London. SW3 4RY
Wednesday 13th, 15:00 - 21:00, VIP Preview
Thursday 14th, 11:00 - 18:00, Public Opening
Friday 15th, 11:00 - 18:00, Public Opening
Saturday 16th, 11:00 - 18:00, Public Opening
Sunday 17th, 11:00 - 17:00, Public Opening
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran at Montserrat Gallery
A Retrospective of the Endless Junkmail Scroll & other Trash-formative Art
Vernita N'Cognita
August 25- September 3, 2017
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 25th, 6-8 pm
open mostly by appt - call 609 731 2140
Press Release: "Selfies & Self-Portraits: 21st C Artists See Themselves"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
"Selfies & Self-Portraits: 21st C Artists See Themselves"
September 5 - September 30, 2017.
Thursday, September 7, 6-8PM. Opening Reception and a book signing of Ann Zinman Leventhal's new novel, “Among the Survivors". Thursday September 28, 6-8PM A night of portraiture. All are invited to draw or be drawn!
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present "Selfies & Self-Portraits: 21st C Artists See Themselves", which extends from September 5 through September 30 2017. The opening reception will be on Thursday, September 7, 6-8PM with a book signing by Ann Z Leventhal.
Artists have been creating self-portraits since the beginning of time, but now with cell phone cameras, the selfie has become the ubiquitous portrayal of self. The selfie has become today's self-portrait, but does it go beyond being just a likeness of the self which the artist has created or is it self-indulgence?
What is a self-portrait? What meanings does it encompass? How honest is reality or an artists' interpretation, even with a media so direct as the iPhone? Couldn't it just be the moment and an arbitrary decision to snap the shutter or be based on the composition of shapes in the image? Is it photography in the same way as our trusty old 35mm cameras performed? Is it more truthful than a brush and paint with a mirror nearby? What is art? What is reality?
Viridian has invited guest artists, as well as its usual entourage, to create and show images they feel represent themselves. Artists were invited to send us a "selfie", aka 21st C self-portrait and to create their selfie in the form of an art object in any media they desire. All the while, thinking about who they are/ what inspires & what motivates them. Or just to do an old-fashioned self-portrait!
Some are outrageous, some political, some as classical as Durer, Rembrandt, but with a twist. Today's self-portraiture because of a thousand reasons has become more diverse & more conceptual. How we see artists from the past may have to do more with their self-portrayals than documents in their archives. But how we see artists today via their self-image is a whole new conundrum.
On the last Thursday evening of the exhibit, September 28th, there will be an evening of portrait drawing. All interested are invited to bring their drawing pads & materials to create self- portraits or portraits of each other. Guests are invited to pose for portraits which can be traded or paid for at the rate of $1 a minute. Come between 6-8PM & participate or just observe. A good time is guaranteed for all! The exhibition continues until Saturday, September 30th.
Renee Borkow * Ellen Burnett * May DeViney * Alan Gaynor * Wally Gilbert * Srividya Kannan Ramachandran * Kat King * Namiyo Kubo * Phillip McConnell * Matthias Merdan * John Nieman * Mary Tooley Parker * Susan Sills * Virginia Evans Smit * Angela Smith * Deborah Sudran* Kiffi Diamond * Arlene Finger * Ron Moore * Sarah Riley * Kathleen Shanahan * Jenny Belin * Vernita N’Cognita * William Patrick Armstrong * Emmett Barnacle * Jenny Brown * Naomi Christianson * d'Ann de Simone * Dave Dorsey *Julie Gautier-Downes* Melanie Gritzka del Villar *
Olga Garcia Guerra * Charity Henderson * Ed Herman* Flora Hogman * Jieun Beth Kim * Megan Klim *Bernice Sokol Kramer * Angela M. LaMonte * Arturo Lindsay * Vidho Lorville * Jade Lowder * Sara Madandar * Song Lee * Shawn Marshall * Chang Sik Moon * Petronia Paley * Jesse Parajeckas * Carol Quint * Mariko Spigner * Sharon Wybrants * Andrea Barnes * Rarri Oro * Michael Pegues and others!
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com
Remembering Viridian Artist Barbara K. Schwartz: 1927-2017
Barbara K. Schwartz: 1927-2017
Sadly, Viridian has lost a member of our family. Barbara K. Schwartz, who has been a member of the gallery since 1978, died on July 26th. We will miss her deeply. Posted below is Barbara's obituary from the New York Times. We send our deepest condolences to her family and her friends.
SCHWARTZ--Barbara M., on July 26, 2017. Internationally known artist and teacher. Beloved wife of Robert, devoted mother and mother-in-law of Ellen and Frank Ruck, Andrew Schwartz and Brian Keane. Adored grandmother of Aaron Wolff and great-grandmother of Ryan and Emma. Memorial service Tuesday, August 1st, 2pm at "The Riverside," 76 St. and Amsterdam Ave. Donations in her memory to: The High School of Performing Arts, NYC.
Press Release: "The Heat Is On"
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
"THE HEAT IS ON"
July 18- August 5, 2017
Reception Thursday July 20th, 6-8pm
Closing Reception, Thursday August 3rd, 6-8 pm
KATHLEEN SHANAHAN * DEB FLAGEL * MICHAEL RECK * RON MOORE *
JENNY BELIN * VERNITA N’COGNITA
Chelsea NY: Viridian Artists is pleased to present an exhibition of outstanding art by six artists who are part of Viridian Artists' Affiliate program. The show extends from July 18th to August 5th with a reception to meet the artists Thursday July 20th, 6-8pm.
"The Heat Is On" alludes to the often pressing circumstances of life, our drive to move forward, the need to do it now, and of course, hot topics like the environment. Art offers artists solutions and ways of dealing with "the heat" of daily life. But the art itself gives the viewers too methods and means to cope with life's surprises and pitfalls. These artists will help you bear it all by visually seducing you in a wide variety of ways. Take your pick and be cool!!
MICHAEL RECK has been working exclusively with spray paint and stencils for several months now and recently reintroduced color back into the mix after working primarily in black and white for the past couple of years. "As the medium necessitates working in front of an exhaust fan, I have been trying to produce as much as possible before the New York summer grows too hot to work (or breathe) comfortably."
DEB FLAGEL "My work is an accumulation of momentary glances encountered on a daily basis. As my eye records the environmental landscape that surrounds me, my mind begins to weave line, color and shape, constructing a sort of self identity...a personal cultural fabric."
Flagel holds an MFA in Visual Communication from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her professional background includes teaching, freelance design and restoration of commercial spaces and she has been an exhibiting artist since 2005. Her work has been shown in Chicago, New York, and places in-between. In addition, she serves as the Executive Director for Woman Made Gallery in Chicago.
Sculptor RON MOORE, when I ask for some words about his art, says “The Heat is On', is certainly apropos of our difficult, and continually upsetting times!! ~ Although my piece, which is entitled; 'Yearning's', may not be specifically aligned with those larger frustrations. ~ On a personal level, it attempts to represent the inner struggle(s), of trying to wrestle free from personal limitations. Then beyond that, to hopefully 'run and soar' with the spirit of artistic wildness, as long as time and inspiration allows.”
In this group of works by KATHLEEN SHANAHAN, nature-inspired forms are partnered with contrasting elements, resulting in new visual entities. “In their stacked formations, these forged visual associations resemble totems. Appreciation of both the micro and the macro elements in nature and our attentiveness to them, especially given global warming and climate change, is both apropos and crucial to our humanity.” For the artist, this kind of preoccupation and focus is a much welcome and paradoxical escape/responsibility.
JENNY BELIN’S drawings are inspired by 1950s/1960s swimsuit models. “As a feminist I am intrigued by the history of pinups: bombshell images of women were iconic at a time when sexuality was often perceived as a threat.”
VERNITA N'COGNITA continues to deal with the overabundance of stuff that would be thrown away if it were not made into art. These collages combine security envelope textures from junkmail with flipped and broken images from fashion magazines and other found fragments as the artist interweaves environmental realities and feminist fantasies in these works from the late 90’s 'til now.
Viridian's Affiliate Program is an important aspect of the gallery's mission to expand exhibition opportunities for outstanding under-known contemporary artists, those young as well as those older.
Gallery hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12-6PM
For further information please contact the gallery at 212 414 4040 or viridianartistinc@gmail.com
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts, CA.
One of Srividya Kannan Ramachandran's photographs will be included in the juried show "Stories through Photography" at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts in California from July 22 to Sept 17, 2017.
Srividya Kannan Ramachandran showing 3 paintings at fashion show + art show + live painting + barbecue charity event. One night only!.
The Set NYC presents: CoutureMask: Bikini Block Party. An event to help end NYC depression and poverty. The mission of The Set NYC is to empower and build people up from poverty situations to sustainable living. Friday, June 304pm - 10pm 21 and over event
Chelsea Manhattan296 9th Ave.
CoutureMask & Bradley Douglas Jordan Bikini Fashion Show. Also showcasing Swim Suit fashion shows, Bikini Bottom Show, Outdoor Meat Grill, Outdoor VEGAN grill, Keg Beer, Outdoor Mural Live Painting, MERMAID Fashion Show, Sea Creatures, Art Exhibitions, Live Bands. $25 unlimited BBQ and keg beer. $30 at door.
Poetry and Art by Srividya Kannan Ramachandran in "Mom Egg Review"
The Girl in the Apartment Below
As the train whistled past the lonely road,
She stood still.
The stale neon lights illumined
the plastic smile on her lips.
Her burdened shoulder drooped.
Yet, she waved.
She was all but ten.
I got a glimpse of her sorrow beneath,
I blinked, and she was gone.
Why didn’t I share my journey with her?
She was all but ten.
–Srividya Kannan Ramachandran
--from "Mom Egg Review Literature and Art" Link here
"The Mind is a Clean Canvas"; Oil on Canvas; 24 x 36 in; painting by Srividya Kannan Ramachandran
Wally Gilbert Art Show at Salon R
Doors to Nowhere
New Wally Gilbert Art Show at
Salon R
703 Mount Auburn Street
Cambridge MA 02140
617-491-2300
June 21st to August 25th, 2017
Tuesday 9:30 – 5:00
Weds & Thurs 9:30 – 8:00
Friday 9:30 – 5:00
Saturday 8:00 – 2:30
Opening Reception: Tuesday, July 11, 6 – 8 pm
"Doors to Nowhere"
45" x 30"
Digital print on Aluminum with a high gloss finish.
Press Release: Viridian's 28th Annual International Juried Exhibition
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Please List
Viridian's 28th Annual International Juried Exhibition
Juried by Susan Thompson, Assistant Curator at the Guggenheim Museum
June 27– July 15, 2017
Opening Reception: Thursday, June 29, 6-8 pm
1st prize Ana Lucia Cano Villegas 2nd prize Lorna Stovall 3rd prize Keith Tang
Marie-Ange Ackad * Jessica Alazraki * Andrew Amundsen * Nan Brall * Andrew Brown *
Josh Brinlee * Ellen Burnett * Ana Lucia Cano Villegas * Susan Copich * Deborah Druick * Shawna Hanel * Howard Hastie * Marcos Hernandez * Dinora Justice * Joanna Madloch *
Pavel Muller * Christopher Nathan Nelson * Max Neuman * Aya Ogasawara * Aimee Perez * Barbara Rubensohn * Ingrid Scheibler * Scott Springer * Lorna Stovall * Keith Tang *
Brian Turkowski
Chelsea: Viridian Artists Inc. is pleased to present our 28th International Juried Exhibition curated by, Susan Thompson, Assistant Curator at the Guggenheim Museum The exhibition opens June 27th and continues through July 16th, 2016. In celebration, a special reception will be held on Thursday, June 29h, 6-8pm. We are especially pleased to present awards to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of this important competition that brings the art of emerging and under-recognized artists to the attention of museum curators.
The competition selection as always was difficult, but especially so for the nature of art in our world today encompasses a wide variety of methods, materials and conceptualizations of what art is. And there were so many outstanding submissions.
More than 550 artists submitted over 2000 submissions, a daunting task, but Susan Thompson, who juried this year's competition, did an outstanding job.
In her curatorial statement Ms. Thompson states "In reviewing the diverse pool of entrants, I found that I was most compelled by the artists who were pushing the boundaries of their selected medium and created works that were slightly unsettling. In some cases, this meant new, unusual, or surprising use of materials. In other works, this was reflected in strange or disquieting compositions. Many of the artists made fruitful use of unique combinations of color, texture, pattern, or imagery, often using collage to create generative juxtapositions. All are wholly original in their point of view. I am most grateful for the opportunity to review the work of so many impassioned creators and congratulate the winners and finalists on their selection for the exhibition."
As always, Viridian makes an effort to expand the opportunities for outstanding art to be seen and exhibited. Consequently, the gallery Director's Choices will also be viewable in digital form. At a later date, we hope to exhibit their actual art. We feel it important to tangibly demonstrate that curatorial choice is often as much about personal taste as it is about the "quality" of the art for "quality" in art is often open to opinion.
"Director's Choice" to be presented digitally
Andrew Amundson * Justin Archer * Suzanne Barton * Ellen Burnett * MinSeok Chi *
Ashley Comer * Susan Copich * DeShaun Craddock* Kim Curinga * Edgardo Dander * Matthew Derezinski * Santiago Echeverry* Kate Holcomb Hale * Terry Hastings *
Charles Hildebrandt * Jim Jacobs * Aaron Kalinay* Youngho Kang * Katy Mixon *
Yuko Mizobuchi, * Aimee Perez * Lou Peterson* Aya Ogasawara * Holly Wilson *
Juror Statement from Susan Thompson:
It has been an honor to serve as juror for Viridian’s 26th International Juried Competition. It was my privilege to review 2,223 entries from over 551 artists and a daunting challenge to identify the 28 remarkable artworks ultimately selected for inclusion in this year’s exhibition. The submissions included an extraordinary range of artists working in a wide variety of media, each offering a unique perspective and singular approach to art making. I was impressed by the high level of skillful technique and conceptual thought captured in each work. Ultimately, my selections were guided by the instincts, preferences, and knowledge I have developed over the past decade working as a curator in the field of contemporary art.
The exhibition checklist includes works in painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography. In reviewing the diverse pool of entrants, I found that I was most compelled by the artists who were pushing the boundaries of their selected medium and created works that were slightly unsettling. In some cases, this meant new, unusual, or surprising use of materials. In other works, this was reflected in strange or disquieting compositions. Many of the artists made fruitful use of unique combinations of color, texture, pattern, or imagery, often using collage to create generative juxtapositions. All are wholly original in their point of view. I am most grateful for the opportunity to review the work of so many impassioned creators and congratulate the winners and finalists on their selection for the exhibition.
John Nieman in Two Upcoming Shows
John Nieman will be exhibiting work at the gallery@oxo in London, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street South Bank, London SEI 9PH. Opening Night is Thursday 20th July 2017 6.30pm - 8.30pm. Exhibition Dates: 19th-23rd July 2017. Click here for more info.
NIeman's work will also be exhibited in the "Paper Works 2017" exhibit at the Upstream Gallery in Hastings-On-Hudson, NY from June 22-July 23. Opening is June 25, 2-5. Click here for more info.
Jenny Belin Showing in Park Slope
Jenny Belin's flower paintings and feminist pins.
Jenny Belin will be having a show of recent paintings at the The Diana Kane Boutique in Park Slope. Opening Wednesday, June 28 at 5 PM - 8 PM. Paintings will be on view throughout the summer. 229 5th Ave, Brooklyn, New York 11215. Click here for the boutique's website.
Vernita Nemec at Van Der Plas Gallery
"Face Up" by Vernita N’Cognita
14 x 11 inches, Mixed Media collage.
Viridian's Director Vernita Nemec has two collages in an upcoming exhibit at Van Der Plas Gallery at 156 Orchard Street. The opening reception is Wednesday June 28th 6-8pm
Susan Sills at the Brooklyn Museum
Viridian Artist Susan Sills has a large installation entitled "Que Sera, Seurat" in the Brooklyn Museum staff art show.