Agora Gallery is pleased to present a two part art exhibition scheduled to run from June 2, 2009 through June 23, 2009. In The Substance of Abstraction, audiences are presented with a rich kaleidoscope of color, form, and texture that in conjunction breathes life into abstract artworks. Whether employing shimmering brushstrokes or bold fields of color, nonrepresentational art, with its lack of familiar forms, allows the work speak to us on an especially elemental level. Through their deeply personal forms of expression, these artists offer a stunning glimpse into contemporary abstract painting.
Painter Lorraine Folb—born and raised in South Africa, now based in Sydney, Australia—moves between expressionism and abstraction in warm-colored mixed-media canvases. Generally dominated by alternately bold and subdued earth tones, her purified figures often recall the shorthand symbols of Joan Miró’s late work: slender parallel lines simply adorned succinctly evoke the human form; colorful squares bisected by tall rectangles conjure homes with open doors and a welcoming, communal warmth. In other works any distinction between figure and ground breaks down, and Folb gives her forms over to the free play of abstraction. Many of her expressionist works refer to her native South Africa, depicting traditional artifacts and objects, and rituals of rural life. These works also connect Folb’s country of origin and adoptive Australia, both of which feature massive earthy, sun-scorched, expansive landscapes in their interiors. Her abstracted works, meanwhile, maintain a similar palette and style but offer more opportunity for contemplation, guiding the eye gently across their various planes.
In part two, by exploring such undiscovered vantage points and often-overlooked inspirations, this collection of artists was selected because they present the world to viewers with an unusual candor. Whether with grit or finesse, the paintings grouped together in Unbound Perspectives display a timeless artistic past time: to unseat the audience from their comfortable and mundane perceptions of reality.
Exhibition Dates: June 2, 2009 – June 23, 2009
Reception: Thursday, June 4, 2009, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City
Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.
Featured Artists:
The Substance of Abstraction
Lorraine Folb, Monika Grygier, Per Hillo, Simon Matheu, Jasnica Klara Matić, Kerrie Warren
Unbound Perspectives
Hidekazu Ishikawa, Juan Lopezdabdoub, PEDNÒ, Tim Stensland, Hanna Vater, Terry Wang
AGORA GALLERY
Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district that was established in 1984 and is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of internationally talented emerging and mid-level artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of Art-Mine.com, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art from emerging, mid-level and well-established artists.
Laurie Ben-Haim
Agora Gallery
530 West 25th St. New York, NY 10001
212.226.4151
info@agora-gallery.com
