Reviews

Current Reviews:

Lee Porter: Australia's Female Answer to "The Male Gaze"
the acrylic paintings that Porter is exhibiting at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street October 24 through November 13 (reception Thursday, November 6, 6 to 8pm) are expeditions into a territory as relatively unexplored (at least by female artists) as the Outback itself, and for that reason alone may possess historical importance. For certain, they possess wit and are skillfully rendered.

Charting the Impossible: The Intrepid Mission of Slobodan Miljevic
Slobodan Miljevic is a consummately sophisticated painter, conversant with a broad range of techniques, which he combines in a manner that gives his compositions a multidimensional quality. Mediums are mixed liberally in order to lend his paintings a plethora of textural and coloristic contrasts. Often, he combines oils, acrylics, sand, and even digital prints to striking effect.

An Informative Survey of New Canadian Painting Comes to Chelsea
We live in such relatively close proximity to our "neighbor to the north," as it is often called; yet far too many of us remain unaware of the vital contemporary art scene that it harbors. For this reason, and simply for the overall excellence of the work on view, "Beyond Borders: an Exhibition of Fine Art from Canada" is well worth a visit to Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, where it will be on view from October 1 through 21 (Reception: October 2, 6 to 8pm).

Egalitarian Gallantry Ennobles the Art of Ricardo Lowenberg
Women are objectified, and even demeaned, by male artists in so many ways in so much contemporary art that one is hardly prepared for the mellow romanticism and aesthetic gallantry that distinguishes the paintings of the Mexican artist Ricardo Lowenberg, on view at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, in Chelsea, from September 9 through 30 (Reception September 11, 6 to 8 pm).

Aranka Israni's Ever-Evolving Quest for Homeostasis
An Indian raised as a Muslim in Dubai, Aranka Israni brings a strong sense of her cultural heritage to bear in her paintings on view at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from September 9 through 30 (Reception: Thursday, September 11, 6 to 8pm). The absolute clarity and grace of these compositions reveals a maturity of vision that belies the artist's relative youth.

Fumio Noma: Listening to the Whisperings of Nature
Looking at the work of Fumio Noma, on view at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from September 9 through 30 (reception September 11, 6 to 8 pm), one is reminded of the great Japanese writer Junichiro Tanizaki, who fell under the influence of Western writers such as Baudelaire, Poe, and Wilde, yet remained faithful to his national heritage and wrote the ultimate essay on the Japanese sense of beauty, "In Praise of Shadows."

Neil Masterman: A Maestro of Many Styles from the UK
Two of Masterman's favorite quotes about painting, included in an address book of his paintings that is a popular seller in England, are "Painting is a journey into the unknown" and "Painting is how you feel at the time." Both seem to apply to his own work, which is bright and upbeat in a manner akin to Hockney and Peter Blake, but also shares a sense of playfulness with that other British free spirit Colin Self.

Michael Gemmell: A Painter of the Bogs and the Irish Earth
Encountering the work of the Irish artist Michael Gemmell, one is reminded of a poem by his famous fellow countryman Seamus Heaney called "Exposure" that begins, "It is December in Wicklow: / Alders dripping, birches / Inheriting the last light, / the ash tree cold to look at." For Gemmell lives and works in Wicklow and his paintings look at the land with a similarly bleak and unforgiving beauty, judging from the ones on view at Agora Gallery

Martina O'Brien Melds Elements of Landscape and Abstraction
Although she is inspired by the example of Mondrian to regard her compositions as geometric constructs, the painterly process of the Irish artist Martina O'Brien quickly dissolves overt geometry in atmospherics akin to those of Turner and Constable, in her canvases on view at Agora Gallery.

Nina Ozbey: Postmodern Abstraction Informed By a Sense of the Past
The raw, romantic energy inherent in her muscular strokes, suggesting vestiges of nature and human anatomy, hinting at a simultaneously reverent and rambunctious relationship with the great art of the past, makes Nina Ozbey seem a legitimate heir to the revolutionary movement that first put American painting on the map. Ozbey will exhibit at Agora Gallery 530 West 25th Street, from July 22 through August 12. (Reception: Thursday, July 24, 6 to 8pm.)

Katrin Alvarez: Confronting and Banishing the Demons Within
Like Marlene Dumas, an older artist with whom she shares certain qualities in common, the German painter Katrin Alvarez depicts aspects of human and societal relationships through figures that often take on a doll-like quality,

Tradition and Originality in the Art of George J.D. Bruce
What makes an artist original, if not striving after new forms of expression? Those who truly know would argue that it is actually the artist's ability to imbue even the most traditional subjects and genres with the stamp of an individual sensibility. The paintings of George J.D. Bruce are a fine case in point.

New Art from Australia and New Zealand in Chelsea
Australian art critic and inveterate curmudgeon Robert Hughes once stated somewhat patronizingly that Australian art and by implication, that of New Zealand as well was “purely a product of isolation.” But that opinion no longer appears to hold true, given the level of high purpose and sophistication on view in “Out From Down Under & Beyond: The Australian & New Zealand Art Exhibition,” at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from May 10 through 30 (Reception Thursday, May 15, 6 to 8 PM).

Inna Moshkovich: Nature in the Abstract
Just how successful Moshkovich is at translating the particulars of landscape into purely painterly terms can be seen in the exhibition “Out From Down Under & Beyond” at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from May 10 to 30 (Reception: May 15 from 6 to 8 PM). In both her acrylic paintings and innovative wool collages, Moshkovich captures a sense of light and movement that brings her compositions alive in a unique manner.

Universal Connections in the Art of Anicée
Although Anicée also asserts that she strives to achieve “universality” in her art, as far as one knows, she has special interest in the art of China and Japan , having more than enough in her own background to inspire her. Yet a kinship with Asian art manifests nonetheless, not only stylistically but in Anicée's approach to nature, judging from the work on view in the exhibition “Abstract Concepts,” on view at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from May 10 to 30, with a reception on May 15 from 6 to 8 PM.

New Directions in Photography Seen in Chelsea
That no other art form has progressed as rapidly as photography in the past half century should come as no surprise to viewers of “Tripping the Light Fantastic¬¬ The Fine Art Photography Exhibition,” at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from April 18 through May 8. (Reception: Thursday, April 24, 2008, from 6 to 8 PM.)

Exploring the Ongoing Evolution of Digital Art
Practically everyone fools around with computers these days, but only the highly talented sidestep facile special effects to create genuine works of art, such as those featured in “Pixel Perfect: The Digital Fine Art Exhibition,” at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from April 18 through May 8 (Reception: April 24, from 6 to 8 PM).

The Paintings of Javier Iturbe Unite Two Diverse Traditions
One of the most interesting things about the Spanish artist Javier Iturbe, whose oils on canvas and panel can be seen in “Persistence of Form,” at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from March 25 through April 15 (Reception March 27, 6 to 8 PM), is the synthesis he has created between Cubism and Surrealism.

Discovering the Emotional Expressionism of Efrain Cruz
Born in Veracruz Mexico , now living and working in Valdosta , Georgia , Efrain Cruz is a “natural,” judging from the work on view in “The Allegory of Form,” at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street from February 5 through 26. (Reception: Thursday, February 7, from 6 to 8PM.)

Life-Affirming Symbolism in the Art of Patrice Goubeau
A fantastic vision is heightened by the liberal use of chiaroscuro to lend atmospheric drama to the acrylic paintings of Patrice Goubeau, a winner of the coveted Grand Prize award from the Salon des Artistes Francais, at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street , from  February 5 through 26. (Reception: Thursday February 7, 6 to 8 PM.)

Contemporary Art Informed by the Legacy of Greece and Italy
It is a daunting task to review an exhibition as sweeping in scope as "The Odyssey Within: An Exhibition of Fine Art From Italy and Greece," So overwhelming is its bounty of stylistic diversity that most one can do is try to provide the reader with an overview of the various tendencies flourishing in those two Mediterranean countries both with richly documented artistic legacies dating from antiquity to the present and recommend that he or she make a point of visiting the gallery.

Markus Maria Saufhaus: A Gentler Approach to Expressionism
If every artist can be said to have had a formative experience which spurred the creative urge, for the German painter Markus Maria Saufhaus, it was seeing a photograph as a child of "The Tower of the Blue Horses," a painting by Franz Marc, a leading member of the Blaue Reiter group

Materiality and Meaning in the Art of Monica Marioni
Born in Italy in 1972, Monica Marioni seems to synthesize some of the most dynamic developments in modern Italian art to forge her own unique postmodern style in an exhibition on view at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from December 14, 2007 to January 3, 2008. (Reception Thursday, December 20, from 6 to 8 PM.)

A Global Photographic Survey Comes to Chelsea
International trends in contemporary art photography are featured in "Tripping the Light Fantastic," at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from November 20 through December 11. (Reception Thursday, November 29, 6 to 8 PM.)

Katrina Read Extends Australia's Legacy of Nature Painting
Katrina Read has stated that she wishes her work to "capture a sense of calm and peace" and to achieve "a form of connectedness through each painting with the viewer," and she succeeds splendidly in this series

Jacqueline Rosenberg's Aesthetic Mutations of Beauty and Power
Rosenberg is well aware of being at odds with traditional sexual politics when she asserts that the women in her pictures are "strong, emancipated and sexy," adding that showing sensuality "is a powerful means to express emancipation, as opposed to the classical feminist that somehow denies femininity."

Carol Reeves: Still Life as Safe Haven
Matisse once said that he wanted his paintings to be "like a comfortable armchair for the viewer" and this seems a statement with which Carol Reeves might readily agree, judging from the amiable appeal of the paintings she is showing at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from November 20th through December 11. (Reception Thursday, November 29, 6 to 8 PM.)

James Kandt's "Abstract Realism": Best of Two Worlds
The personal synthesis that he has come to refer to as "abstract realism" also harks back, in spirit if not in style, to earlier artists like Arthur Dove, Marsden Hartley, and Georgia O'Keeffe, pioneering modernists who never abandoned their roots in nature.

Evoking Spirit: The Intuitive Transformations of Allan Wash
Certain timeless motifs that occur again and again in native cultures worldwide inform the art of Allan Wash, whose compelling acrylic paintings can be seen at Agora Gallery, 530 West 25th Street, from October 26 through November 15.

Denudation and Redemption in the Digital Art of Keith Kovach
The distinguished art historian Kenneth Clark once made a fine distinction between the nude and the naked. "The word nude.'" Clark pointed out, "carries, in educated usage no uncomfortable undertone." However, "to be naked is to be deprived of our clothes, and the word implies some of the embarrassment most of us feel in that condition."

Anya Rubin's Paintings Explore Issues of Human Interconnectedness
That Anya Rubin, an artist who appears haunted by the spiritual meaning of our innate interconnectedness, raises such questions, without attempting to answer them in some pathway, makes her work philosophically, as well as aesthetically, intriguing

Review Archives:
The Living Line of John Porro at Agora Gallery
Group Show Brings Art from the British Isles to Chelsea
“Vivid Portrayals” of Personal Sensibility
Postmodern Mythmakers
A Group Show in Which the Human Spirit Manifests in Form
The Adventurous Aesthetic of the Spanish Painter Javier Iturbe
Chelsea Group Show Celebrates the Poetry of Subjective Vision
Freedom is Foremost in Su Goddard's Flowing Watercolors
Emerging Artists from Australia and New Zealand in Chelsea
Luzerne Odell Revives the Heroic Figure for a New Age
Diverse Styles Animate Agora Gallery's "Collective Exhibition"
Postmodern Classicism in the Photo Collages of Alex Hiam
Tradition Meets Innovation in Postmodern Photography
An Abiding Affection for Humanity Animates the Art of Allyson Norwood Bush
Mia Gjerdrum Helgesen: Memory in the Abstract
Emile Azar: A Painter Whose Work is Full of Surprises
Beyond Borders: January 2007 - an Exhibition of Fine Art from Canada
Lalevga: Scoring the Ore Beneath the Painted Surface
The Persistence of Form: December 2006
Nishikawa, Prapopoulos, and Doolittle: Three Solo Shows at Agora Gallery Exemplify Postmodern Attitudes
Masters of Imagination: October 2006 - Latin American fine art
Tripping the Light Fantastic: September 2006 - fine art photography
Pixel Perfect: May 2006 - digital fine art exhibition
Out From Down Under and Beyond: May 2006
Masters of Imagination: March 2006 - Latin American fine art
Tripping the Light Fantastic: March 2006 - fine art photography
Spiritual Auras Illuminate the Domestic Scenes of MG deButts
Mauricio Toulumsis: Secular Icons of a Painter's Spiritual Search
Verve and Reverence - The Paintings of Giannis Stratis
Terry Amburgey - The Image as Radical Narrative
Corey West - California Dreaming: The Abstract Imagination
Kristine Gade Hansen - A Fertile Hybrid Style
Melanie Prapopoulos - Synthesis of the Physical and the Ethereal
Jolanta Paterek - Material Odes to Purification and Redemption
Cliff Kearns - The Meaning in Numbers
Harry C. Doolittle - Vibrant Postmodern Mandalas
Otimcke - the Latin American Fine Art Exhibition
Anton Franz Hoger - The Muse of Paradox  
Katrin Alvarez-Schlueter - Matrix Of The Mind
Seco - The Gesture of Harmony
Fabian Mowszowicz - Solo Exhibition
Jung Wha Ahn
Niguel Bowen-Morris
Andreas Jaeggi
Judith Brust
Brian D. Fox
Léon Kipping
Glenn Lawrence Liddy
Hye Ja Moon
Fernand Vanderplancke
Helmet Priess
Miguel Paredes 
Marga Duin 
Pixel Perfect: December 2005 - Digital Fine Art Exhibition
Masters of the Imagination: October 2005 - Latin American Fine art
Tripping the Light Fantastic: September 2005 - Fine art photography
2005 SoHo-Chelsea International Fine Art Competition: July 2005 - selected artists
Pixel Perfect: December 2004 Digital Fine Art
2004 SoHo-Chelsea International Fine Art Competition: July 2004 - selected artists
Tripping the Light Fantastic: September 2003 Fine Art Photography