Ben Aronson; until June 3, Alpha Gallery, Boston

Ben Aronson - Light and Geometry: The Urban Signature

I was fortunate enough to see a Ben Aronson exhibition in San Francisco some years back and was greatly impressed by his paintings. With less than a week to go until Ben's exhibition ends, if you can find a way to see these paintings in flesh, do so. Otherwise, visit the gallery website, or keep an eye out for this artist.



Street in Genoa, 2009, oil on panel, 24 x 24 inches




Ocean Park Underpass, 2009, oil on panel, 12 x 12 inches




IVe Arrondissement, 2009, oil on panel, 32 x 48 inches




Crosstown on 57th, 2009, oil on panel, 12 x 12 inches


For more information go to Alpha Gallery

The Louvre Abu Dhabi gives the public a preview of it's collection

Edouard Manet's "The Bohemian."

To commemorate the beginning of construction of The Louvre Abu Dhabi, the public this week was given a preview of 19 of it's masterpieces at the Emirates Palace hotel.

When the 260,000 square-foot Louvre Abu Dhabi opens in 2013, it'll probably be the world's most expensive museum. Abu Dhabi will pay France $555 million for the use of the Louvre’s name and also allow it get art loans from The Louvre, as well as management advice. The plan is to build a $27 billion tourist and cultural development on Saadiyat Island, off the city’s coast which also includes the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.

With an acquisitions budget of more than $56 million a year, paintings already bought for the Louvre Abu Dhabi include a canvas by Jean-François de Troy, “Esther Fainting Before Ahaseurus,” from 1730, and the two Edouard Manets, “The Bohemian” and “Still Life With Bag and Garlic”.

Zhang Huan, until July 10, ProjectB Contemporary Art, Milan

Writer, 2008, Ash on Linen, 100x70cm

"Zhang Huan : Ash Paintings"
Zhang Huan, China's performance artist, sculptor and painter presents 6 paintings for the first time in Italy, at PROJECTB CONTEMPORARY ART, Milan. Zhang Huan's unconventional painting are created by using ink and charcoal along with his experiments with atypical materials such as ashes and soy sauce.

Zhang's art, to quote from the press release ; "draws on Chinese tradition the profound root of all the artist's work. They are ironic allusions which conceal deeper iconographic origins, such as the use of soy sauce, a traditional seasoning in Chinese cooking, reflecting both history and the importance of ink in the ancient graphical tradition of China.

Incense, and in particular ash, both intrinsically linked with the Buddhist religion, hold a particular fascination for the artist; they represent the recollection of hopes and dreams, and the visible sign of a spiritual rite. In his 'ash paintings', burnt incense, in its various nuances from the light shades of the finest powder to the darkest tones, is applied directly onto the canvas, increasing its intimate spirituality and evocative power."



American Flag No.7, 2008, 150x200cm



Felicity No.8, 2008, 100x150cm



Chinese Flag No.13, 2008, 150x200cm


Born in 1965, Zhang Huan lives and works in Shangai and New York. His works are present in the collections of MoMA, the Guggenheim and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, S.M.A.K. Ghent in Belgium and the Centre Pompidou in Paris.

For more information go to ProjectB Contemporary Art

American Impressionism and Realism: A Landmark Exhibition from the Met, 30 May – 20 September, Queensland Art Gallery

John Singer Sargent, 1856–1925, Mr and Mrs IN Phelps Stokes 1897, Oil on canvas, 214 x 101cm (84 1/4 x 39 3/4in.)

American Impressionism and Realism: A Landmark Exhibition from the Met

This major exhibition of works from the Metropolitan Museum's American Wing was made possible due to renovations allowing a large number of paintings to be lent. Queensland Art Gallery is the only venue that these paintings will be exhibited at before returning to USA.

The exhibition comprises of 71 paintings of the Metropolitan’s best examples in the American Impressionist and Realist traditions. Including works by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Winslow Homer, Childe Hassam, William Merritt-Chase, John Sloan and William Glackens.

Also included are Australian artists who responded to key artistic developments of the time, more than 30 iconic Australian paintings are in the exhibition. Australian artists included are Tom Roberts, Charles Conder, Frederick McCubbin and Rupert Bunny.



Repose, 1895, John White Alexander, Oil on canvas. 132.7 x 161.6 cm (54 1/4 x 63 5/8 in.).

For more information go to the Queensland Art Gallery

The 314-page catalogue is published in both softcover ($44.95) and hardcover ($69.95) and is available for purchase from Queensland Art Gallery Store



Winslow Homer, Northeaster 1895, Oil on canvas, 87.6 x 127cm (34 1/2 x 50in.)



William Merritt Chase (1849–1916), James Abbott McNeill Whistler 1885, Oil on canvas 74 1/8 x 36 1/4 in. (188.3 x 92.1 cm)

Luis Meléndez, May 17 - August 23, National Gallery of Art, Washington

Luis Meléndez; Master of the Spanish Still Life ; Luis Meléndez is represented in this exhibition by 31 paintings and are displayed with everyday objects of the type the artist kept in his studio as props for his vivid still lifes.


Self-Portrait, 1746, oil on canvas

Luis Meléndez received little acclaim during his lifetime and died in poverty, Meléndez is recognized today as the greatest Spanish still-life painter of the eighteenth century. He lived in poverty for most of his life, in 1772 in a letter to the king he declared that he only owned his pencils. In June 1780, ill in bed, Meléndez declared himself a pauper and died the next month.

For more information go to the National Gallery of Art, Washington




Still Life with apricots and cherries, 1773, oil on canvas




Still Life with figs and bread, c1770, oil on canvas




Still Life with box of jellied fruit, bread, silver salver, glass and wine cooler, 1770, oil on canvas




Still Life with Watermelons and apples in a landscape, 1771, oil on canvas



The exhibition catalogue: Luis Meléndez: Master of the Spanish Still Life,
154 pages, 100 color, 20 b+w | 9.25 x 11 inches, US$40
can be purchased online from the National Gallery of Art, Shop

Robert Longo : until May 30, Metro Pictures, New York

Surrendering the Absolutes, an exhibition of new work by Robert Longo is well worth a visit. This exhibition features a group of Longo's signature large-scale charcoal drawings and according to the press release, the works represent "a departure from his recent serial approach to a subject and instead are linked by atmospheric sensations of light and abstracted imagery".

The centerpiece of the show is a five-panel 25-foot drawing "Untitled (Cathedral of Light)," an image of glaring sunlight flooding through massive cathedral windows.

Also included in the exhibition is a sculpture, a 12-foot tower of four black charcoal drawings framed behind glass making explicit Longo's interest in the "cacophony of reflections created in the rooms where his works hang, by both mirroring the objects in its presence and co-opting them into its black void".

For more information go to Metro Pictures



Surrendering the Absolutes, 2009, Installation view




Untitled (Et In Arcadia Ego), 2009, Charcoal on mounted paper, 60 x 114 inches, 152.4 x 289.6 cm




Untitled (City of Glass), 2009, Charcoal on mounted paper, 70 x 96 inches , 177.8 x 243.8 cm




Surrendering the Absolutes, 2009, Installation view




Untitled (The Judge's Hat), 2009, Charcoal on mounted paper, 70 x 86 inches image, 177.8 x 218.4 cm

A rare Frederic Church painting offered at auction

Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826-1900) Twilight in the Tropics (A tropical moonlight) 30 x 25 1/4in

A rare Frederic Church painting sold last night at Bonhams American Paintings auction in New York for US$1,274,000. This small masterpiece titled Tropical Moonlight it is amongst the important paintings derived from Church’s travels around South America. Church painted a series of major works from this period, including Heart of the Andes which hangs in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Rainy Season in the Tropics which is on display at Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco.

Hubert de Lartigue ; until June 6, Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery, New York

French artist Hubert de Lartigue's latest exhibition at Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery, New York is worth a visit. Installation shots of this exhibition and much more can be found at Hubert's blog

For more information go to Bernarducci.Meisel.Gallery


"Douce Lumiere", 2009, acrylic on canvas, 23.75 x 32in



"Framboise", 2009, acrylic on linen, 34 x 51in



"Portrait de Luh", 2008, acrylic on canvas, 51 x 35in

Click Here to see a short video of Hubert creating the painting above "Portrait de Luh". The video also has installation footage of the whole exhibition.



"La Boudeuse", 2005, acrylic on canvas, 15.25 x 15.25in



"Martine", 2009, acrylic on canvas, 23 x 23in

Kimbell Art Museum aquires Michelangelo's earliest painting

Michelangelo, The Torment of Saint Anthony, c. 1487–88. Oil and tempera on panel, 18 1/2 x 13 1/4 in. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth


The Kimbell Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas has acquired Michelangelo’s painting of The Torment of Saint Anthony, described as his earliest. Its purchase was announced Wednesday, May 13, 2009, by the Kimbell’s newly appointed director, Dr. Eric McCauley Lee. Executed in oil and tempera on a wooden panel, this work is the first painting by Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475–1564) to enter an American collection, and one of only four known easel paintings generally believed to come from his hand.







For more information go to the Kimbell Art Museum

Michael Peck : May 13 - June 7, Metro Gallery, Melbourne

For more information go to Metro Gallery

To View Michael Peck's website Click here



Untitled, 2008, oil on linen,167 x 167 cm


In The Real Art World interviews Michael Peck about his recent exhibition at Metro Gallery, Melbourne



In The Real Art World: What is the Michael peck story, how have you and your art arrived at this point?

Michael Peck:: I’ve always been making artworks since I was a kid. I grew up with pencils in my hand, I spray painted walls as a teenager and I discovered oil paint when I was eighteen. There never seemed to be an alternative to becoming an artist. When I completed my fine arts degree at Monash, I was picked up by Gallery 101 in Melbourne and people seemed to like what I did. Since then I’ve been lucky enough to travel a fair bit and produce commissioned work in London and New York. Along the way I got married and started a beautiful family. Now I’m exhibiting at Metro Gallery in Melbourne and soon will exhibit in Sydney at Dickerson. When I say it now it sounds like it’s been an easy journey, however, the truth is that it’s actually been very difficult.



In The Real Art World:The paintings in this latest exhibition are carefully constructed to create unease, a sense of foreboding. Imagery that is nostalgic, often of innocence overwhelmed, vulnerable and alone. How do you see the elements you use and what do you want to get across to the viewer?

Michael Peck:: Themes of isolation and displacement have continually reoccurred in my paintings over time. I am interested in issues regarding social and cultural change and the ways in which a constant state of flux leaves certain individuals on the fringe. I am not necessarily trying to convey a specific narrative to the viewer but rather provide imagery which will provoke a personal response. Ironically there is an abstract comfort in recognition of this shared isolation.



The Long Silence, 2008, oil on linen, 84 x 46 cm


In The Real Art World: You are not a prolific artist, what is your working and exhibiting ethos?

Michael Peck:: There seems to be a lot of pressure to produce more and more paintings in a year, but it is a pressure that I resist. It’s not that I couldn’t be prolific, rather that I choose not to. Each painting is important to me. They are each planned meticulously and labored for long periods of time. I always hope the outcome will result in something powerful and unique. I don’t want to compromise the strength of a single image by producing another 20 which are almost identically and systematically painted. I believe that for an exhibition of paintings to work successfully the artworks need to converse and complement one another but still individually hold their own.



In The Real Art World: How do you go about finding the subjects for your paintings?

Michael Peck:: I steal them! Well sort of. Nearly all of the imagery I use is appropriated and re-contextualised. I find images from old books, magazines, film stills, the internet and then pull them apart and reinterpret them. Many of the people I paint are composites and the scenes they exist in are made similarly. I’m very interested in the idea of constructed realities so I hope that my process reflects this.




Dorothy, 2009, oil on linen, 137 x 137 cm


In The Real Art World:Tell me about your working process, how an idea becomes a finished painting?

Michael Peck:: That’s a difficult question to answer because the process is always changing. However, if I was to break down my current practice I guess it would go something like this; Ideas often come in the middle of the night when I really want to sleep and I scribble them down in one of many sketchbooks. An idea will often sit in the sketchbook for months before being revisited when I finally stumble across the right images to address the task. My painting process always changes, however the basic approach is to paint from dark to light with a heavy opaque underpainting which blocks in the composition and conveys form. Then I apply thin washes of glaze to control the tone and pick up the texture when lit. Yet, in any painting I will often move backwards and forwards between thick impasto paint and glazing before the painting alludes to look finished.



In The Real Art World: Who are the artists that at the moment you are looking at, or find their work resonates for you?

Michael Peck:: Peter Paul Rubens, Mark Tansey, Shepard Fairey are some of the painters I have been looking at in the past couple of weeks. But my inspiration seems to be drawn from all over the place. At the moment I am loving the aesthetic of films by Gus Van Sant such as Elephant and Paranoid park. I love the way his films strip back the dialogue and build a sense of tension through a snail-paced speed; occasionally providing signposts that something profound and probably terrible is going to happen.



In The Real Art World: Finally, what's next?

Michael Peck:: Keep painting and hope for the best.



Reservation, 2009, oil on linen, 143 x 143 cm


In The Real Art World thanks Michael Peck and Dr. Julian Warren for allowing the exhibition catalogue essay to be republished here:

"Michael Peck's paintings are a constructed blend of nostalgic imagery from the 1950s, an age of innocence, blended with the sense of foreboding darkness that we tolerate as the condition of our post 9-11 contemporary society. He joins images of a multiculturalism that position us in a present space that is global, familiar, yet impossible to locate.
Whenever I am confronted by Michael Peck's paintings the word that best describes my reaction is shock but the vagaries of this hackneyed term places his paintings in the same league as the styles of art that predominated in the Twentieth Century that are contrived so blatantly to shock their viewer. This trend continues its evolutionary process with contemporary artists like the British artist Damien Hirst who have come to a public prominence that has emanated from the star system generated from the Turner Prize. The Turner Prize is a competition for contemporary artists publicized on prime time national British television that in the 1990s infused a languishing British art scene. The negative by-product of this publicity is that it birthed the assumption that to impact the mass public art must be increasingly shocking. Art has become equated with shock and the once already tragic notion of 'art for arts sake' has morphed into 'shock for shock sake'. Peck's highly considered approach to painting contrasts with the work that is now rewarded by this undiscerning plebian system. Peck's shock value relies on our society's loss of innocence, on our expectations of what life should be but isn't. We are confronted by our own denial, of a grief that we have laid dormant in order to cope with modern life.



Without Thought, 2008, oil on linen, 91 x 46 cm


I concede that Damien Hirst's formeldahyde shark holds currency in my life, albeit outside the boundaries that I use to define good art. Hirst's shocking shark has the craftsmanship that would be the envy of the world of taxidermy, and I am not simply alluding to the size of the job. Hirst sends a powerful, salient reminder of the foolhardiness of staying in the surf until dusk. It should be noted however that Hirst's shock value translates better to a shark infested country like Australia rather than his native Britain where one might conceivably suffer psychological scarring from the sucking of an overzealous gummy shark. It is a shame that I cannot take this sort of shocking art seriously and survive it only by reverting to humour. I wish I could keep this sense of humour when I contemplate Damien Hirst's diamond encrusted skull which is valued at 50 million pounds. Do we really need to be shocked by art about the excesses of an existential world when consumerism is in our face already?


What sets Michael Peck's art apart from this decadent art is that, as well as being shockingly confrontational, his paintings are simultaneously beautiful and profound. This body of work consists of monochromatic compositions of humanity executed with an intense realism reliant on a mastery of the depth of field. Each figure is placed in a context of a visual narrative that suggests a tension between our existential and our spiritual worldviews. This is the tension of surrealism where psychoanalytical connotations are endued from within the viewer's subconscious minds.The composition's intrinsic symbolism executed with superb craftsmanship elicits cognizance of subjective meanings that are sublime, ethereal and philosophical.
A recurrent symbol in this exhibition are birds; pigeons, that have a presence that is far from benign, they seem to weigh on the subjects like an ethereal burden, they are at once natural but unnatural. For me this juxta-positioning of images in Untitled 2008 denotes the sinister representation of natural phenomena coined by Hitchcock in The Birds but this association is no mere coincidence because Peck like the film director's Hitchcock and Weir [The Last Wave and Picnic at Hanging Rock] have purposefully manipulated the context of the everyday in order to create the profound.



Sound, 2009, oil on linen, 61 x 61 cm


Another of Peck's symbols is the solitary person journeying through a narrative space devoid of colour that seems timeless like a silent film. We cannot help but identify with these characters and to begin to imagine their story and to draw parallels with our own experience. The characters that inhabit these narratives are alienated from a sense of community, they are left to make sense of the lonely world they inhabit, with only their emotions to make sense of it. This is most evident in Composition 2008, a painting inspired by Goya's representation of the mythical Greek cyclops Polyphemus blinded by Odysseus and his men and is now fumbling in the dark to prevent their escape. This painting's theme is the quintessence of Peck's mission to illustrate our existential angst, we feel lost, overwhelmed, vulnerable and helplessly alone".


Dr. Julian Warren is an art educator and writer. Until recently he was a lecturer of Visual Culture at Somerset College of Art, and a Film Studies lecturer at Exeter University in the UK.

Jenny Saville's painting on album cover banned from public display

Nothing attracts attention like censorship and this week we have the story of a Jenny Saville painting deemed inappropriate to be viewed by the public. The arbitrators of taste, being the supermarkets are refusing to display the album cover.

"The banned Manics sleeve proves that paint still has the power to shock" says Jonathan Jones in his article in the Guardian.co.uk


The Manics' James Dean Bradfield ... 'We just thought it was a beautiful painting'.

"Manic Street Preachers album cover censored by supermarkets"
to read the rest of Sean Michael's article go to the Guardian.co.uk

Vincent Fantauzzo wins the 2009 Archibald People’s Choice Prize

Melbourne artist, Vincent Fantauzzo has won the 2009 Archibald People’s Choice Prize for his portrait of child actor Brandon Walters. It's the second win in a row for Vincent Fantauzzo, last year winning with his portrait of the actor Heath Ledger.


Brandon, 2008, oil on linen, 140 x 250 cm


For more information go to Archibald People's Choice Winner or The Age



Vincent Fantauzzo with Brandon Walters, photo courtesy of The Age

For more information on the artist go to Vincent Fantauzzo's website

Stephen Magsig : until May 23, George Billis Gallery, New York

For more information go to George Billis Gallery

To view Stephen Magsig's daily paintings blog go to Postcards from Detroit


In The Real Art World interviews Stephen Magsig about his recent exhibition at George Billis Gallery, New York


Stephen Magsig in front of Last Light, 2009, oil on linen, 48x36in


In The Real Art World: What is the Stephen Magsig story, how have you and your art arrived at this point?

Stephen Magsig:: I was first introduced to oil painting at the age of 10 by my Aunt, Justine Magsig who is a painter and lived near our farm in Northern Ohio. After serving in Vietnam I went back to college in Technical Illustration and also took commercial art classes. I worked in illustration for about 25 years to earn a living while learning how to paint. I started showing in Detroit in the 1980's.

In 1995 we took a trip to New York City and I fell in love with the buildings and excitement of the city. We started subletting an artist loft for a month or two every year which really helped us to advance in NY. I entered a group show at the Chuck Levitan Gallery that was juried by the legendary Ivan C. Karp and was accepted. I had my first solo show at the Chuck Levitan Gallery in SOHO.

I started showing with The George Billis Gallery in 2001 when my wife, Janet Hamrick, also an artist, was picked up by him. After looking at her work, he then turned to me and asked "what do you do" after showing him images of my paintings I was also picked as a gallery artist.

I feel I am really self taught, I have spent my life as an artist and have improved by hard work and looking and learning from all the great artist's that have come before me. I enjoy the process of making art in all it's aspects and enjoy carrying on the traditions of realist painting.



Shadows on Greene Street, oil on canvas, 48 x 40", 2009


In The Real Art World: How do you go about finding the subjects for your paintings and what do you really look for when assessing it’s potential to make it as a painting?

Stephen Magsig:: I mostly work from images that are composed and photographed to be paintings. So every shot has the potentical of becoming a painting. Detroit is not a walking city so I drive around until I see some thing that interests me and stop and take shots to work from.

I may shoot hundreds of photos in one day. In NY we walk the city looking for subjects to shoot.. The NY shots are usually closer in and mostly vertical in format where the Detroit images are square or horizontal in format. My favorite areas in NY are Tribeca, the cast iron district of SOHO, The lower East side and the West Village. I like the lower Manhattan areas the best.
I have over 25 years of Detroit photos and 15 years of NY photos. It is always a mystery to me why one subject reaches out to me on any given day, I may look at an image for years with no response, then one day it is the one that excites me to create a painting using that image. I can only think it has to do with where I am at that particular time in my life, the image is really a reflection of my mental mood. It is really hard to explain, but so far I have always been able to find something that grabs me.


Brooklyn Bridge Reflections, 2009, oil on linen, 30x24in


In The Real Art World: Is there a nostalgic aspect to your paintings? Even though the locations exist now, there seems to be a preference for older buildings and of scenes not cluttered by the visual pollution of trivial advertising.

Stephen Magsig:: I feel I have more respect and more in common with traditional artists from the past, regardless of the subject they painted. The urban subject is a vehicle for me to communicate to others. As Hopper said " if I could say it in words I wouldn't have to paint" I do like to par it down to the simplest essence, so I do edit the photos to suit me, just as if I was on site painting. The photo is information for me to work from, not to copy verbatim.

I do have a preference for things that have a patina of life to them, the new and shiny does not interest me as much as a building that has been used and or abused, or forgotten. There is more interest and mystery. I like to paint things with a history and a story, even if I do not know the story I can still have a sense of it. Empathy is something that I feel is very important in life today.

Some of the paintings I do are of buildings or scenes that change or have been torn down. I feel I am also recording a time in Detroit, a visual record for better or worse. Detroit is a tough city and we are used to getting through hard times. There is a very vibrant art scene here.


Moulin Bleu, 2009, oil on canvas, 62x48in


In The Real Art World: Your small paintings blog, Postcards from Detroit allows you to try out a variety of ideas for paintings as well as releasing affordable work to the public. Do you find the process of making these small paintings ends up informing your larger work in ways not expected?

Stephen Magsig:: Working with the small paintings has been a lot of fun and a real learning experience. After doing 600 paintings, if you are working hard, thinking and learning you will be a much better painter.

I look often at Julian Merrow-Smith's Postcard from Provence paintings, and he just keeps getting better with every one. It is also a way to reach an audience from all over the World that would not be able to see your work another way. I have also had the privilege of meeting great artist;s from all over the world.

As to the larger works the smaller ones have helped me mostly in composition and in arranging the masses in a painting. How to know what to leave in and what to change or leave out, what to simplify. It has made the larger works stronger, abet a few less each year, which I think is a good thing. I don't want to flood the market with larger works, I do about 18-24 larger works a year which I think is about right for me.



Prince Street Reflections, 2009 oil on linen, 30x24in


In The Real Art World:Tell me about your working process, how an idea becomes a finished painting?

Stephen Magsig:: After deciding on an image to paint. I print out the image in proportion to the canvas size I will use. I use a large proportional grid on the printed image and on the canvas. This is a way for me to keep things in proportion and straight as I have a astigmatism, and everything would lean to the left without vertical guide lines. I do my drawing with thin paint and a brush rather than with a pencil. On larger works I will under paint the masses while drawing. I work from dark to light. The small painting are done in one setting, I like painting wet into wet. I can control edges more that way. On the larger works I try to do certain color sections in one setting just like the smaller works, so I can control the paint without having to overpaint. I feel this keeps the paintings fresh and not overworked. Working on each section until I am happy. I will mix up a very large range of colors for what I am painting at that setting. A range of colors from warm to cool and then each of these light to dark and added reflective colors in the same value. This allows me to put more color into an area without having to mix. I can also intermix this palette and the colors stay harmonious. I can also have more freedom to use warm and cool colors within a certain value to give an area more life or color perspective. On a typical larger painting I will work on the shadow areas of a section first and then add the sunlit areas and then add the highlights. Working on each area until all is complete. I then finish off the painting making any color correction or perspective changes and finally adding the last few highlights.

I do work from a computer screen and from the printed image. I use the printed image to do the drawing and refer to the screen for color and detail. The screen is near my painting and I use it as a tool for gathering information and color.



White Street, 2009, oil on canvas, 42x36in


In The Real Art World: Who are the artists that at the moment you are looking at, or find their work resonates for you?

Stephen Magsig:: There are so many it is hard to single out a few, I really like all GOOD artwork regardless of subject or style.

I really like Alyssa Monks work as she is a great painter. Her brush work and color is incredible. Ben Aronson, Martha Armstrong, Joan Mitchell, Jeremy Lipking, Francis Livingston. are a few I like.
Also I am always looking at Hopper, Fairfield Porter, Bonnard, Matisse, Whistler, Diebenkorn, Ralph Wickiser, Eric Fischl, Robert Ryman, Edwin Dickenson, Rackstraw Downes, and Bob Thompson among others.

With the daily painters I am always learning from Julian Merrow-Smith's and Don Gray's work. I also like Pierre Raby, Edward B. Gordon, Sheila Vaughan and Regis Pettinari.




164 Red, oil on canvas, 24 x 20", 2007


In The Real Art World: I'm always curious of which colors make up the palette used by the artist, can you list them for me?

Stephen Magsig:: I really like Williamsburg paints, favorite colors: Indigo, Titanium White, Unbleached Titanium, Raw Umber, Naples Yellow, Persian Rose, Provence Violet Bluish, Cobalt Blue, Cadmium-Green, Yellow & Red, Mars Yellow, Black, and Orange.



Wooster and Grand, 2009, oil on canvas, 62x48in


In The Real Art World: Finally, what's next?

Stephen Magsig:: I will continue with the small paintings. I have two shows I am working towards in 2010, a Spring show of Industrial paintings at the David Klein Gallery in Birmingham, MI and Architectural Realism, a three person Museum show in the fall of 2010 at The Washington County Museum of Fine Art in MD.

Brian Dunlop : until May 20, Eva Breuer Art Dealer, Sydney

Brian Dunlop (photo courtesy of Dean Sewel & The Sydney Morning Herald)


Brian Dunlop's latest exhibition, Orphic Paintings, at Eva Breuer's gallery is the first after Brian, now aged 70 moved from working for the last twenty years in Port Fairy on the south west coast of Victoria, to Beechworth some 562 kilometres away.

For more information go to Eva Breuer Art Dealer

To read the review go to Sydney Morning Herald Review



New Studio 2009 oil on linen, 60 .5 x 91.2cm




Age of Birds 2009, oil on canvas, 58 x 75cm




Eurydice III, 2009, oil on linen, 71 x 34.5cm



Curtains 2009, oil on linen, 103 x 68.5cm



Stalwart 2009, gouache on paper, 58 x 39cm