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Abend Gallery hosts Contemporary Figuration

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Exhibit
Thursday, July 2nd, 2015
Starts at 10:00 AM
Abend Gallery
2260 E. Colfax
Denver, CO 80206

FORTY ARTISTS BRING MODERN PERSPECTIVE TO A CLASSIC FORM

Abend Gallery hosts Contemporary Figuration, featuring 40 diverse artists observing the figure in their own voices and chosen mediums, from oil and pastel to clay and mixed media. From traditional to conceptual and abstracted, each artist chosen for this exhibition has taken the classic form and molded it to fit his or her own glimpse of the world. Many artists will be in attendance for the opening reception on June 12, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Historically, it has been said of Denver that figurative work isn’t a viable subject matter for galleries to show in this market. Abend’s new curators, David Ethridge and Connor Serr, are attempting to buck that trend with this exhibition. Contemporary Figuration is an argument that high-caliber figurative work has a place in Denver, and that local Denver artists have an important voice to contribute to the genre.

Among the list of figurative artists are several long time Abend favorites: Tammi Otis, Clyde Steadman and Robert Spooner. Along with established artists are many exciting new emerging artists making bold statements, not just about paint and their ability, which is considerable, but about contemporary life: their unique take on relationships, being young, standing out and shrinking back. 

For instance, 19 year-old Daliah Ammar, still in the process of earning her BFA at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, frequently uses herself as subject in her dark and piercing portrait works, as seen in the pertinently titled “You Just Want the Attention (The Dancer)”. Of her work, she states that “to transcend the notion of the self and the physicality of paint, resonating from [my] own vulnerable and personal experiences – as a means of conveying life as it blooms and decays from within.” 

Devon Rodriguez, also 19 years old and still in school, states that he employs realistic renderings of the human form in order to “express my fascination with the modern human and contemporary city life…My goal is not to replicate photography but rather to instill in the viewer a sense of empathy and wonderment of the subject. My realism derives from my love of honesty, the good, the bad, and the ugly.” While Ammar and Rodriguez both work within a seemingly traditional realm, their explorations of their subjects inner lives emboldens their works with vitality and intensity. 

Erin Anderson’s oils, painted on a rather unusual surface, copper, harken back to Klimt. Anderson’s work, however, takes on a reductive quality wherein she paints then grinds away the surface, revealing the copper underneath creating designs and dimension. With Felicia Forte, it’s all about what has been left out; faces are half completed, rooms float in and out of focus, some areas holding fine detail and others merely foggy shapes. 

Similarly, Jane Radstrom’s work speaks volumes in the empty space, for example, in “Crow’s Nest” a woman wearing just her bra stands over another woman sleeping in a chair—or perhaps it is the same woman—and looks off the canvas, hands on hips, as if standing in the crow’s nest of a ship now alert to something advancing on the scene.

The entire list of participating artists is as follows: Jaclyn Alderete, Daliah Ammar, Erin Anderson, Shaun Berke, Linda Tracey Brandon, Victoria Castillo, Stephen Cefalo, James Crandall, Jacob Dhein, Kathiucia Dias, Andy Espinoza, Jane Ford, Felicia Forte, Caleb Hahne, Derek Harrison, Johanna Harmon, Justin Hopkins, Meghan Howland, Zin Lim, Sergio Lopez, Nura Mascarenas, Jennifer McChristian, Tammi Otis, Tony Pro, Jane Radstrom, Rob Rey, Devon Rodriguez, Matthew Saba, Dave Santillanes, Kirsten Savage, Che Smith, Britt Snyder, Robert Spooner, Clyde Steadman, Teresa Vito, Michael Van Zeyl, Timothy P Wilson, Christine Wu, Zhaoming Wu, and Kate Zambrano.

Abend Gallery Fine Art was established in 1990 and offers an extensive collection of fine art from fresh, contemporary works to traditional, representational paintings and sculpture by national and internationally recognized professional artists.

Cost
Free
More Information

www.abendgallery.com
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