The paintings of Nola Romano depict a personal iconography of self portrait- based narratives of multiple identities. Dual Jekyl and Hyde personas reside in layered panoramic landscapes. Ms. Romano’s work takes inspiration from a myriad of sources ranging from British children’s book illustration, to Renaissance painting, and natural history illustrations. The female characters, animal companions, and their narratives collide in a maze of mishaps in the cycle of life.
Solitude and displacement rub elbows on the confluence of the fault lines defining Your Presence is Requested. This group exhibition, featuring painting, sculpture, mixed media and more, investigates the presence of self both internally, physically and even in the case of absence: the vestiges of self that can linger in the outlines of landscapes, or in abstracted self-portraits. Opening on Thursday, June 28th from 6-9 pm, the exhibit is housed at 131 Chrystie Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side neighborhood. The exhibit features artists Maria Dimanshtein, Juan Miguel Palacios, Vincent Arcilesi, Arlene Rush, Grace Baxter, India Evans, Junichiro Ishida, Suyeon Na and many more. The exhibition is produced by Arcilesi | Homberg Fine Art in partnership with Maria Dimanshtein.
Aptly identifying and probing the span of narratives that connect figuration and abstraction, the exhibit applies a careful lens to the both constructed and candid depictions of self. One can identify with an event, an object, a location or a particular viewpoint of one’s own persona. Emotional and psychological perspectives are firmly entrenched in the various aspects that artists choose to portray in this insightful group exhibition, on view June 28-30 only (hours 11 am-6 pm on Friday/Saturday.) This exhibit evinces a rare comprehensive look at the range of artistic stylings and approaches in both visioning and re-visioning the self as beginning and end, alpha and omega. Nothing can influence one’s own outlook as much as the mysterious psyche, the hidden depths of self that remain necessarily unable to reveal yet reveling in their surroundings. From the cryptic depictions of Twins by Arlene Rush, to Palacios’ lush, painterly portraiture and Arcilesi’s multi-hued figures situated in ambiguous space, the range of artwork on view is sure to delight any collector.
Artwork by Vincent Arcilesi
At times alternately introspective and extroverted, the works on view vary widely in style and subject matter while intrinsically examining the parameters of self. Artist Maria Dimanshtein notes that her works include… “use dark colors along with white ink and shiny textures to incorporate my poetic writing into my visual [art].” Dimanshtein notes that her art probes many subjects, including, “anxiety of freedom vs. comfort of the mundane [and] a yearning for a divine power.” The works prove as impactful as their meanings are elusive, with the artists mostly monotone compositions combining with text to provoke dizzying and at times discomfiting narratives. .
With works by over twenty artists on view in Your Presence is Requested, Arcilesi | Homberg has assembled a dazzling breadth of viewpoints examining the human psyche. On view for three days only, this not-to-be-missed exhibit connects the threads of self-examination present in the works of world-renowned artists working across the spectrum of contemporary art practices. Arcilesi | Homberg sees their focus as forging innovative pathways in the world of contemporary art, noting that they “challenge conventional fine art parameters”. Your Presence is Requested goes a long way to showcase these efforts.
Artwork by Maria Dimanshtein
The exhibition opening on Thursday, June 28 from 6-9 pm features music compliments of DJ Danny Glover along with wine. The exhibit at 131 Chrystie is in the heart of Manhattan’s buzzy Lower East Side gallery district, easily accessible from the J/Z trains at Bowery station or the 6 train at Spring Street. The artwork on view spans a variety of artistic mediums, and artists will be available in person to discuss their works and specific processes.
For additional questions, concerns and for extra visuals please contact Francesca Arcilesi (francesca@aha-fineart.com), Norma Homberg (norma@aha-fineart.com) or Maria Dimanshtein (mdimanshtein@gmail.com)
The world is changing faster than ever, from global warming and the loss of ecosystems, to the destruction of indigenous cultures and people. Industrialization has radically altered humanity’s relationship to nature, with simultaneously empowering and endangering effects.
I create landscapes that reflect this theme, penetrating time and space in an exploration of this process of transformation. Whether in painting, video, or diorama, I utilize collage built from many individual landscape scenes, seamlessly blended together to construct a globalized vision. The world that emerges is composed of my forms, thoughts, and narratives. I call it the Archaic Armageddon.
I create work about what it means to be a human in the context of the Universe:
living the everyday life with an awareness of the infinity of time and space. My collages, drawings and installations are intimate and poetic and are based on my own experiences.
“The last couple of decades have been exceptionally productive ones for Rush. She has examined the peculiarities of twinship in a series of photos that take on family memories, pop culture (Barbie and Willie dolls), and masterworks of art history. She has worked with casting different body parts, made photos inspired by a bout with breast cancer, and contributed installations commemorating the fortieth anniversary of Ntozake Shange’s choreogram “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf.”
Arlene Rush, Untitled Vaginal Installation (2006-2015), resin, fiberglass, oil, ink marker, and acrylic
view more artwork from Arlene Rush
My work explores the dislocation between the contemporary drama of “dream and reality”- the notion that the world offers you both in different guises but gives you neither.
New York based artist John Breiner started as a street artist, and it shows. His graffiti-esque aesthetic fits quite well with his current canvas of choice: discarded old books and found objects. His pieces mix the rebelliousness of street art with the beauty of watercolors, resulting in paintings that explode with color as they twist and curve in brilliant ways. To see some of his more recent work, check out his portfolio. We included a few of our favorites in the gallery above.
A fully-formed surrealism permeates the figurative works of Vincent Arcilesi in his retrospective … The human figure reigns supreme in Arcilesi’s masterworks, in which various stages of life from birth to death, and various actions over the course of that life, are documented with a fine-tuned stylistic quality.
My work consists of complex large scale collages, handmade and pieced together from thousands of cut out photographs. Utilizing images from history, art references, and my own pictures, I’m able to create intricate swirling compositions out of paper that aesthetically resemble traditional oilpaintings.
Alexis Hilliard is a native of Portland, OR. She received her BFA in painting, photography, & video from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA. Upon graduation she began working for numerous artists throughout the Pacific Northwest and abroad (including Gage Academy of Art, at The Florence Academy in Italy & for the American artist Bo Bartlett). In 2014 she received her MFA from the New York Academy of Arts in Manhattan. She currently lives in Brooklyn and specializes in complex large scale handmade collages.
Nola Romano, "BUMP" (2017) - Acrylic on canvas - 72" x 60" view more artwork from Nola Romano
