Christian Brown
Recent Work

September 8 – October 16, 2010
Opening Reception, Thursday, September 16, 6-8pm

The Nancy Margolis Gallery is pleased to announce the first solo exhibition of New York artist Christian Brown is to open the 2010 Fall season, September 8 through October 16. The artist reception is scheduled the following week, Thursday, September 16, 6pm to 8pm.

Brown’s work, conceptually cohesive includes collaged paper on panel, small ink drawings, radial line drawings and dimensional drawings on etched mirror and Plexiglas. The commonality at the heart of the work is line, color, complex structure and an intense concentration on process. The collaged paper on panel, meticulous and painstaking, has myriad tiny layered parts, drawn, block printed then glued and pieced into exciting line patterns of zigzagging labyrinths or mazes. In the radial drawings Brown continues the exploration of line and color in the single striking form, a very large concentric circle composed of hundreds of finely drawn black or colored gouache lines. Constantly pushing the work, Brown, challenged by materials and process takes risks, extends his vision and authors a diverse body of work both offbeat and intriguing.

Christian Brown received his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and now lives and works in New York. He is the recipient of the American Graphic design award, 2002 and design awards in 2006 from Print ID Magazine, the American Institute of Graphic Art, American Graphic Design, Tokyo Type and Directors Club. His work has been exhibited in New York and California and he has been featured in many publications such as Art in America, The New York Times, Graphic Design USA, Vogue, etc.

Please feel free to contact the gallery if you have any questions or wish to receive more information about Christian Brown. Images may be viewed on the gallery website: www.nancymargolisgallery.com.

The Nancy Margolis Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of the summer exhibition featuring a mixture of drawing, painting, and sculpture. On view will be pen and ink drawing by Gina Ruggeri, painting by Holly Farrell and Amy Mahnick. The gallery will also be showing the corresponding sculpture of Amy Mahnick, and the ceramic sculpture of artist Kim Simonsson and Jack Earl. The work of Anna Hepler, ME; Lucy Fradkin, NY and Ferne Jacobs, CA, will also be exhibited in the viewing room.

Gina Ruggeri, New York, creates both large and small-scale drawings of pen and ink wash on paper. Spontaneously composed drawings, some with simple illustrative line, some with lush charcoal and watercolor, act as studies for her painted work of the natural world. Ruggeri, received her MFA from Yale School of Art, New Haven, CT, where she was recently exhibited in a 2009 group exhibition. Ruggeri is the recipient of a 2002 Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Space Program Grant and will have an installation project in 2010 at the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Ridgefield, CT.

Amy Mahnick, Brooklyn, will exhibit a collection of soft-hued, still life oil on linen paintings. Mahnick’s tour de force, throw away plastic containers cut, glued and manipulated into three dimensional sculptures, are the models for the still life compositions. Close ups of the sculptures further illuminate the personality inherent in each small grouping. Mahnick received her BFA from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; and MFA from The New York Academy of Art, New York, NY. Mahnick is a recipient of the National Arts Club Award for Still Life, and a 2006 Artist Grant from the Vermont Studio Center.

Holly Farrell, Toronto, paints vintage domestic objects, acrylic & oil on Masonite, with exacting realism.  A self-taught painter, Farrell focuses on objects, worn and aged; cracked porcelain bowls, cookbooks and 50’s party shoes. Thoughtful and nostalgic, these quiet scenes reflect the intimacy with which the artist viewed the objects, and the people to which they belonged. Farrell has been reviewed in numerous publications including The New York Times, Art in America and The Boston Globe. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Jack Earl, OH, brings to life the comic book super heroes he loved in a selection of work from his playful 2008 exhibition Comic Worlds at the Nancy Margolis Gallery. Earl will exhibit a large full body sculpture of Jughead, rendered in white clay and oil paint. Earl has had a long history with the Nancy Margolis Gallery, and is established as one of the important American ceramic artists.

Kim Simonsson, Finland, explores decorative and metallic textures with his ceramic figures in this exhibition, contrasting his approach to the abstract simplicity of earlier figures. Simonsson’s sculpture can be found in numerous public collections including the prestigious Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, the Espoo Museum of Modern Art, Finland, Tampere Art Museum, Finland, National Museum of Norway, Arario Gallery, Korea, Shigaraki Museum of Contemporary Art, Japan as well as private collections in France and The United States.

Please feel free to contact the gallery for additional information on any of the artists included in this exhibition.

The still life genre, uniquely depicted by painters Holly Farrell, Amy Mahnick, Melodie Provenzano and textile artist Todd Knopke, is the subject of the upcoming exhibition at the Nancy Margolis Gallery opening May 6, 2010. These four artists freely interpret the still life in a modern way, choosing motif and material to suit a personal style and vision.

Amy Mahnick, Brooklyn, will exhibit a collection of soft-hued, still life oil on linen paintings. Mahnick’s tour de force, throw away plastic containers cut, glued and manipulated into three dimensional sculptures, are the models for the still life compositions. These quirky assemblages become characters in Mahnick’s ‘Ugly Duckling stories’; the unwanted, overlooked and trashed become the stars. Dramatic close ups of the sculptures further illuminate the personality inherent in each small grouping. The sculptures, two to twelve inches high are also to be included in the exhibition. Mahnick received her BFA from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI; and MFA from The New York Academy of Art, New York, NY. Mahnick is a recipient of the National Arts Club Award for Still Life, and a 2006 Artist Grant from the Vermont Studio Center.

Holly Farrell, Toronto, paints vintage domestic objects, acrylic & oil on Masonite, with exacting realism. A self-taught painter, Farrell focuses on objects, worn and aged; cracked porcelain bowls, cookbooks and 50’s party shoes. Thoughtful and nostalgic, these quiet scenes reflect the intimacy with which the artist viewed the objects, and the people to which they belonged. Farrell has been reviewed in numerous publications including The New York Times, Art in America and The Boston Globe. Her work has been exhibited throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Melodie Provenzano, East Harlem, will exhibit graphite, gouache and mixed media drawings on paper. The monochromatic drawings are accented with bright ribbons of color and lustrous gold leaf threaded through the scenes. Provenzano collects tiny, funky vintage plastic toys, which act as the models for the still life paintings. Drawn and painted larger than life, the figures take part in a curious drama beyond the paper. Provenzano received her BFA from Parsons School of Design, New York, NY and has exhibited throughout New York, California, Florida and Maryland.

Todd Knopke, Brooklyn, creates still lifes of layered, stitched fabric. He uses fabric remnants and scraps from high-end factories to construct his complex, quilted wall hangings of both abstract and naturalistic scenes. Space is relative in ‘Slow Growth’, as cactus-like plants wind through brightly colored, stacked cubes, in a silvery greenhouse frame. Knopke received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, and MFA from Yale University School of Art, New Haven, CT. He has exhibited throughout the U.S., Italy and Germany and has been reviewed in New York Arts Magazine, Artnet News and The New York Times.
Please feel free to contact the gallery if you have any questions or wish to receive more information on any of the artists included in the exhibition. Images may also be viewed on the gallery website: www.nancymargolisgallery.com.

Anna Hepler: Woodblock Prints

The Nancy Margolis Gallery is pleased to announce the first New York solo exhibition of Anna Hepler: Woodblock Prints. Hepler, ME, will exhibit a series of large and small woodblock prints on kozo-shi paper from her 2007-2008 Wolfecut series. Hepler’s ability to translate the familiar and commonplace into the abstract is both remarkable and fascinating.

Subtle wood grain pattern, a field of color, pressed and released leaves hard edges on soft colors. Hepler draws from essential forms in the everyday; braids, interlocking lattices, flowers and fireworks all become abstracted shapes. Grids spiraled into knots, circles neatly lined and stacked and carved braids make up the Wolfecut series. Although clean lined, there is much physical effort behind each hand carved shape. Layering remains a constant in Hepler’s work; blacks, over fine grays, transparent warm oranges and slate blue under clear cerulean.

Anna Hepler, ME, received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and BA from Oberlin College, OH. She lives and works in Maine with her family, and teaches at Vermont College, Montpelier, and Maine College of Art, Portland, ME. Hepler, the recipient of numerous grants and awards, has exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. Her work is included in public and private collections such as; The Tate Gallery, London; Wellesley College, MA; Library of Congress, Washington DC; and the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC.

Lucy Fradkin: Family Tree

The Nancy Margolis Gallery is pleased to announce the opening Lucy Fradkin: Family Tree.  This will be Fradkin’s first solo exhibition in New York and will include acrylic gouache and mixed media figurative paintings from 2008-2010.
Lucy Fradkin, a self-taught artist, makes contemporary paintings that have the appearance of naïf art. Influenced by ancient classical mosaics, frescoes, and Islamic miniatures, Fradkin discovered a natural affinity to simple line, flat planes, and repeating decoration. Choosing subjects close to home, her husband and his Jamaican family, friends and family, Fradkin blends the personal and the abstract. For the past twelve years Fradkin has concentrated on a series of grouped or single figures placed in domestic settings painted in oil or gauche on paper and board. As the painting evolved Fradkin added collage elements taken from old catalogues, field guides and vintage books. These motifs and designs meticulously worked enrich the surface and the imagery. The bold colors, and decorative elements give the paintings a light, cheerful ambiance, which contrasts palpably with the somber expressions on the faces of her subjects.

Fradkin is a recipient of numerous residencies and awards including a 2009 Pollock-Krasner Grant. Fradkin has exhibited internationally and been an invited lecturer on campuses throughout New York and in Italy