58 x 40 inches (framed)
Join Nüart Gallery for an exhibition of work by four painters, each with a contemporary take on the ancient practice of figurative representation. Working in oil, acrylic, egg tempera, and color pencil, these artists portray the figure along a stunning spectrum of stylization and realism. This exhibit showcases: Erin Cone, John Tarahteeff, Matthias Brandes, and Michael Bergt-- four of Nuart’s powerhouses, each a master of their craft with a unique vision and distinctive style.
Erin Cone isknown for her powerful but subtle and deeply complex narrative portraits. Using the story inherent in the pose, gesture, and expression of her figures, Cone refines the story by omitting and augmenting certain details. She deliberately incorporates visual glitches, leaving her figures with both a strong reality and ambiguity which highlights the artist’s selective perception and leaves wide-open space for the viewer’s own interpretation.
Michael Bergt creates contemporary paintings that draw from classical mythology and art history. Bergt is an internationally recognized figurative artist known for his mastery of a variety of media, from his egg tempera paintings and pencil drawings to bronze sculpture. Craft-oriented and methodical in his rendering, Michael Bergt utilizes ancient techniques and iconography to create vital work that continues a very old conversation within a modern context.
John Tarahteeff is known for figurative paintings that often contrast his exquisitely-rendered natural settings with enigmatic but charged moments of narrative tension. Tarahteef’s masterful use of acrylic on canvas unfurls worlds of ethereal light and formal compositions with his subjects suspended in dramatic moments, their actions both inscrutable and deeply compelling.
Matthias Brandes paints worlds full of both levity and gravity, the common and the fantastic. He uses palette knife and oil to create works with textural, almost architectural surfaces.Born in Germany but residing in Italy for over a quarter century, Brandes’ paintings are full of elegant old-world structures that populate settings which play with scale and the laws of nature to create enchanting landscapes that feel both impossible yet familiar.
