Painted Portraits - Corridor Gallery March 30th - May 18th 2014

 

Rush Arts is pleased to present a group exhibition of contemporary portraits on view at Corridor Gallery, 334 grand Ave, Brooklyn, NY.   Taha Clayton, Kate Fauvell, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, Jas Knight, and Sylvia Maier are contemporary portrait painters working in Brooklyn, NY. These works are  painted portraits of people around us in our everyday lives.

The genre of portrait painting has a rich and deep history. Often portraits were commissioned by rich patrons to remember historical moments or to capture a likeness of an esteemed individual. With a bourgeois history, oil painted portraits were a classic way for artists to have careers, and for the wealthy to be commemorated through a timeless medium. 

Painted Portraits at Corridor Gallery the contemporary portrait is examined and celebrated, of every day people that are commemorated for being in the lives of the artists.

Taha Clayton is a self taught artist residing in Brooklyn raised in Toronto, ON and born in Houston, TX. His highly rendered portraits are not only detailed portraits of people in his life and community, but a statement about our community as a city. He brings together social and political issues, spiritual virtues and above all the portraits are painted with a universal love that is seen through his technical abilities and poetic compositions. The portrait of the artist’s pregnant wife titled “Womb Man” exudes his love as a husband and a father, capturing her in glorified confidence. (above image on invite)

Kate Fauvell, born and raised in Queens, NY and currently living and working in Brooklyn paints from the heart as she says “about the heart of NYC, the greatest, roughest, most caring and careless city in the world.” For the past several years Fauvell has been a mentor for an intimate group of urban youth. She has re-experienced childhood with the group feeling the “fear, challenges, loss, inequalities, racism, fun, friendships, love, hate, violence, temptations, reality, jokes, and the search for self.” Her large group portraits are of the young people she mentors. Painted with an expressionist sensibility the paintings are raw portraits of being a contemporary urban youth. (above, Kate Fauvell The Last Day of Summer)
 

Tatyana Fazlalizadeh is an African-American and Iranian artist originally from Oklahoma. She has recently been acclaimed for her project Stop Telling Women To Smile which has had a national presence. Her paintings are heartfelt portraits both of herself and people in relaxed situation in her life. The painting of “James” seems mid thought in intense conversation. Fazlalizadeh’s self portraits capture her strength as a woman which is also what sparked the Stop Telling Women to Smile project. (above, Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, James)
 

Jas Knight, from Bloomfield, CT and now also living in Brooklyn, NY, received his BFA at the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. Knight strives to be as honest in his paintings as possible, which lead him to detailed rendering to be as universal as possible through the visual aesthetic language. His contemporary portrait Inbox 1 could be a window into any person checking their email, the gold gilded frame elevates the message by nodding to traditional portrait painting and saying hello from 21st C Brooklyn. (above, Jas Knight, Madonna)

Sylvia Maier, a native New Yorker who lives and paints in Brooklyn, paints life size figurative works in urban settings. Inspired by cultural identities, ceremonies, tolerance, and her bi-racial heritage Maier brings universal messages to her large group portrait paintings and intimate embraces of couples. Her inspirational models include; an urban African Priest, Afro-punk musicians, hand drummers in parks, and the many friends and family members that make Brooklyn’s unique tapestry. Her ongoing project Currency was recently highlighted at the Corridor Gallery Project Space in 2013. (above, Sylvia Maier, initiation)

Corridor Gallery is located at 334 Grand Ave, Brooklyn, NY gallery hours are Friday-Saturday 12-6pm and by appointment. For inquiries about Painted Portraits please email Charlotte Mouquin – charlotte.mouquin@gmail.com or call Corridor Gallery 718-230-5002.

The Namesake Series by Qiana Mestrich

Opening Reception, Sunday March 30th, 4-6pm
Artist Talk, Sunday April 13th, 4-6pm moderated by Renee Cox

Rush Arts is pleased to present the works of Qiana Mestrich in the Corridor Gallery Project Space.  Qiana Mestrich was selected from the 2013 artists submissions.  The Namesake Series explores the original meaning of "Qiana" as a nylon textile that is a cheaper alternative to silk, and explores the prison systems cataloging of arrests through mugshots. This concept explores our social history, consumerism, advertising and racial profiling through the blurred photograph in The Namesake Series.

Qiana Mestrich
Exhibition Statement

A selection of twenty-­five portraits made from mugshots of predominantly "Black" and "Hispanic" women named Qiana, including myself. All of us were named after a synthetic polymer (nylon) manufactured by the global chemical company DuPont.

Founded in 1802, DuPont began as a manufacturer of gunpowder and during the American Civil War (1861-­1865) supplied half the gunpowder used by the Union Army. Due to political tensions with Japan in the 1930s, the United States could no longer procure silk (one of the strongest natural fibers) which was coveted for its domestic, industrial and commercial purposes. In the search for an alternative, DuPont invented nylon in 1935. First used in toothbrushes, nylon made its more fashionable debut at the 1939 World's Fair in the form of women's stockings.

Introduced in 1968, "Qiana" was a cheaper alternative to silk yet just as luxurious and required no ironing. The fabric was used to manufacture clothing and accessories popular in the disco era, like "butterfly collar" shirts for men and the infamous DVF wrap dress. The name "Qiana" was created by "a computerized combination of random letters" and reached its height as a popular baby girl name in 1978. It continues to be a popular name within the African-­American community.

It was an essay by historian, critic and photographer Allan Sekula titled "The Body and the Archive" (1986) that led me to further investigate what my connection might be to a group of incarcerated women also named Qiana that I discovered one night during a Google Image search on my first name. Performing that search multiple times in 2012, I've gathered close to fifty mugshots of women named Qiana. Yes there were other women named Qiana whose images were not mugshots, but those “selfies” intended for social media didn't hold my attention.

As presumed criminals these women had no control over images of them in their weakest moments being posted online for what could be eternity. I wanted to know how these women who had such a unique name could succumb to whatever circumstances would usher them into the penal system? Why were the majority of these women identified as women of color, mostly African American? Finally, how could I use the medium of photography (from which the mugshot and the inhumane act of profiling was born) to investigate the strong pull I felt from these seemingly tenuous connections?

Artist Bio
Qiana Mestrich is a photo-based visual artist and writer from Brooklyn, NY. A graduate of the ICP-Bard College MFA in Advanced Photographic Practice, her autobiographical work establishes a study of heritage within complex and convoluted visual histories. 

She is the founder of Dodge & Burn: Diversity in Photography History, a blog which profiles photographers of color. In 2012, Qiana Mestrich co-edited (with fellow ICP-Bard alumna Michi Jigarjian) How We Do Both: Art and Motherhood (Secretary Press), a book about and by contemporary artist mothers. 

Sonia Louise Davis: Selections at Corridor Gallery March 30th - May 17th 2014

 Sonia Louise Davis: selections

Opening Reception, Sunday March 30th, 4-6pm
Artist Talk, Sunday April 13th, 4-6pm

Rush Arts is pleased to present the works of Sonia Louise Davis in the Corridor Gallery Project Space.  Sonia Louise Davis was selected from the 2013 artists submissions, and we are thrilled to be exhibiting a collection of her photographs in Sonia Louise Davis: selections. These intimate still lives are reflections of time and space seen through a personal nostalgia celebrating the everyday, and the intimacy of objects.  

Sonia Louise Davis 
Artist Statement
"tracing(s) belonging(s)" is an ongoing site-specific investigation. Over the past few years I have been making images in and about Harlem with a 4×5 monorail camera. I’m drawn to the physical shooting process, moving slowly through the streets around my apartment I attempt to weave my own story into the visual fabric of my neighborhood. I take Harlem as my subject and context, and my practice is both documentary and autobiographical. Drawing on collective memory and family history, I’m interested in framing the personal past in this mythic and everyday place.

The objects featured in the still-lives belonged to my grandparents and hold personal sentimental value. As temporary constructions on the streets of Harlem, they become physical reminders of the legacies of the past as well as absent portraits of sitters long gone. The documentary street images provide context, surrounding staged scenes with anti-landmarks, forgotten storefronts and mid-block bursts of color. These lonely cityscapes balance the intimate moments made and captured by my camera. I see this body of work as a way to pay my respects to the important people in my life who have passed and to a historic neighborhood in the midst of massive change. It is my attempt to preserve local histories and pay homage to Harlem’s rich cultural past with an eye towards the future.

Sonia Louise Davis
Born and raised in New York City, Sonia Louise Davis is an honors graduate of Wesleyan University. She has exhibited artwork and facilitated projects in traditional galleries and local community spaces throughout New York City, New Jersey, Connecticut and in Chicago. Sonia participated in the Artist in the Marketplace (AIM) Program at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, was a Residency Unlimited Artist-in-Residence at the Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, and a Create Change Fellow at the Laundromat Project. She has exhibited her work with En Foco and is a grantee of the Puffin Foundation and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Sonia lives and works in Harlem.


For Inquiries contact gallery director Charlotte Mouquin charlotte.mouquin@gmail.com

Corridor Gallery
334 Grand Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11238
718-230-5002

Gallery Hours
Friday - Saturday 12-6pm
also by appointment. 

Breathless curated by Kristin Sancken and House of the Nobleman at RUSH Arts Gallery

Breathless 

 

Breathless, on view Feb. 27th - April 11th 2014, is an extraordinary exhibition brought to Rush Arts Gallery by House of the Nobleman.  Guest curator Kristin Sancken was selected from the 2013 curator submissions, she is currently one of the Directors at House of the Nobleman which is how the high end artist advisory firm partnered with Rush Arts Gallery to bring this wild show to Rush Arts Gallery.  House of the Nobleman has recently opened offices in New York and this is the largest group exhibition they have put together so far.  

This full exhibition bring together the works of 25 artists working in all mediums, from drawing, painting, collage, photography, to installation and taxidermy.  Along side established artist such as the majestic collages resin and tempered glass blocks by Dustin Yellin, the slick works of Fred Tomaselli, and the bejeweled trophy heads of Marc Swanson, are works by emerging artists that should be on your watch list.  A beaded rorschach cow hide by Rachel Frank (found through 2013 Rush Arts artist submissions, and recently shown in Signs of Life at Corridor Gallery) greets you at the entrance of the gallery.  A group of squirrels by Carson Fox greets the viewer in the center of the gallery.  Drawings by Joey Parlett depict animal sandwiches not to be missed next to a cabinet of curiosities filled with small sculptural works.  Do not miss the fierce and fabulous feathered heels on the bottom shelf by Divya Anantharaman. Three pieces by Hugh Hayden (also found through Rush Artist submissions in 2011, and exhibited at Corridor Gallery in 2012) are spread out in the gallery space, from the subtle driftwood and feather bird sculpture to an audubon style watercolor with collage feather elements, to the large braided white mountain goat on a stack of cinder blocks in the back room. 

Breathless will leave you breathless as you walk into the wild with Rush Arts Gallery and House of the Nobleman.  View our video with Kristen Sancken about the show below, and find the complete press release below.

For more information on the works contact Kristin Sancken - kristin@houseofthenobleman.com

PRESS RELEASE

Rush Arts Gallery
526 West 26th Street, #311
New York, NY 10011
212.691.9552
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 12-6 pm

Breathless

February 27th- April 11th, 2014
Opening reception: Thursday, February 27th, 6-8 pm

Featuring works by Divya Anantharaman, Charles Browning, Jennifer Catron + Paul Outlaw, Julia Colavita, Ken Currie, Jane Edden, Rachel Frank, Carson Fox, Amit Greenberg, Jane Hammond, Hugh Hayden, Aubrey Learner, Jackie Mock, Joey Parlett, Amanda Sciullo, Andrea Stanislav, Marc Swanson, Philip Taaffe, Fred Tomaselli, Chris Vicini, Paul Villinski, Adam Wallacavage, and Kimberly Witham.

NEW YORK, NY - HOUSE OF THE NOBLEMAN is pleased to present Breathless, a group exhibition based on a contemporary examination of artists who turn once-living creatures into inanimate aesthetic objects. Through various media, including taxidermy, painting, drawing, embroidery, and sculpture, the works in this exhibition re-contextualize the scientific into an
artistic observation where the grotesque is upheld as an object of beauty. When viewed from this vantage, natural history is seen as a craft or practice in which emphasis is placed on the existential experience of the observer rather than the scientific characteristics of the objects or organisms. Even though breathless, the works in this exhibition maintain characteristics of being alive, achieving their immortality by becoming art.

Sales from this exhibition will help support Rush Arts Gallery, a core program of the Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, a 501(c)3 organization founded in 1995 by brothers Russell, Danny, and Joseph “Rev. Run” Simmons. Rush Arts Gallery is dedicated to providing exhibition opportunities to an emerging artistic community and exposes urban youth to contemporary arts and culture through educational programming initiatives.

For further inquiries please contact:
Kristin Sancken
Director, House of the Nobleman New York

kristin@houseofthenobleman.com

SUBMISSIONS Rush Arts Gallery and Corridor Gallery

Rush Gallery and Corridor Gallery exhibition programs seeks to facilitate a contemporary dialogue between new audiences and emerging artists, curators and writers through thematically structured group exhibitions.  A team of artists and curators reviews submissions annually. 

In the past few years we have had solo exhibitions of Allison Janae Hamilton, Sophia Dawson, Johnny Mattei, Sylvia Maier, Jason Florio, Christina Massey and Maureen Kelleher at the Corridor Gallery Project Space all found through our gallery submissions.  Artists have also been included in our group exhibitions throughout the year.  Most recently Signs of Life was guest curated by Richard Burroughs with Gallery Director Charlotte Mouquin and inspired from the 2013 gallery submissions.

 
The gallery offers an excellent opportunity for independent curators to realize their projects in an established venue that makes innovative contributions to the contemporary art world.   Throughout the season we also work with guest curators.  Currently at Corridor Gallery Dreaming Reality was guet curated by Sabrina Y Smith.  Coming up in Spring 2014 Breathless will be guest curated by Kristen Sancken and The House of the Nobleman at Rush Arts Gallery Feb. 27th - April 11th 2014. 

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Rush Arts Gallery & Corridor Gallery

Gallery Submissions 

Open - Feb. 15th - April 15th 2014

Please submit the following information in one, multi-page PDF via email.  Please indicate ARTIST SUBMISSION or CURATORIAL SUBMISSION in the subject of the email.  Please title the attachment in the following way:

NAME.artistsub.month.year.pdf

or

eg. - JONES.ArtistSub.jan.2011.pdf or SMITH.Cuatorialsub.jan.2011.pdf

Each PDF should contain the following:

Artist Submission: (Rush Gallery & Project Space, Corridor Gallery & Project Space)

- Contact Information

- Artist Resume

- Artist Statement

- 4-6 images which include the medium, title, and dimensions.

Curatorial Submissions: (Rush Gallery & Project Space, Corridor Gallery & Project Space)

- Contact Information

- Curatorial Resume including past exhibitions

- Curatorial Statement about proposed exhibit and what venue it is intended for.

- Images of Art which include Artist, Medium, Title, Dimensions

- Artist Bio / Exhibition History synopsis of each artist included

Direct your submission to - rushartssubmissions@gmail.com 

Please indicate ARTIST SUBMISSION or CURATORIAL SUBMISSION in the subject of the email

Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Social Art Project

It is our pleasure to share with you the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Social Art Project.

This social media art project is an excellent way to share your favorite artists and art sightings.  A great place to see art now is at Rush Arts Gallery and Corridor Gallery for our current exhibitions include Drawn Truly, Dreaming Reality, and I Kan Do Dat.

The directions are simple, upload your art image to INSTAGRAM and use the hash-tag #SapphireArt.  While your on instagram make sure you follow RUSHandCORRIDORgallery to see our images of recent events.

By being involved with the Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series Social Art Project you also have the opportunity to win some amazing prizes !  Every month Bombay Sapphire will be giving away a Lemography Camera to 2 monthly winners that get the most likes on Instagram.  The final grand prize will be 2 tickets to Russell Simmons' 15th Annual Art For Life Benefit Gala which supports Rush Philanthropic Arts Foundation, which includes Rush Arts Gallery, Corridor Gallery, and our Rush Eduction programs that benefit our Rush Kids !

Visit this link to find out more information, including when the Bombay Sapphire Spring Gallery events are, more information is below. 

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The same passion, quality and style used to create  BOMBAY SAPPHIRE® Gin is what inspires us to continually celebrate the artisan spirit. Through the Artisan Series Social Art Project, we're inviting you to share & discover inspiring art from the world around us - paintings, landmarks, cityscapes and everything in between. Share with us the things that inspire you by submitting a photo on Instagram using #SapphireArt, the piece & name of the artist for a chance to win prizes as unique and extraordinary as the art itself.

I Kan Do Dat curated by Danny Simmons and Oshun Layne.

I Kan Do Dat

January 25, 2014

I Kan Do Dat curated by Danny Simmons and Oshun Layne.

In the past week there have been three art openings at three different galleries that are all part of the same massive exhibition of contemporary abstraction "I Kan Do Dat" curated by Danny Simmons and Oshun Layne.  This exhibition ties in 87 artists of all cultural backgrounds and a huge spectrum of materials and techniques in Contemporary Abstraction.  The galleries involved include Rush Arts Gallery in Chelsea, a Skylight Gallery at Restoration Plaza in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, and Selena Gallery in the LIU downtown Brooklyn campus.

I am pleased to have an older painting often in the exhibition "earth Filters" a mixed media piece on canvas from 2009.  While the piece might be a little older it was great to bring it out for an exhibition.  My work is on view at Selena Gallery in Downtown Brooklyn.

This exhibition I Kan Do Dat ties together the founding principles of Rush Arts Gallery Beautifully.  There is some very strong work in the exhibitions at all three locations.  It is excellent to see the work of 2012 Rush Artist in Residence Cullen Washington Jr at Rush Arts Gallery along with the 90 year old minimalist painter Kendall Shaw.  Rush Arts also has a wall installation by the founder of Aljira Art Center Carl Hazlewood that combines materials, geometry, and line into a one time experience installation.  Rush Arts recently brought the work if Selin Balci to Select Art Fair in Miami and her bio art was featured in Signs of Life at Corridor Gallery.  It was excellent to see her abstract  "paintings" that are actually microorganisms grown in bio labs in the I Kan Do Dat exhibition.  Something I can definitely not do.

The sculptural installation of Musa Hixson at Skylight Gallery is not to be missed.  His blending of organic form with wood and paper constructions reminds me of my connection to the earth.  Musa was recently featured in an exhibition at Rush Arts Gallery titled physically practiced curated by myself, Charlotte Mouquin.  Also at Skylight Gallery is a stunning wall drawing by Lissete Morel that uses her body and large gestural marks.  Skylight has classic masters of contemporary abstraction from Ed Clarke, Ellsworth Ausby and Greg Coates to young artists inspired by them including an installation by Amber Robles-Gordon and the heavy black 3 dimensional paintings of Gabriel J. Shuldiner.

Selena Gallery at LIU had it's own unique mix of abstract painters including a large red abstraction by Michael Mut, the founder of the Love Yourself Project and a large pen drawing by Melissa Mathews.  Of course Selena gallery also includes my own painting so do stop by LIU campus to check out the work.

I Kan Do Dat will be on view at all three galleries grouch Feb. 22nd 2014.  I couldn't think of a more beautiful way to kick of the 2014 art exhibition season than with this expansive multi-venue gallery exhibition. Maybe you think you can do that but can you? Or do you? Here are 87 artists that do.

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I Kan Do Dat 

Rush Arts Gallery

January 16^th- February 22^nd, 2014

Skylight Gallery

January 18^th- February 28^th, 2014

Salena Gallery

January 24^th – February 22^nd, 2014

Rush Arts Gallery in collaboration with Skylight Gallery of Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza and Salena Gallery of Long Island University Downtown, present I Kan Do Dat, an exhibition including 87 artists curated by Danny Simmons and Oshun Layne.

I Kan Do Dat explores contemporary abstraction through drawing, painting, collage, printmaking and sculpture.  This exhibition showcases the range of visual vocabulary within the language of abstraction. Using large-scale physical brush strokes, intricate visual symbols, layering of mediums and alternative materials the artists in I Kan Do Dat showcase universal truths. Drawing from numerous cultural and spiritual backgrounds, lines, shapes, and forms all have meanings that become truly personal to everyone.

Artists include: Pamella Allen, Ellsworth Ausby, Selin Balci, Kennis Baptiste, Che Baraka, Kimberly Becoat, Herb Bennett, Leonardo Benzant, Bob Blackburn, Frank Bowling, Aleathia Brown, Willie Mae Brown, Ramona Candy, Daren Chambers, Mary Chang, Lawrence Charity, Dudley Charles, Tafadzwa Chiriga, Ayn S. Choi, Ed Clarke-Cobat, Greg Coates, Miriam Costanza, Cleaster Cotton, Adger Cowans, Cedric Cox, Diane Davis, Paul Deo, Robin Feld, Glenn Fischer, Veronique Gambier, Donald Giovany, Sheila Goloborotko, Garry Grant, Cheryl Green, Dick Griffin, Sarah Hall, Whitney Harris, Kathleen Hayek, Carl Hazlewood, Linda Hiwot, Musa Hixson, Tomas Hull, Gerald Jackson, Jamillah Jennings, Al Johnson, Anders Knutsson, Norman Lewis, Julian Lorber, Miguel Martinez-Riddle,  Barry Mason, Melissa Matthews,  Julie Mchargue, Damali Miller, Al Miller, Louis Mims,  Lisette Morel,  Tomo Mori,  Charlotte Mouquin,  Michael Mut, Adedola Olugebefola, Donovan Nelson, Ba Djibril Ngawa, Tony Papa,  Lawrence Philps,  Amalia Piccinini,  Sherry Rader, Mike Rader, Dennis Redmooon Darkeem, Kristin Reed,  Roderick Richardson, Amber Robles-Gordon, Terry Rosenberg, Kendall Shaw, Linda Shere, Gabriel J. Shuldiner, Diane Smith, Atanaska Tassart,  Lawrence Terry, Thurston Randall, Sidney Peter Turner, Shenna Vaughn,  Cullen Washington Jr.,  Arlington Weithers,  Jack White,  Frank Wimberly, Kennedy Yanko, and Art Zamora.

For inquiries please contact:

Oshun Layne at olayne@ruchphilanthropic.org (Rush Arts Gallery)

Che Baraka at cbaraka@gmail.com (Skylight Gallery)

Nancy Grove at ngrove@liu.edu (Salena Gallery)

above Artists on view at RUSH Arts Gallery - 526 W 26th St #311, New York, NY

above Artists on view at Skylight Gallery, Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration Plaza, 1368 Fulton St 3rd Fl, Brooklyn, NY

above Artists on view at Salena Gallery, LIU Downtown Campus, 1 University Plaza, Brooklyn, NY