Radical Inventions
David Konigsberg, Shawn Snow, Ralph Stout, Stephen King, Juan Garcia-Nunez & Sue Bryan
Opening Reception: Sunday, November 22nd 2-4pm
November 18, 2015 through December 27, 2015
Carrie Haddad Gallery is pleased to present “Radical Inventions”, an exhibit featuring the work of five gallery artists. Painters David Konigsberg and Ralph Stout will show recent work alongside gallery favorites of fellow artist, Shawn Snow. Multi-media constructions by Stephen King will also be featured with large abstract works by architect turned visual artist, Juan Garcia Nunez. The exhibit will open Wednesday, November 18th and will be up through Sunday, December 27th. A reception for the artists will be held on Sunday, November 22nd from 2-4pm. All are welcome to attend.
For this show, David Konigsberg extends his depiction of a life imagined between heaven and earth, using storied vistas of the Hudson Valley as his enduring backdrop. In work completed this past spring and summer, he captures the vastness of our natural surroundings while weaving a host of clever idiosyncrasies into the clouded skies and rolling meadows. Open-cockpit flying machines hover and jet across the plain as billowing cumuli loom in paintings like Return, Before the Weather and Coast Patrol. Angels, simultaneously human and divine, populate the world at ground level, whether silently exploring the valleys in paintings like Overland #3 and Walkabout (Past the Pond), or landing by the house to confront the viewer in pieces like Alight and Angels in the Backyard. Beyond subject matter, the magic of the work can be found in Konigsberg’s handling of paint, in both the gestural brushwork that propels his characters and the use of layers to create illusions—for example, of haze or morning mist in an environment filled with atmospheric drama. David Konigsberg has exhibited with Carrie Haddad Gallery for more than a decade. A former resident of Brooklyn, he lives full time with his wife Peg Patterson in Hudson.
Stephen King began making mixed media constructions at the age of 16. Born to parents who were both illustrators, cartoonists and painters, it is no wonder that King turned to creative outlets to communicate with his own inner voices. The selections from the Labyrinth Mind series featured in this exhibit will offer a window into that conversation. Inspired by the old Victorian house he lived in as a child, King applies a fascination with secret corridors, dark corners and looming shadows as a way to explore his own psyche. In the case of the Labyrinthine series, King inserts personal symbols in box-like constructions in an attempt to navigate the labyrinth of his being. Recurring images within the work communicate his path to self-enlightenment. Red lines, stairs, and ladders denoting a path from the subconscious are followed by planes or spheres in the search for freedom into elements of gold, representing enlightenment. While a highly personal exploration, King’s work also touches on a universal sentiment shared by everyone seeking individual expression and discovery. King has shown in multiple New York City exhibits and has been with Carrie Haddad Gallery for more than twenty years.
Since devoting himself full time to visual art after a long career in computer technology and mathematics, Ralph Stout experiments daily with various media including charcoal or graphite on paper, acrylic on canvas, and photography. New selections from his studio for this exhibit include an array of vividly colored painted compositions with definitive lines, contrasting hues and blocked shapes. Puzzle-like masses that curve and bend interlock to form alluring abstractions on a plane of unexpected color combinations. Stout’s singular margin-bottom:0pt;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: widow-orphan;mso-hyphenate:auto">A native of Ireland, Sue Bryan explores the memories of youth rooted in her homeland's landscape. Employing charcoal on both paper and panel, these moody and misty studies reminds us that the water-locked terrain is not always sunny and green. Exquisite detail found in each tree branch or mass of tall grasses lining the horizon dominates the foreground. Light emulates from the background attempting to penetrate the density of opaque cloud cover. Bryan's small scale drawings convey an intimate and highly personal sense of place and belonging.
