New Yor k, NY -- The New York Academy of Art is pleased to launch its fall programming with “2014 Fellows,” an exhibition of new paintings by three of its most recent Fellows. Featuring Elizabeth Glaessner, Yunsung Jang and Nicolas V. Sanchez, the show signifies the beginning of each artist’s promising career and the culmination of their Post - graduate Fellowships. Opening with a reception on September 3 from 6 - 8pm at the Academy's Wilkinson Gallery , 111 Franklin Street, “2014 Fellows” will be on view through Septe mber 28.
With a shared devotion to strong narrative and an affinity for evoking raw emotion, Elizabeth Glaessner, Yunsung Jang and Nicolas V. Sanchez’s paintings exemplify the mastery of technique and conceptual exploration central to the Academy’s rigoro us training. While the basis of their education is the same, each artist has developed a signature style that champions the resurgence of contemporary figurative art.
Fresh on the heels of a solo show at PPOW Gallery, Elizabeth Glaessner ’s post - apoca lyptic paintings slowly reveal intricate allegories suspended in time. Her chromatically vivid, psychologically dense, personal narratives take the viewer on a journey through the artist’s interior life. Both intensely strategic and wildly intuitive, eac h detail of her work has a jewel - like quality that is the result of the artist’s extreme focus. And yet, when taken as a whole, the improvisational nature of the work links every component into a rapturous symphony of exotic symbols and voluptuous color.
Portraits by Yunsung Jang reflect both vulnerability and strength simultaneously . His process is a painterly excavation that is extremely physical and personally revealing. Jang’s application of paint is similar to the way one would plaster a wall. Tro wels, knifes and brushes slather paint onto the faces of his subjects. Once dry, he is as likely to carve back into a cheek as gently glaze over an eye or a wisp of hair. Ultimately the paint has a mesmerizing ability to transmit the dynamic terrain of the human landscape, an effect first seen in his portrait Mother #1 currently on view at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Nicholas V. Sanchez is driven by a prolific compulsion to bear witness to everything he holds dear. In paintings that depict blind horses, decaying walls and scabrous surfaces, Sanchez suggests a world that is not only falling apart but one that could easily fade into oblivion. Battling an unforgotten past and preserving his heritage are central themes that permeate Sanchez’s po werful work. By painting memories that seem to be slipping through his fingers, Sanchez creates an illusion, first for himself and then for viewer, of their continuity.
Fellowship Program
Annually, the Academy awards Post - graduate fellowships to three ex emplary graduating students chosen through a highly competitive selection process. During their Fellowship year, the fellows receive studio accommodations, a stipend, exhibition opportunities and teaching assistantships to expand the depth and breadth of their artistic practice. Previous recipients include: Ali Banisadr, Fellow 2009 (Sperone Westwater, Metropolitan Museum of Art); Amy Bennett, Fellow 2003 (Richard Heller Gallery, Metropolitan Museum of Art); Aleah Chapin, Fellow 2013 (2012 winner of the N ational Portrait Gallery’s BP Portrait Award); Phillip Thomas, Fellow 2009 (Richard J. Demato Gallery, permanent collection of The World Bank), Peter Simon Mühlhäußer, Fellow 2010 (2013 Venice Biennale)
About New York Academy of Art Founded in 1982 by ar tists, scholars and patrons of the arts, including Andy Warhol, New York Academy of Art is a graduate school that combines intensive technical training in the fine arts with active critical discourse. The Academy believes that rigorously trained artists a re best able to realize their artistic vision. Academy students are taught traditional methods and techniques and encouraged to use these skills to make vital contemporary art. The Academy serves as a creative and intellectual center for all artists dedi cated to highly skilled, conceptually aware figurative and representational art.
Gallery Information Wilkinson Gallery at the New York Academy of Art is free and open to the public from 2 - 8 pm or by appointment. It is closed Wednesdays and holidays. T he gallery is easily accessible by the A, C, E trains to Canal Street or 1 train to Franklin Street. For more information, please visit nyaa.edu and contact exh [email protected]
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Folake Ologunja, PR Director
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Hi - resolution jpegs of the selected works and artists bios are available upon request.
