Creative Mischief 2016

 

My portrait Christophe 3 will be exhibited at the National Academy's annual Creative Mischief event starting tomorrow in NYC:

The 5th Annual Creative Mischief Exhibition
National Academy Museum
1083 Fifth Avenue, New York City
Opening Reception: Wednesday, May 18, 2016, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Exhibition Dates: May 19-29, 2016
Gallery Hours (for Creative Mischief only):
Monday – Sunday 11 AM – 6 PM

Christophe 3 was part of my series of larger than life-sized head studies (24 x 30 inches, acrylic on canvas). I started the painting with skin tones but gradually covered it in red, in part because I wanted to try another monochrome like Raven 6, but in a different hue.

I hoped to achieve vibrance and push-pull dimensionality using variations on a single color. I used a warm red (orange) against a cool red (pink), with blue-gray shadows to anchor the lights. I also kept the brush strokes free and facial features loosely defined in order to preserve the abstract quality of the image.

It's a bit of a riff on Freud and Auerbach but in terms of contemporary portraiture, I was perhaps thinking of Cian McLoughlin, Edwige Fouvry, and Andrew Salgado.

I enjoyed painting Christophe 3, which ended up decidedly un-classical in technique and spirit. I'm happy that the National Academy chose it for its exhibition.

Here are some progress shots over four 3-hour sessions:

UPDATE:

Here's a selection paintings from the second floor of the National Academy Museum on the last day of the Creative Mischief exhibit.

So sad this beautiful building, the former Huntington Mansion. will be sold after the show closes. It's the end of an era, but hopefully not the end of the National Academy School, founded in 1825 and among the most prominent art schools in the nation.

"Light Breeze" by ChiFung Wong

My good friend Matthew (ChiFung) Wong is exhibiting some beautiful flower paintings at Resobox in Queens, NY.

ChiFung's works feature refined botanical designs over gold or silver backgrounds. inspired by Isson Tanaka, a Japanese Nihonga artist from the Shōwa period. If you're in the area, I hope you'll have a chance to see this inspiring blend of modern and traditional Japanese aesthetics.

Details:

Light Breeze, Flowers for Fortitude: A Collection by ChiFung Wong
May 2 – June 7, 2016
Resobox
41-26 27th Street
Long Island City, New York

Biography:

ChiFung Wong was born in Macau, China and educated in Japan. He received his Ph.D in Fine Art at Kyushu Sangyo University Japan in 2006 and a certificate at National Academy School of Fine Art in 2013. After becoming a graduate research assistant and lecturer at K.S. University, Department of Fine Art, Faculty of Fine Arts in 2003 for 4 years, ChiFung traveled to New York and became a Sumi-E painting lecturer here at Resobox in 2014. He has exhibited his artworks in Japan, the United States, Britain and Australia.

Here's a video from the opening reception:



UPDATE:

Selected paintings by ChiFung Wong are now available in Manhattan's Upper West Side at:

Jimmy's Custom Framing
2204 Broadway
New York, NY 10024
212) 799-6535