Thursday, October 4, 2007

Marbles in mason jar lid, a tribute to Louis K. Meisel

Acrylic polymer emulsion on gessoed hardboard, 6x6"
Painted on September 30 - October 4, 2007, #136

The glass lid is from the same mason jar featured in Shooter Marble in the Light. And these marbles are the same that are depicted in previous postings for this show. Because of their transparent quality, they have acquired a make-over through the image on the book that is entitled Photorealism by Louis K. Meisel. Mr. Meisel is a New York City art dealer and the owner of two commercial art galleries depicting this form of art. He coined the term Photorealism, and has played a major role in the development of this art movement.

He has published three mega volumes on a select group of pioneer and emerging photorealist artists. I've been fortunate enough to visit the Louis K. Meisel Gallery twice, in 1994 and 2002. In November of 1994, he hosted a show of the late Charles Bell who painted dazzling marbles on large format canvases. In 2002, the show coincided with the release of the book Photorealism at the Millennium, co-written by Linda Chase.

The only photorealistic paintings depicted by the artists in these books that I recall seeing outside his gallery and the OK Harris Gallery also in New York City, were Kent by Chuck Close at the Art Gallery of Ontario and an Untitled piece depicting Volkswagen Beetles by Don Eddy at the Springfield Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield Mass. Both left a profound lasting WOW effect on me. Marble in a mason jar lid is my way to thank Mr. Meisel for publishing these books and in the process giving me the opportunity to explore this form of art which I tend to gravitate towards.

This is my final posting for my solo show that starts tomorrow. Today's two postings were completed 90 minutes before I had to drive to Saint John, NB to bring the paintings to the gallery.

- SOLD