DRAWING LIFE by fred hatt

2015/02/06

COLOR exhibition opens Feb 13, 2015

Filed under: My Events: Exhibitions — Tags: , , , , , , , — fred @ 07:32

COLOR

A collection of Fred Hatt’s colorful figurative drawings is included in COLOR, opening Friday, February 13, at Figureworks Gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Here is Figureworks’ show description:

COLOR is part II of WITHOUT/COLOR, a two-part exhibition featuring six artists. Three artists, Meridith McNeal, Alexander Ney, and Joanne Scott, have executed work void of color. Three artists, Howard Eisman, Fred Hatt, and Arlene Morris, have used a palette rich in color for their work.

Part I [still on view through this weekend]
Meridith McNeal, Alexander Ney, Joanne Scott
January 9 – February 8, 2015
Reception: Friday evening, January 9, 6-9PM

Part II [opens next Friday]
Howard Eisman, Fred Hatt, Arlene Morris
February 13 – March 15, 2015
Reception: Friday evening, February 13, 6-9PM

The initial concept for these consecutive exhibitions was to explore the impact of color, and lack thereof, in an environment. Figureworks, an intimate gallery, quickly embraces whatever is placed within it and though there have been nearly 100 exhibits in this space, what has transpired from this installation is far more powerful than what was envisioned.

The first of this two-part series are works without color. Meridith McNeal has created a series of watercolors entitled Liberty Clouded. The Statue of Liberty has been shrouded in fog and rain, addressing the anguish of false accusation and the gross failure of the American judicial system. Joanne Scott has been figure drawing from life for over 50 years. Her delicate and beautifully rendered pencil drawings of female forms in repose blur the lines as to whether her subjects are relaxing, sleeping or perhaps deceased. An oversized pair of Alexander Ney’s lovely, white terra-cotta ravens, ominously riddled with patterned holes and intense expressions, guard the work with its sculptural presence.

What makes this particular exhibition so powerful is that it coincidentally opens as the country is in great unrest. This exhibition was designed around space and color, not any political or social agenda, yet these three artists possess such purpose and strength in their imagery that a collective message clearly addresses our current climate and serenely eliminates a color barrier while doing it.

The exhibition of the next three artist’s work will be installed in February and the introduction of color and content will inevitably evoke uniquely unexpected responses.

Figureworks is located at 168 North 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211, one block from the Bedford Avenue “L” train. The gallery is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 PM and is dedicated to exhibiting contemporary and 20th century fine art of the human form.

For more information please call 718-486-7021 or visit Figureworks online atwww.figureworks.com

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2014/04/29

In Memoriam

Prophet, 2002, by Fred Hatt

Prophet, 2002, by Fred Hatt

Yizroel Meyer (1944-2013)  was an intense and deeply eccentric man and an artist’s model who inspired me with his spiritual presence. As he posed, he prayed or chanted silently, his eyes fixed and his mouth moving ever so slightly. He embodied the human – mortal, frail, vulnerable – reaching out towards divinity. The quality of yearning was so powerful it could not help but manifest in drawings of the man.

Prophet study, 2002, by Fred Hatt

Prophet study, 2002, by Fred Hatt

I didn’t know him well. He was selective about who he would open up to. With me, he always spoke about great literature, refined music, serious cinema. In his last years he was involved in a deep reading of Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu, comparing English and German translations with the French original. Earlier obsessions included William Faulkner and Gertrude Stein.

Spring Studio, Minerva Durham’s beehive of seven-days-a-week open life drawing sessions in New York, where Yizroel modeled frequently over a period of twelve years, is hosting a memorial exhibition, with thirty-three artists’ depictions of this unique soul. The remainder of this post is Minerva Durham’s remembrance of Yizroel. Details on how to visit the exhibition are included at the end.

Yizroel quick pose, 2009, by Fred Hatt

Yizroel quick pose, 2009, by Fred Hatt

Minerva Durham writes:

“A secret compulsion to touch strangers, sometimes realized silently, sometimes caught out, came perhaps from his having been born in December, 1944, in Heidelberg as the Allies advanced into Germany. He soon became an orphan. He could not have easily thrived, as is the duty of every infant, without parents and with little food.

Yizroel quick pose, 2009, by Fred Hatt

Yizroel quick pose, 2009, by Fred Hatt

Young Hans Meyer, original photographer unknown, photo of old photo by Kyunghee Kim

Young Hans Meyer, original photographer unknown, photo of old photo by Kyunghee Kim

“He was perhaps brought up by a perhaps Christian grandfather who had perhaps killed a relative with an axe years earlier. He was certainly bullied by more robust boys during his youth. A photo of him as a child shows his delicacy and intelligence and sensitivity.
Yisroel quick poses, 2010, by Fred Hatt

Yizroel quick poses, 2010, by Fred Hatt

“As a young man he came to the United States  to work in a publishing house. Years of heavy drinking and smoking ended suddenly when a friend took him to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. He converted to Orthodox Judaism and lived in an Orthodox community in Brooklyn, wearing the curls, hats and costumes of the community that he had adopted. But he was homosexual and he couldn’t really be himself there, and the clothes alone could not make him fit in. He slowly distanced himself from that community, but he still prayed as a Jew until he died.

Nigun, 2003, by Fred Hatt

Nigun, 2003, by Fred Hatt

“When he found nakedness working as a figure model he was at last content. How poignant that this man, born Hans Meyer in war-torn Germany, having been born again as an Orthodox Jew, could only become whole by stripping down and peeling away to the state of his original existence, unclothed and vulnerable. And no wonder that artist Jean Marcellino always felt happy when she saw that the model for the long pose was Yizroel.
Standing torso, 2004, by Fred Hatt

Standing torso, 2004, by Fred Hatt

“His last illness was brief. A year of liver cancer ending in pancreatic cancer and three strokes, each increasing in strength. His friend of many years, George Bixby, saw that Yizroel was taken care of in and out of hospital. Yizroel Meyer was given a proper Jewish burial by the Brooklyn Orthodox community shortly after his death on December 17 last year.
Bicameral, 2006, by Fred Hatt

Bicameral, 2006, by Fred Hatt

“Yizroel’s poses, as drawn by thirty-three artists, can be seen at Spring Studio at 64 Spring Street through May 11, 2014. The fifty drawings now on display show the intensity of his spirituality. Artist Pat Tobin called him, “my Saint Francis.” You may see the drawings on display Monday through Friday from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm or by appointment with Minerva Durham, Director of Spring Studio, 917-375-6086.
Temps Perdu, 2010, by Fred Hatt

Temps Perdu, 2010, by Fred Hatt

“Artists included in the exhibition are: Akiva AKA Ken Sandberg, Anonymous, Robert Bassal, Lynn Cooper, Robert Dunn, Minerva Durham, Janet Fish, Robert Forte, Audrey Cohn-Ganz, Lyle Gertz, Dan Gheno, Dinah Glasier, George Grammar, Kevin Hall, Susan Haskins, Fred Hatt, Jerilyn Jurinek, Karen Kaapcke, Robin Kappy, Gary Katz, Kimchee Kim, Kyunghee Kim, Mark LaMantia, Berryl Mallory, Jean Marcellino, Rebecca Odin, Denise Ozker, Eleni Papageorge, Alan Schlussel, Pearl Shifer, Jonathan Soard, Diane Van Court, and Bruce Williams.”

2013/03/08

Opening with Projections

Filed under: My Events: Exhibitions — Tags: , , , — fred @ 09:06
Hostess, 2013, by Yuliya Lanina

Hostess, 2012, by Yuliya Lanina

This Saturday evening, March 9, 2013, my long-time friend Yuliya Lanina has a solo show opening at Figureworks gallery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, in conjunction with Williamsburg After Hours‘ annual Armory Show weekend event.  I’ll be projecting video onto the sidewalk in front of the gallery, one animated piece by Yuliya and a video of my own in rotation.  The reception runs from 7-10 – please come see us.  Here’s the full info:

Yuliya Lanina
Honky-tonk Belles
March 9 – April 21, 2013
Reception: Saturday, March 9th from 7-10PM  *SPECIAL EVENT – SEE BELOW
at
FIGUREWORKS
fine art of the human form
168 North 6th St. (1 block from Bedford Avenue “L” train)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
 hours: Saturday and Sunday from 1-6PM

Yuliya Lanina is a Russian-born American multimedia artist who splits her time between New York City and Austin, Texas. Having shown at Figureworks for many years, this solo exhibition highlights her most recent series of paintings and will also showcase her latest animatronic sculpture. This body of work portrays alternate realities that fuse fantasy, femininity, and humor.

Employing fanciful imagery from plants, animals and humans, Lanina’s characters simultaneously elicit feelings of uneasiness and empathy. Mostly female in gender, they are made of parts that are not supposed to go together and are derived from the artist’s own projections of nonsensical events and consequences. Painted on a stark white background, the primary isolated figure is accompanied by small winged creatures and quirky floral personas – all gesturing to get her attention. These unusual compositions celebrate feminine power and its connection to the mysterious, the beautiful, and the sensual.  Lanina’s largest canvases are now introducing some intricately tattooed appendages that personalize and provide greater insight into these mysterious beings.

Lanina draws from many sources to create these characters. Though she often taps into Greek mythology with the half-human and half-animal demigods, she also relies on her personal roots with Russian fairy tales, which are filled with fantastic beings deeply rooted in paganism, mysticism, and symbolism. Her creatures and their stories move freely between logical and illogical, realistic and illusory, predictable and surprising, representing life that can only be lived, but never understood.

Bringing these two dimensional characters to life, Lanina has collaborated with Theodore Johnson (technical direction) and Yevgeniy Sharlat (musical score) to create “Honky-tonk Belles”, a festive, animatronic sculpture with characters from her paintings frolicking to an original soundtrack.

Figureworks is located at 168 N. 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211, one block from the Bedford Avenue “L” train. The gallery is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 PM and is dedicated to exhibiting contemporary and 20th century fine art of the human form.

For more information please email harris@figureworks.com, call the gallery at 718-486-7021 or visit us online at www.figureworks.com

* THIS RECEPTION COINCIDES WITH A SPECIAL WILLIAMSBURG EVENT:

Williamsburg After Hours

7 pm to 10 pm
Sat March 9th

2013/01/04

Faces of Figureworks: Self Portraits

Filed under: My Events: Exhibitions — Tags: , , , , , — fred @ 10:47
Arlene Morris, Self Portrait, oil on board, 16" x 16" x 2", 2011

Arlene Morris, Self Portrait, oil on board, 16″ x 16″ x 2″, 2011

I’d like to invite all my readers who are in the NYC area to visit this group exhibition that includes my work, along with a really diverse selection of fellow artists, contemporaries and some well-known names in 20th Century art.  It’s on view this weekend through the first weekend in March, and the opening reception is on Friday the 11th.  Now I’m going to copy and paste Figureworks’ official announcement about the show:

Figureworks is pleased to open the new year with over 50 self portraits from its contemporary and 20th century list of artists. Please stop in this weekend (Saturday and Sunday from 1-6PM) for a preview and also join us next Friday for the artist’s reception, when all Williamsburg galleries will stay open late to celebrate in the new year.

FACES OF FIGUREWORKS: SELF PORTRAITS

January 5 – March 3, 2013
Reception: Friday, January 11th from 6-9PM

at

FIGUREWORKS
fine art of the human form
168 North 6th St. (1 block from Bedford Avenue “L” train)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
hours: Saturday and Sunday from 1-6PM
Artists create self portraits for various reasons but frequently it is done as a reflective point in their career. Securing that moment in time when they feel the need to record their presence. Similar to a journal entry, it may manifest in a quick sketch such as the drawing Philip Evergood created in 1944 documenting his life threatening surgery or Byron Browne’s ink drawing of his model with added self at his easel. These sketches were not created for exhibition purposes and are often stashed away with other personal belongings. Oppositely, some are finely executed oils done during long studio hours of self reflection, like those by Ernest Fiene and Joachim Marx. Equally personal, these significant executions are intended to preserve a specific place and time.

Additionally, a number of pieces in this exhibition were created specifically for patrons who commissioned the artist’s portraiture for their collection. This includes the drawings by Red Grooms and Chaim Gross. Others, such as McWillie Chambers and K. Saito, were executed upon request specifically for this exhibition. These types of portraits start from a very different place than those mentioned earlier. The artist, typically just the hand behind the canvas, is asked to now become the subject. Over twenty years ago, Ingrid Capozzoli Flinn had only privately done self portraits. A labor intensive oil painter, this request was very challenging for her as she was forced to spend many hours looking back into the mirror of time.

This exhibition encompasses all of these processes and emotions in a wide range of media from pencil, oil, ink and wood to glass and digital imagery. Artists from different generations and practices are represented. It is also worthy to note the diverse self portraits by couples George & Reina Gillson and William & Marguerite Zorach which reinforces the individuality and personal expression which goes into each work.

Figureworks is located at 168 N. 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY11211, one block from the Bedford Avenue “L” train. The gallery is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 1-6 PM and is dedicated to exhibiting contemporary and 20th century fine art of the human form.

For more information please email harris@figureworks.com, call the gallery at 718-486-7021 or visit us online at www.figureworks.com

Raphael Soyer, Self Portrait, 1975

Raphael Soyer, Self Portrait, 1975

Artists in this exhibition:

Byron Browne

Ingrid Capozzoli Flinn

McWillie Chambers

Marvin Cherney

George Constant

Howard Eisman

Philip Evergood

Bonnie Faulkner

Ernest Fiene

George Gillson

Reina Gillson

Matthew Greenway

Red Grooms

Chaim Gross

Mimi Gross

Bernard Gussow

Abraham Harriton

Bertram Hartman

Fred Hatt

Joseph Kaplan

Benjamin Kopman

Jack Levine

Elim Mak

Irving Marantz

Herman Maril

Fletcher Martin

Felicia Meyer Marsh

Joachim Marx

Michael Massen

Meridith McNeal

Artem Mirolevich

Arlene Morris

Susan Newmark

Rusel Parish

Robert Andrew Parker

Joachim Probst

Ellen Rand

Phillip Reisman

Audrey Rhoda

K. Saito

Jacquelyn Schiffman

Michael Sorgatz

Raphael Soyer

Moses Soyer

Anthony Toney

Mary Westring

David Yaghjian

Barbara Zanelli

Marguerite Zorach

William Zorach

2012/07/10

You Are Invited

Callipyge, 2002, by Fred Hatt

“Life Drawing”, a group exhibition at Brooklyn’s Figureworks gallery celebrating twelve years of weekly figure drawing sessions at the gallery continues through July 29.  I have been a regular at Figureworks’ sessions since their inception, and two drawings I made there are in the show.  I posted an announcement of the show before it opened, but I’m posting again because the gallery is having a mid-show reception this Friday, so you have a second chance to meet the artists and check out the beautiful home-like space where we draw and where proprietor Randall Harris features a strong and diverse selection of figurative art.  Here are the details from Figureworks’ official ann0uncement of this week’s reception:

Come to Williamsburg this Friday the 13thOur current exhibition has gained great attention with many drawings sold since the opening reception in June.
New drawings have replaced the sold ones so a mid-show reception is in order.

Our reception is being held to coincide with Williamsburg Every 2nd Friday, a monthly gallery crawl when galleries stay open until 9pm with special events.

Life Drawing
12 Year Celebration
artists include:
Raina Bajpai
Susan Berkowitz
Rodney Dickson
Howard Eisman
Susan Hamburger
Randall Harris
Fred Hatt
Elliot Lloyd
Karen Miles
Doug Safranek
K. Saito
Samantha Smith

June 8 – July 29, 2012
Mid-Show Reception: Friday, July 13th from 6-9PM

at FIGUREWORKS

fine art of the human form

168 North 6th St. (1 block from Bedford Avenue “L” train)
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
www.figureworks.com

hours: Saturday and Sunday from 1-6PM

Since 2000, Figureworks has hosted a weekly life drawing session every Saturday morning before the gallery opens. Over the years we have showcased the drawings from those artists who have faithfully supported these sessions.

This year, taking advantage of this longevity, we have created a timeline using artist’s earlier works with their current endeavors. It is exciting to see this history. Some artists have retained their signature style with more confidence while others have chosen to explore new techniques and various mediums. The diversity of this group is remarkable, especially in medium, which includes Ink, magic marker, oil pastel, watercolor, graphite, and colored pencil.

It is worth noting that these exquisite figure studies were executed from 2 minute to 20 minute poses. They are fresh, spontaneous, and many times unfinished. Foremost, all of these drawings are explorations into form and the study of human anatomy, many never intended to be formally shown.

Figureworks is located at 168 N. 6th St., Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211, one block from the Bedford Avenue “L” train. The gallery is open to the public Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 1-6 PM and is dedicated to exhibiting contemporary and 20th century fine art of the human form.
For more information please call 718-486-7021 or visit us online at www.figureworks.com

 

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