From the Vaults: An Online Exhibition Review
A lovely salon installation for this fantastic online exhibition Photos: Thomas Deans Fine Art
AUTHOR: ARTSY CHOW ROAMER
FROM THE VAULTS:
THOMAS DEANS PRESENTS AN ONLINE EXHIBITION
Thomas Deans Fine Art on Miami Circle is celebrating twenty-five years in the Atlanta art scene after moving from London to Florida and on to Atlanta in 2000. Normally, I would be writing about his Summer Pleasures exhibition that begins in June and runs through September every year as it is a favorite of mine. This spring he has broken out a new concept for an online exhibition that will be highlighting his more traditional historical works on paper, hence the title, From The Vaults.
A little introduction video on a 35th anniversary exhibition
SOME HISTORY
Originally established in 1983, the gallery specializes in contemporary paintings, contemporary and historical works on paper, and selected sculpture and photography from emerging to highly established artists. For more than four decades, the gallery has collected a significant number of artworks spanning several centuries. In response to numerous queries, they thought it was finally time to break out some of these lovely pieces for another look see.
The gallery has exhibited works from the estates of some significant 20th-century artists, including British draughtsman Randolph Schwabe (1885-1948), Polish-born modernist Marek Zulawski (1908-1985), and beloved Scottish painter John Boyd (1940-2001). Other exhibitions have been devoted to the work of the great Sculptor-Printmaker Henry Moore (1898-1986), paintings by the brilliant but tragic British artist Cynthia Pell (1933-1977), etchings by Lucien Freud, Paula Rego, and Frank Auerbach, and many more.
Reclining Nude by William Aubrey Walmsley (1923-2003) is a monoprint on unique brown paper
sketches & drawings
Deans began by reviewing and photographing some of his favorites in the collection to pull together a group that worked well in a salon style installation-a preference of his when displaying these smaller historic works. The artists range from unknown to world famous with all forms of media from pencil, chalk and ink to gouache, watercolor and acrylic.
Almost all were created on different types of paper like rose, buff, antique and letter and every piece tells a story. His decision to hang on a handsome navy blue wall instead of white was masterful as it allows the pieces to pop in a way white walls never would which you’ll notice if visiting in person.
Included in the drawings selections is a particularly nice gouache and ink piece by artist Eugene Berman called Man in Turkish Costume. There is a wonderful amount of detail from the beard noted on the face to the turban, button closures and shoulder/collar design on the costume shown from both the front and back.
I found a nicely rendered drawing by an unknown German artist to be very simple and compelling. The text reads that it is most likely a dairy worker or Alpine sheep herder on market day. Several studies by the famous Royal Academy of the Arts in London member, James Ward, have been included and a couple of my favorites are Two sketches of a seated man and A Card Party: Mr. Rich and Mrs. Bonny.
Soft watercolors
There are a number of lovely soft watercolors included in the display right now. I am drawn to Boy with a Pond Boat which is from the artist’s estate of Lady Edna Clarke Hall (1879-1979) for both the selection of colors and the sweet way the boy is painted in knee pants looking out across the water. It is a quiet thoughtful work done on ribbed paper giving it nice texture as well.
Other great pieces in this grouping include An Artist by John Absolon (1815-1895) which is a portrait of the subject looking in another direction instead of directly at the viewer. This is an old-style trick that reminds me of my great-grandmother’s portrait which adds interest and a little mystery as to what they might be gazing at. An unknown British artist is shown in another piece with a sweet page from a ladies watercolor drawing album with detailed nicely done studies of flora and fauna.
Unknown British artist, a page from a lady’s drawing album is a sweet watercolor study
pencil & chalk
There are a lot of beautiful choices in the simply rendered pieces made in pencil, chalk and charcoal. These works speak to me the most of all as the point seems to be to provide the least number of strokes to capture the subject in a recognizable way that reminds me of techniques from artists that would come much later.
Artist Henry Jenkins (1906-1975) does simple studies with minimal lines in black chalk like this baseball player piece
Henry Jenkins (1906-1975) shines in this method in two stunning pieces, Pigs at an Irish Market and Baseball Player. Both are created with black chalk on buff paper utilizing minimally clean marks, finishing no subject completely yet making the composition more than recognizable. They are from a collection that was exhibited in London at Martyn Gregory and are beautifully framed in 22K gold leaf with an antique wash.
I was also drawn to a lovely graphite drawing by Fortunino Matania (1881-1963) from a collection in his studio named Life Study: Seated Nude. This particular piece was of a model holding a pose during a life study class. Matania was famous for his illustrations of the sinking of the Titanic which are still circulating over 100 years later.
soft LANDSCAPES
There are a number of great landscapes on display in different media if that’s what you are looking for. I liked Guy Malet’s (1900-1973) Farmyard at East Hendred, Berkshire in watercolor over pencil which has a washed look about it and a bright pop of blue in the gates and doors.
Farmyard at East Hendred, Berkshire by artist Guy Seymour Ware Malet (1900-1973)
Employing some of the best traditional techniques, Edward Hargitt (1835-1895) gives us River Landscape done in gouache and most likely came from a posthumous sale out of his studio. I love the contrast of the shades of blue set against the different greens, yellows and whites as the two tiny figures make their way along the path on the right.
Shout out to the pencil and colored chalks work by artist Lucien Ott (1870-1927) called Figure in Tall Grass as well. Lots of energy and texture in the piece which makes it feel like a quick study that he went back and added more to after the fact to create depth.
lovely PORTRAITS
French artist Bernard Buffet (1928-1999) might be one of the most recent artists included in the collection and I find his work to be very fun and whimsical. Known as a painter, print maker and sculptor, Buffet built an extensive body of work exclusively in figurative work in an exprssionist style. His work was characterized by thick black lines, elongated forms and shallow depth of field. To me, he feels very much like Pablo Picasso and he would begin to be compared to the famous artist throughout the 1950’s at the height of his appeal.
A whimsical fun portrait by French artist Bernard Buffet (1928-1999)
Other portraits that are really nice in the grouping are Classical Head and A Lady by artist William Hoare of Bath (1707-1792) the former done in red chalk on laid paper and the latter in black and white chalk on gray paper. They are from an album compiled by the artist’s family descended through his son, Prince Hoare to Lady Franklin Lewis and later to painter Charles Eastlake. I also quite like Randolph Schwab’s (1885-1948) soft black chalk on rose paper piece, Seated Figure: Lady Perdita Joliffe. The lady was a friend of the artist and his daughter valued the piece very highly.
William Walmsley’s (1923-2003) incredible monoprint on unique brown paper called Reclining Nude is simply stunning and I think my favorite of the exhibition with its abstract representation, lovely colors and soft one-of-a-kind presentation.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Thomas has a good eye for hanging a show preferring to mix artists, letting the colors and subject matters play a sort of song as you move through the exhibition. His salon style installation with these historical works on paper make them small treasures and look very special hung together in a single presentation thought.
An Artist by John Absolon (1815-1895)
The idea of changing out the pieces every few months and reintroducing us to the historical archives the gallery has collected is a very good thing. He can do both, serving his newer more contemporary clients as well as the older ones who always loved these pieces. Check out the online or in gallery version of this very nice exhibition.
If you enjoyed what you read, you might also like other posts under Artful Ideal. You can find other artists that I really love and you might want to add to your own collection. Until next time…
Cheers,
Artsy Chow Roamer
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