"Wet Paint" Solo Exhibition of Enamels on Canvas by David Tobey Opening at Pleiades Gallery in Chelsea, New York April 19th
New York, NY (PRWEB) March 21, 2014 -- Artist, musician and educator David Tobey, a veteran artist member of Pleiades Gallery in Chelsea in New York -- 530 West 25th Street -- will host an opening party for his first solo exhibition of 2014 on Saturday afternoon April 19th from 3 to 6. His show will feature more than a dozen new enamel on canvas paintings from his “Abstract Imaginaries” series, most of which have never been exhibited publicly before. The opening party will feature live musical entertainment and refreshments and all are cordially invited to attend.
Tobey has been active over the past 30+ years in exhibitions of his art mainly in New York City, Westchester County and Connecticut with dozens of one-man and group shows. His work has been commented upon favorably by reviewers and editors of publications including Art in America, Art News Journal, Gallery & Studio magazine and others.
The main body of his work since he started painting under the tutelage of his father, the late noted historical painter Alton S. Tobey (1914-2005) has been abstract painting. In 2005 and ’06 he had a few exhibitions of pop–art paintings of art appealing mainly to very young art lovers -- mainly for schools, children’s hospitals and other youth oriented venues -- and he created welded sculptures by recycling discarded steel with metal forms of his own creation. Some of these sculptures will also be in this exhibition.
The latest iterations of his abstract work in the past three years have been the “Abstract Imaginaries”, a series that departs significantly from his earlier abstracts. In his own words these paintings are: “...an evolution and a synthesis” of his former work.
This new solo show, entitled “Wet Paint” evolved from a more detailed synthesis. It evolved from Tobey’s observation of the interaction of various chemicals in artist’s paints: flat paints, gloss enamels, aqueous and solvent-based pigments, paints’ base materials, pigment solvents and other additives that are considered technically incompatible with each other in the painting arts, and not capable fo being used wet together on any surface. After much experimentation and carefully measured manipulation he discovered and effected some very controlled painting techniques using these materials together in the creation of abstract works that display dynamic forms on canvas in ways that very possibly have never been seen before.
Commenting on these paintings from his perspective as a professional musician, David says: “The ‘Imaginaries’ flow, drip and merge wet before your eyes. This greatly adds to their subconscious spontaneity and impact -- they move the viewer into an immediacy of reaction that musical phrases also produce.”
The techniques Tobey uses in the creation of these paintings dispute the claim that many ingredients in artists’ paints that have historically been considered incompatible and incapable of integration when wet on a common surface are no longer true. The paintings in this show are the proof.
More information on the exhibition and about the artist and his multiple careers as a painter, sculptor, musician and educator can be found in his website . There he can be contacted by email by telephoning him at (914) 329-2581. The show at Pleiades runs through May 10, 2014. Gallery hours are available by calling (646) 230-0056.
Joe Dolice, [email protected], http://www.davidtobey.com, +1 (212) 260-9240, [email protected]
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