The White Room Gallery Presents "Beyond" -
4 artists explore themes of mystery, enlightenment, purity, and humor
3 through painting, 1 through the lens
Preview Reception: Thursday, August 9, 2018, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Opening Reception: Saturday, August 11, 2018, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Special Spotlight: South Korean Artist CHO Yea Jane brings a fresh perspective on life and North and South Korean affairs. Her "Ready to Open" series was born to deliver a message of hope. At the reception, a painting to benefit Gabrielle's Angel Foundation will be revealed and simultaneously be available for bidding on Charity Buzz. Expected to attend are Gabrielle’s Angel Foundation Founder Denise Rich, recording artist Prince Protégé and Urban Farming founder Taja Sevelle.
"Beyond" presents the art of Nicholas Down, Alicia Gitlitz, CHO Yea Jae and Phil Marco. The exhibition features painting and photography with each artist expressing the world they see and relay different types of journeys that are both personal and universal and speak to the condition of being human. The exhibition is on view from August 1 to 19, 2018 at The White Room Gallery located at 2415 Main Street, Bridgehampton, NY 11932.
NICHOLAS DOWN
My art has evolved in its expression for over forty-five years, beginning with an initial impulse to draw and paint from my observations of the external world, it has become increasingly important for me to express the internalized, ‘invisible’ responses to what I see and perceive.
Most recently, my paintings inhabit a metaphorical space, somewhere between the real and the imagined. I have found that my core idea, of making the invisible…visible, of creating the feeling of place, from the inspiration of memory, informs my gestural self as a painter, and my technique. I do not pre-conceive any particular painting at the outset, as they begin as improvisations of form, color, line and tone, and are the products of many years of direct observation from nature.
I explore with vibrancy and layered depths of color on bright white gesso boards, and work to reveal the light behind, the light within, the painting. My aim is to communicate a sense of timelessness and abstracted beauty in all my work, particularly those created in recent years. I feel a powerful urgency to reveal so much that is ‘out there’ but which is refracted and altered by the inner world of memory and recollection.
My paintings are a journey towards a celebration of our natural world, one that is increasingly threatened by climate change and callous indifference for its protection.
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"Spirit Meeting" by Nicholas Down. Oil and gesso on board, 30 x 30 inches. Courtesy of The White Room Gallery.
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ALICIA GITLITZ
Alicia Gitlitz is a versatile painter working in a variety of styles including impressionism, traditional and abstract. Her paintings are inspired by her love and passion for travel and seeing the aesthetic beauty of nature throughout the world. Along with the media of paint, photography has been in the forefront of her work as well. Her love of nature shines through in both her painting and photography capturing the essence of the moment in place and time.
She has an excellent command of color and utilizes colors in sync with her mood - generally happy, bright and cheery pigments. With a unique ability to find new and exciting subject matter in her day to day surroundings, Alicia approaches every day as an opportunity to create something special.
She has been represented at group exhibitions in Manhattan, Brooklyn Botanical Garden Cherry Blossom Festival, East Hampton Artist Alliance, Ashawagh Hall, The Art Guild at Elderfields Preserve, Barnes Gallery and Guild Hall in East Hampton. Alicia’s art was selected by a jury for the 58th Annual Long Island Artists Exhibition as well as the Long Island Art League for the 2017 art show.
Alicia left her corporate career in finance for her love of art and continued her art studies at the Art Students League, School of Visual Arts, The New School, The China Institute and has often worked with select art teachers along the way.
Artist Statement: My artwork is a tribute to how awe inspiring nature can be with its endless opportunities to express emotion. The world is a blank canvas waiting to be painted and I can see all of the possibilities in my mind’s eye.
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"Mad Woman at Work" by Alicia Gitlitz. Mixed Media, 48 x 36 inches. Courtesy of The White Room Gallery.
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CHO Yea Jae
CHO Yea Jae was born in South Korea in 1971. Resolutely modern with various interests in philosophy, society and the environment, she is an artist of contrast, illuminating the attraction of opposites. Her works are based on the continuous observation of the world around her.
CHO Yea Jae considers herself a citizen of the world. She travels broadly, experiencing diverse cultures and touching many souls. Her encounters with multi-cultural backgrounds have contributed to her strong sense of empathy, and have inspired her with keen insights of the beauty of contrast, coupled with a deep understanding of humanity.
Through her works she expresses the simple conclusions drawn after the tortuous journeys of the mind and soul. To bring out the best on canvas she continually researches and develops new techniques. As a result, various meanings emerge from the same painting.
Humanity is strong and beautiful. This is what she ultimately believes in and with this in mind her “Ready to Open” series was born to deliver a message of hope. Who denies we need it the most to change for the better?
CHO Yea Jae was recently featured in three solo exhibitions in Hong Kong, Singapore and Paris. She largely works between Korea and Europe.
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"Ready to Open 12" by CHO Yea Jae. Acrylic on Canvas, 36 x 59 inches. Courtesy of The White Room Gallery.
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PHIL MARCO
Phil Marco studied fine art at Pratt Institute and the Art Students League in New York. His work has been exhibited by MoMA, The Museum of the Moving Image and The George Eastman Museum of Photography.
New York Times photography critic Gene Thornton called Marco “a Minimalist, whose images are sensual, whimsical, often surreal, always strong, and deceptively simple.”
“I’ve had the pleasure of working with Phil Marco on a number of my films. Phil is a man of extraordinary talents. It seems that his passion is to take an everyday object or event, and show it in an entirely new and exciting way.” -Martin Scorsese.
Phil Marco's first photographs were studies for his paintings, before he launched a career in print advertising. He eventually became a Director / DP for film and television for a vast base of national and international clients with his wife, Patricia, as Partner and Producer. In the 1980’s and 90’s Phil was the go to person for Special Effects in Television and Cinema, also best known for his graphicconceptual still lives, and his consummate mastery of lighting, and design. He’s won many awards for his work, including numerous Cannes Lions, Cleo’s, a Grammy for his print work on the legendary “Tommy the Who” Album, and ASMP’s lifetime achievement award. He has also introduced several important technical innovations, including a new flash lighting system for cinema, and an award winning reflex viewing design for ultra high-speed cameras. But for all the technical expertise underpinning such work in extreme close-up and slow motion, Marco returns again and again to an ideal of simplicity.
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"Mickey" by Phil Marco. Face Mounted Plexi, Aluminum Braced, Archival Print, 30 x 24 inches. Courtesy of The White Room Gallery.
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BASIC FACTS: "Beyond" opens with a Preview Reception on Thursday, August 9, 2018, from 6 to 8 p.m. An Opening Reception will be held on Saturday, August 11, 2018, from 6 to 8 p.m. "Beyond" features art by Nicholas Down, Alicia Gitlitz, CHO Yea Jae and Phil Marco. The show is on view from August 1 to 19, 2018 at The White Room Gallery, 2415 Main Street, Bridgehampton, NY 11932. www.thewhiteroom.gallery.
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