TheGreatNude Invitational opens May 14,15 and 16 at The Roger Smith Hotel. Featuring 25 international artists working with the nude. Online Ticketing now available!

MAY 14,15,16 - DAILY ADMISSION: 12pm-6pm, $10.

MAY 14,15 - EVENING ADMISSION: 6pm-11pm, $25.
Includes our SKETCH PARTY featuring Nude Models.

MAY 13 - OPENING NIGHT RECEPTION: 6pm-9pm, $20.

Look for our us in Time Out New York, artdaily.org, and the New York Observer later this week.

(Image: Adam Miller, Scott Goodwillie, Sherry Cahmy, Bob Clyatt, Marc Vinciguerra, Daniel Maidman, Meredith Bergman, and Mary Larsen)

Peruvian artist Kukuli Velarde makes her debut at Barry Friedman LTD with an incredibly visceral show, making excellent use of the nude in her art. With boundless imagination and unbridled drama, the works are intimate, soulful compositions that are difficult to pass by. I highly recommend that everyone in the New York area make a point to expose themselves to the strong presence that is Velarde’s work.

The exhibition debuts Velarde’s work in two mediums. The first being her terracotta sculptures, and the second being her paintings on brushed aluminum. The sculptures are vessels to an antique nature, displayed as evidence unearthed from an anthropological dig. Entitled ‘Plunder Me Baby,’ the sculptures presentation, with museum-like signage, provokes an association to an indigenous cultures’ reaction to European colonization and subjugation. Each piece is categorized as to estimated date and region of ‘find.’ They are listed uncommonly, containing a quick description of personal quirks (”Bites, likes tough love”.) Both startling and amusing is the personification experienced from each piece’s face and limbs. Kukuli’s grasp of expression is remarkable as her sculptures appear if as on the verge of coming alive.

In her paintings - the ‘Cadaver’ series - Velarde uses images of conquered peoples in the context of European cultural and religious imagery. The expressions of the subjects, in comparison to Velarde’s sculptures, are less playful, but are equally as powerful. Referencing modes of accepted Western beauty such as the classical Venus, Velarde literally tries on their “skin”, inserting herself as the model in most of her primary figures. There is an uneasy marriage of cultures here, which is what makes this exhibition work so well. There is both homage and disgust, piety and betrayal, using Western culture and its iconographic art as props to make her own contemporary statements.

Finally there is a video of her late father with whom she shared a very strong bond, her passion as artist especially apparent in this emotion-filled work. Kukuli surrounds the projected video with wall drawings, referencing the time that her father caught her drawing on the wall of their home. He sensed a talent in his daughter which he encouraged over the years. The homage is creative and touching and the exhibit as a whole, remarkably fresh. Dad would be proud.

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Vigilandote, Cadaver Series, 2004
Acrylic and Oil on Steel Plate
72 x 48 inches

During my walks through New York’s gallery districts there are times that I find myself anxious for something to take my breath away. And there are times when it gets taken away not once but three times, all from artists working with the figure in very different ways.

On view at Postmasters Gallery is the current body of work by Steve Mumford, who started his ‘Baghdad Journal’ at the outset of the war in 2003. In his travels with the American military in Iraq, he made quick sketches of his experiences during moments of combat and repose. These were in turn transcribed on canvas upon his return to the studio. The new works in this show reveal a more nuanced look at war, and how it is experienced from the perspective of jihadists and our occupying military personal.

There are two nudes in the exhibit to talk about here. The small portrait of a half nude woman on a bed might be a competently rendered but unremarkable work until you notice her right arm veiled in shadow has been amputated. This then invites more scrutiny of her expression and the thoughts of a young woman whose life has been permanently altered. It gives credence to the graffiti painting in the other room lamenting “wish I was, where I was, when I was wishing, I was here.”

A large striking painting in the main gallery titled Baqubah portrays a languid moment for a group of marines cooling themselves in a murky pool of water. Most are nude and expertly rendered. Mumfords’ understanding of anatomy is on display here even through multiple tattoos on one of the men. He delivers relaxed poses with great textural passages of paint and atmosphere. As with ballet or opera, sometimes the most natural seeming movements take the greatest dexterity to pull off. I’ve been following Steve’s work for some time now and feel this is some of his best to date.

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Purple Heart, 2009, oil on linen, 36 x 24 inches

Baqubah, 2009, oil on linen, 71 3/8 x 71 1/2 inches.

Friday, February 12, 2010 marked the opening for Chelsea Gallery, Rogue Space’s show, Valentine’s Nude Workshop. The gallery featured a wide range of mediums with the figure as theme, with some artists from Barebrush.com. During the show, behind a private curtain, live drawing sessions were taking place. Inside the low-lit room were two models, striking a series a three different poses per session. In addition, TGN was able to judge the artists works from after the event.

TGN publisher Jeffrey Wiener talking with some Barebrush artists.

The following day TheGreatNude.tv publisher, Jeffrey Wiener gave a speech at the gallery on empowering artists through technology, digital marketing and social media. Make sure to check out the TGN site for more info on upcoming events, including our Great Nude Invitationals, and to see are our four favorite artist’s sketches posted online from the event.

http://www.thegreatnude.tv/rogue-space/

TGN publisher Jeffrey Wiener judging works from the contest.

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Jim Kempner Fine Art sits prominently on the Northwest corner of 23rd st and 10th Ave. The gallery is known for its representation of talented and successful artists; a literal and figurative corner-stone for the Chelsea art scene. So it was a great surprise to see a large nude figure stretching herself in their expansive window overlooking 23rd street. Even better was that it was one of Carole Feuerman’s latest works.

My first encounter with Feuerman’s nudes was decades ago, as a young boy in Miami. On one of my father’s art safaris to the local galleries on South Beach, he brought me by the shirt sleeve, up close to one of her startlingly realistic sculptures. The quality of realism in her works is still a remarkable thing to encounter as an adult. On many occasions since then, I’ve seen crowds of people in public gathered around her works, taking pictures. Its easy to see how one can get lost in contemplating the possibility that a human hand created the sculptures you see before you.

In her current exhibit: Carole Feuerman: Swimmers, Bathers, Nudes, we encounter her powerful works in new scales, smaller than life and quite larger than life figurative works that still defy belief. Even when unbelievably off-scale, these sculptures are still startlingly believable in their appearance. Feuerman’s choice of scales also forces the viewer to see the human body’s various surface details in blushingly close proximity. To the student of anatomy, this is an opportunity to observe human beauty in great detail.

What I most admire about Feuerman as an artist is her dedication to figurative works over the course of her long career. Aside from achieving a technical mastery of her medium and world-wide acclaim, she is still dedicated to depicting beauty in its most honest, straight-forward fashion.

I’m thrilled that her work is on exhibit in New York; this is a must see, and open until October, 31.

Jim Kempner Fine Art
is located at 501 West 23rd Street

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Monumental Shower. Sculpture, oil and resin. 59 x 48 x 29in.

Tree. Sculpture, oil and resin. 57 x w 35 x 40in.

The Survival of Serena. Sculpture, oil and resin. 42 x 80 x 38in.

The Jenkins Johnson Gallery has always featured wonderfully talented figurative arts and the gallery’s themed shows are always popular openings. Their upcoming show titled On Paper is no exception, and we are thrilled to see so much attention given to art works created by hand the old fashioned way. Many of the nicest pieces in this show are simply drawings - ink washes or graphite on paper featuring the human hand at it’s best.

Several works from the talented hand of Juliette Aristedes are worthy of attention, her atmospheric sketches feeling quite like old master works. These are very expressive drawings, the model nearly comes alive out of the looseness. Michael Bergt’s dreamy compositions are very interesting, evocative of Persian/Eastern erotica from the 19th century. His lounging, longing, twisting figures are set against black backgrounds that modernize these familiar scenarios.

In a quieter vein, Kim Frohsin’s sketches are loose, free, open-hearted expressions of the female form in various states of activity. And Philip Levine’s seated nudes are simple, linear compositions that present a contemplative, quieter view of the figure. In contrast, Kimberly Trowbridge’s slashing style evokes the energy of psychic motion to the figure. Finally, Wade Reynolds presents several figures “as landscapes”, in his signature technique, which has become a standard of quality for many fans of the academic approach to the figure.

The Jenkins Johnson Gallery is located at 521 W. 26th St, New York, NY
To see more of these images online, visit Jenkins Johnson Gallery online.

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Juliette Aristides, Back, 2007, charcoal on paper 26" x 16.5"

Kimberly Trowbridge, Two Figures, 2006, graphite charcoal and collage on paper, 16'' x 18''

Kim Froshin, M.Y. with Jug, 1994, graphite on paper, 15.75'' x 11.25''

Wade Reynolds, Figure as Landscape #1, (preliminary), 2003, prismacolor pencil on tone board, 19'' x 24''

Gallery Henoch, known for the diversity in its representational artists, is currently featuring Sharon Sprung, a prominent figurative artist in New York. Her work stands beside numerous other approaches to the figure, but commands the attention of the room with her pensive nudes. This Chelsea gallery always has wonderful painters of the figure in their stable, so make sure to visit this gallery regularly.

Gallery Henoch
555 W. 25th St. New York, NY

See our previous Post on Sharon Sprung from 2008.

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The Sari, Oil/Panel, 38'' x 48''

CC, Oil/Panel, 40'' x 48''

This being the closing week of the summer show NAKED!; the figurative arts show TheGreatNude.tv wanted to take the opportunity to make sure this show was not missed. The Paul Kasmin Gallery, located in Chelsea, is showing a series of figurative works spanning a time period of over four hundred years. Although finding a commonality between the classic and ultra-modern works might seem unlikely, the gallery accomplishes it with a range of fun, serious and inspirational works.

The gallery is located at 239 10th Avenue New York, NY. Hurry to see this show though; it closes September 19th.

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Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson Le Sommeil d'Endymion, oil on canvas 14 7/8'' x 18 1/4''

David Lachapelle, Nature's Naked Loveliness, digital color c-print 97'' x 72''

Duncan Hannah, Crazy Horse Revue Dancer, oil on canvas 18'' x 14''

Mel Ramos, Rita Ritz, oil on linen 39 1/4'' x 28 3/4''

Theodoor van Thulden, Time Revealing Truth, oil on canvas 58 3/4'' x 42 1/2''