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‘Reclaiming Space’ Art Show Supports
GreenEdgeNYC Gallery House Grassroots Eco-Themes a
Clinton Hill Delight
“Style of
Nature” artist Jonathan Levy by his latest artwork at current “Reclaiming
Space” exhibition at the By Harold
Egeln CLINTON
HILL — Since it opened a year ago, there is a strong green edge to the Gallery
House, highlighted by its latest art exhibition of nature-related work, tied to
supporting environmental organizations that are making a difference for a
sustainable city. The
current, delightful “Reclaiming Space” fine art group exhibition, showing
through August 31, has been holding a series of auction/raffle receptions in
support of GreenEdgeNYC, a vibrant social eco-network composed of groups
focused on various aspects of environmental activism. “This is
our third exhibition. Each one has given support to environmental cause groups
as well as bringing together artists from “Reclaiming
Space is about this space in this wonderful house we are restoring and how we
reclaim space in our lives and the world,” said Levy, a curator of the
exhibition, about the two-room, first floor space. “It
showcases the multitude of languages in which The
GreenEdgeNYC collaborative was founded over three years ago by Carolyn Gilles
to create and expand a community for a sustainable future through social
networking and the formation of associated focus groups. Executive Director
Judy Harper coordinates the activities. These
include groups for foraging, green buildings, sustainable farming, trash and
recycling, filmmaking, sustainable design, a neighborhood supper club and the
Brooklyn Green Team. Among
activities of the groups are the Solar Power Film Festival, Solstice Soiree,
Green Crafting and the Annual Birthday Bash for GreenEdge, recently having its
third. GreenEdgeNYC is financially sponsored by the Open Space Initiative, part
of the Citizens Action Program. Art Inspired By the Natural World There is an
intriguing “color shift” in Levy’s art, entering “a digital stage” with
somewhat slightly subdued hues but still vibrantly full of life’s motions. It
is a joy to view, along with his “Primordial Soup.” His inspiration in the
natural world came from the time he spent in To observe
his creative outpouring at work, the paintings in his current series include a
floor spot with a video screen and wonderful videos of Levy in the act of
creating his artwork in swipes, swirls and swoops across and around the canvas.
“The work comes from within as I go along,” Levy said. Among all
the wonderful and diverse artworks by 11 artists on exhibit are the back lit
“Dendrites” on paper by Another of
the intriguing artworks by mixed media artist Adrian Roman is his “Cage De La
Memoria Viva” box painting, with its four sides floating above space in the
rear gallery featuring a fascinating face that invites the viewer inside the
workings of its head. Placing one’s
head inside the box floating above the viewer is truly entering the mind of the
artist, with the inner four-sided surface filled with a collage of old family
and friends’ photographs, written items and reminders of long-gone times, a
memory treasure trove. One of the
show’s artworks that incorporated an American flag, “Evolve” by Clark Clark,
caused a little public controversy ended by a decision to withdraw the piece
from the exhibition shortly after it opened, the only hitch in the popular
summertime exhibit. The
“Reclaiming Space” show once again, as in the two previous exhibits, inspires
the spirit, sparks a creative stream of consciousness and brings artists
together to share their ideas, igniting new ways to look at life through art.
‘eARTh’
Exhibit Helps MillionTreesNYC Project
“Style of Nature” artist Jonathan Levy stands
next to his“Uncut Flowers” painting series. He is the curator of the “eARTh”
exhibition at the Gallery House in Clinton Hill Show Aims To Raise
Eco-Consciousness By
Harold Egeln With
the immense loss of tree-rich rainforests worldwide and other threats to the
environment’s stability, an exhibit at the Gallery House (www.galleryhouse.org),
located at 272 Clinton Ave., has been celebrating trees, raising ecological
awareness and encouraging environmental activism with its attractive “eARTh”
exhibition. The exhibit also benefits the MillionTreesNYC project. “This
has been an environmentally themed group exhibition, in both form and function,
that is meant to celebrate and highlight the challenges our planet is currently
facing,” said the Gallery House group of artists and supporters in the
exhibit’s press release. The show opened in February and will run through
Friday, March 12. “It is
critical for our survival that we learn to put a priority on the environmental
needs,” the Gallery House statement said. “Many of us have become so immersed
with day-to-day responsibilities and possessions that we have begun to neglect
the stage that our lives play out on. And ‘eARTh’ refocuses the viewers'
attention to nurture through the medium of art.” The
current show, Gallery House’s second after its grand opening “Style of Nature”
exhibit by artist Jonathan Levy and other artists last summer, has Levy as
‘eARTh’ exhibit curator. It is dedicated to helping the city’s MillionTreesNYC
project (www.milliontreesnyc.org)
to plant one million new trees citywide by 2017, with 400,000 already planted. The
planting project, recently the focus of special presentations at community
boards throughout Brooklyn, is a public-private partnership between the city’s
Department of Parks and Recreation and New York Restoration. Board presenters
inform members of the tree species planted in their districts and how the trees
are maintained. The
city is committed to plant 60 percent of the trees in all its parklands and
playgrounds, while New York Restoration operates 40 percent of the plantings, a
project launched by Mayor Bloomberg a few years ago with the goal of one
million new trees planted by 2017. Three
receptions, the first two hobbled by snowstorms, have served as occasions to
raffle off exhibit paintings to raise funds for the MillionTreesNYC project,
noted Levy. He voiced support for the project, with the goals to “plant,
protect, preserve and participate.” There
are 17 artists and photographers in the exhibit, with a total of 40 artworks
and photos. Among them are some Brooklyn artists, such as Erik Maniscalco with
the riveting “Gates of Change,” Amanda Gentile with her awesome “Sky,” Jenna
Bonistalli, and Aaron Mauder with “Divination.” Mauder’s
almost surreal work, explained Levy, shows the future-tech world of the human
mind divorced from a connection with nature. Levy, as curator, smartly
juxtaposed “Divination” between two beautiful tree paintings. Levy’s
“Uncut Flowers” painting series on display creates an experience of the life of
flowers untouched by human intervention as the flowers’ colors swirl around.
“If someone views the cutting of flowers as being even a little bit wrong, how
will that affect the cutting of trees?” Levy wonders. His
experience of nature was inspired while living in Hawaii where his “Style of
Nature” artwork took off, and also by his work earlier in a state forest in
Rockland County and being fascinated by the variety and beauty of trees, Levy
said. Among the outstanding artworks are “The Blue Path”
and “The Enchanted Forest” by Brittney MacKensie, a New York-area artist whose
paintings can make viewers feel like they are in the woods and enjoying the
experience of trees.
NYC Winner
11/23/2009 Jonathan
Levy’s extremely unique style blends acrylics on canvas to creates patterns
that appear almost digital in origin. Using twirling wisps of color, he
loosely solidifies his image and creates little areas of sporadic motion which
challenge the eye. It reminds me of stumbling around in a drunken stupor or
maybe it represents the fragments of memories which are pieced together the
morning after. Real, fictitious or somewhere in between; the women in the
painting is a beautiful way to remember any evening.
‘Green’ Art Show Highlights New
‘Gallery House’ in Clinton Hill
By
Harold Egeln CLINTON
HILL – An impressive 19th century brownstone that developing into a new arts
venue here is housing an exhibit that benefits both the idea of the human
spirit reconnecting with nature and the Council on the Environment of NYC. The
show in question is the “Style of Nature” solo art exhibit by Jonathan Levy. It
is in the first-floor space of a five-story 1877 brownstone called “Gallery
House” at 272 Clinton Ave., an exciting new venue that celebrates the arts in
all forms. Gallery
House and the inspirational show opened on July 24 with a reception followed by
a second reception over this past weekend. At other times the exhibit can be
viewed by appointment only by contacting Gallery House. The
venue is a gift of joy to its restorers and artistic community, said Levy, a
Pratt Institute fine arts graduate. “The silent investors want to use this
space as a way of giving back to the community. We’re grateful for their
commitment,” he explained. “This
is a fantastic place to work and be in,” said architect Patrick Malloy, another
Pratt Institute graduate who is part of the working group restoring Gallery
House. “We’re fortunate to be in a great neighborhood with a wonderful
cross-section of people who bring their energy and involvement into the area.” Gallery
House, its mission statement says, “is a Clinton Hill-based organization
dedicated to the sharing of ideas pressing our world today. Through our hosted
receptions, we aim to gather and communicate ideas through art, music and other
types of artistic expressions.” The
centerpiece of Gallery House’s first show is Levy’s Style of Nature solo show
celebrating the patterns, movements and colors of the natural world that
surrounds us but which is not usually noticed in people’s daily activities,
noted Levy. “Soon
after I graduated Pratt I went to live on Maui in Hawaii in search of
inspiration,” said Levy, who was on Maui from 2003 to 2008. “It was there that
my eyes opened with a new perspective with my creative drive inspired by the
flowers, ocean and land of that wondrous and beautiful island. There I
developed my artistic style of nature as I observed the random movements and
patterns in nature’s forms.” In 2005
he first got his first show at the 27th Annual Juried Exhibit on Maui with his
acrylic on canvas paintings. In the last two years he has been in several
exhibits across the nation and at the International Art Expo-New York at the
Javits Center in 2008 and 2009. Levy’s
paintings are a wonder to view and experience. His Humming River, Walk Under
the Shadow of the Tree and Setting Sun series of paintings, and individual
paintings such as Lake Nowhere, Cross the Pond and Violet make one linger near
their colorful swirls. The show helps people focus on nature and gets them away
from a focus of everyday activities. Fifty
percent of the sales of Levy paintings sold from this exhibit will be donated
to the Council on the Environment of New York City. Levy and Malloy are excited
about the opportunity to promote the appreciation and study of the urban
environs through the three-decades-old council and its multifaceted work. “Our partnership with Jonathan Levy and Gallery House for Style of Nature reflects a shared vision of preserving the natural beauty of the city,” said Council Executive Director Marcel Van Ooyen. CENYC is responsible for programs such as Greenmarkets, Open Space Greening, Environmental Education, Office of Recycling, and Learn It, Grow It and Eat It. B’klyn Artists Exhibit At
International Expo: Flowers, Levy and Heck Show Works at Javits By Harold Egeln JAVITS CENTER
— Brooklyn is a creative city for curious minds when it comes to its ever-growing
community of artists, and a few members of that large community displayed their
latest works at the city’s largest annual international public art exhibition
and trade show this past weekend. The
natural random rhythms of nature and intense personal energy redirected onto
canvas were the central expressions displayed by three Brooklyn artists who
attracted much attention at the five-day 31st International New York Art Expo
at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, ended yesterday. “I am a
professional actor who decided five years ago to find another way of expressing
my creative energy,” said artist Washington Flowers Jr., smiling at his booth
among his varied artwork, seen in all its glory on his web site. Obviously
happy to be there as thousands of people passed by, the brightly smiling artist
told of his work. “It’s a
way that challenges my internal and external energies and corrals them onto a
blank canvass, expressing the truth of life in the flow of time,” said Flowers.
“This Art Expo is a wonderful opportunity to meet so many interesting people
and share my art.” The
“Aloha Spirit” of Hawaii had an impact on Brooklyn artist Jonathan Levy,
bringing the garden of earthly delights alive at his “Style of Nature” booth.
“I’ve been painting since I was a little boy; that’s nearly 30 years ago,” he
said with a broad and pleasant smile. “But it was my five years living on Maui
on the Hawaiian Islands that opened me up to nature and the art I do now.” That
life-changing experience for Levy, who earned his Fine Arts degree at The Pratt
Institute, was profoundly inspirational. Levy explained at his booth and on his
web site (www.styleofnature.com),
that people usually are engrossed in their day-to-day lives with a focus on
“things, possessions and routine responsibilities.” That is the way of the
world; but something is missing, he said, that can both help humans and planet
Earth. “Our
collective focus on ‘things’ has contributed to a philosophy that is
progressively destroying our planet,” Levy writes on his web site. At the expo,
he said of his time living on Maui that it is “a beautiful place where I
experienced a revival of my natural senses. That drove me forward to create
artworks fostering an appreciation of the natural world’s patterns of design
and its random movements.” What the Heck? Literally
drumming up attention was Brooklyn’s own popular pop artist Ed Heck at his
spacious “The World is Going to Heck Again” display and performance space at
the expo. Four times during the weekend, legendary rock drummer Carmine Appice,
who started out with the Vanilla Fudge rock group 40 years ago, performed on
his drums. He and Heck were signing posters of their joint new work, “Drum City.”
Fans queued up after the performances to chat, as Heck and his son sat at a table. Heck, who works out of the Morgan Fine Arts Building in Greenpoint, is noted for his weird, quirky and whimsical, colorful doodle-like paintings of flying saucers, dogs, birds, crayolas and everyday objects. “It’s kind of oddball art with brilliant color and bright fun in the mix,” said Heck to a fan.
From Stephen Sawyer, Juror: "As
a fellow artist the notion of judging something as beautiful and subjective as
original art is daunting. The selections for Prizma Virtual Gallery's
Best of Show, First, Second and Honorable Mention are clearly as uniquely
subjective as is each entry. I found real accomplishment and skill in all
of the entries and am therefore hoping each artist will continue pursuing
excellence in their chosen medium(s) and unique visions of the world whether
they won an award or not." Best In Show
"Humming
River 3" Juror's
Commentary: It is
very refreshing to see the illusion of reality done in this way. At first
glance it looked like a Photoshop "smudge" technique. As I
inspected it further I was really pleased to see the effort taken to manipulate
the paint. There is an immediacy of this painting's motion which does not
seem frozen in time and if that can be duplicated in another painting there is
a talent here that I and many more people would like to see more of.
JONATHAN LEVY" by
Michael Corbin Jonathan
Levy is a young, New York City bred artist who I met while visiting "The
Artists Fair" at Art Basel Miami Beach in December 2008. I was struck by
his style, which he calls "Style of Nature." He's a very talented
artist and I asked him if he would consent to an interview. Starting off, I
asked him about how he was surviving as an artist in this current economy. He
sent me a really great, but long email that not only addressed that question,
but several others. So, with his permission, I broke up his answer into the
conversation that you see below. In short, I got creative, but this remains
true to his voice. I think you'll enjoy his insight and his website at www.styleofnature.com
but first, here's our chat: JONATHAN:
(Well,) that five-year hiatus proved to pay off. I landed on my feet, running
as fast as I could. I applied to every gallery on the island for any type of
work I could find. It was important for me to learn the business end of the
"Art World" which I was willing to do anyway. After sending out
nearly 80 resumes and receiving no response, I finally got an interview with a
contemporary art gallery for a sales position. During the interview, I was told
the only reason I got it was because I accidentally applied on four different
occasions in a two-week span. Luckily, that was viewed as persistence and I
guess they appreciated the effort. MICHAEL CORBIN IS AN |
