March 31, 2012

Haynes Galleries presents
“The Portrait in American Realism”, April 13 to May 9
Reception Friday April 13th. 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Haynes Galleries is pleased to present The Portrait in American Realism, opening April 13 at the new Haynes Galleries location on the Music Row Roundabout in midtown Nashville. This exhibition will feature drawings, paintings, sculpture and photographs from 19th, 20th and 21st century American Realists.

“Dating back to the earliest form of artistic expression on cave walls, the human figure has remained a constant source of inspiration for artists throughout the centuries,” says Gary R. Haynes. “This exhibit will serve as a visual exploration of the changing approach to portrait making in America.”

Best known as the painter of American society, John Singer Sargent became increasingly interested in drawing studies in his later years. His charcoal drawing of the fair-haired and rosy-cheeked young noble, Sir William Hedworth Williamson, 10th Baronet, is as invigorating as a breath of fresh air. Haynes Galleries is featuring two Sargent drawings in The Portrait in American Realism exhibit, along with works by his contemporaries William Paxton, Frank Duveneck and Winslow Homer, and Sargent’s former art teacher and mentor, Carolus-Duran.

While this exhibit highlights significant painters from American art history, it also showcases the talent of a new generation of artists. These contemporary artists bring an exhilarating spectrum of styles and influences to their work — infusing traditional portraiture with elements of classical art, romanticism, abstraction, surrealism and impressionism. The resulting body of work is by turns familiar and completely fresh.

The portraits of Jesus Villarreal, a rising star of contemporary American Realism, evoke the Dutch Masters. His striking chiaroscuro beckons the viewer to look beyond the superficial, to uncover the mystery within. Renee Foukes’ oils are so soft, so smooth, they beg to be touched. Bo Bartlett’s Indian Blood is rich, luminous, almost incandescent.

Anthony Ryder masterfully — gorgeously — navigates the landscape of the face, coaxing expression and life out of every line, every curve. Stephen Scott Young’s luminous watercolors of impoverished Bahamian women and children are at once sobering and celebratory.

Judy and Defiance of Erebus, Ellen Cooper captures the personality and grit of her strong female subjects. In the face of a solitary gentleman, Timothy Norman’s award-winning Les Bouquinistes embodies the character of Parisian city life.

A diverse range of styles and mediums gives this show tremendous depth and interest. Richly textured, painterly portraits by Rose Frantzen, Michael Shane Neal, Ignat Ignatov, Alexandra Tyng and Lea Colie Wight are juxtaposed with the more exacting illustrative portraits of Bill Murcko and Ryan Brown. Joyce Tenneson’s deeply nuanced photographs play off the soothing sculpture of Daniel Sinclair and a dramatic bust by Alan LeQuire.

The Portrait in American Realism is a celebration of faces, an ode to the human form, a triumph of expression. It is not to be missed.