Ralph Turturro

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Born in: 1957, Queens, NYC

Lives in: Cortland, NY

Media: Painting, Mixed media, Collage, Drawing

Describe your work in 3 words: Love - loss - balance

Dinosaurs in the Dust - Acrylic and mixed media on canvas

"Some works this year soon after and around losing Terrie dealt with empty space as a metaphor of loss and beauty and awe and mystery; space and air and ground. Everything starts arbitrary and moves in direction of non-arbitrary; about form about balance which in turn fosters content."

Describe your creative process.
To be Free and uncompromising - let it fly - don't apologize - don't hedge - no regrets - throw yourself headlong into your fears and shortcomings - and if you're not doing it then do it the very next time - this is a pursuit you never get to the end of - always learning - in fact that is the objective - to learn - and if you are full of shit - it smacks you right in the face.
What influences your work? What inspires you?
conversation - loss - love
What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?
The answers are so subjective. I will say Tapies and Twombly make great art. If I had a lot of money the paintings I would own are examples of what I believe is great art; Matisse's 'Piano Lesson' and 'View from Notre Dame' and 'The Moroccans', also Picasso's 'Night Fishing in Antibes'.
What is the role of the artist today?
I am an artist to learn better how to be alive and love and accept loss. I do not know what the role of the artist is today! But this is how I feel about things: might can see me through all this allowing it all in each piece is some part of me like dreams are like conversations poems and songs can be like what you are saying reading writing painting what textures you are inside of outside of the colors that make you blind to others to relations and ships to starts and finishes

This page was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

Gerard Huber

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"My strategy is to employ beauty as a subversive instrument of seduction, a peacefully sensual way of drawing the viewer into a space that challenges heteronormative assumptions of male competition, and which demonstrates that same-sex relationships are wholesome, healthy and life-affirming."

Classical Figures X - Sub Rosa

Gerard Huber was born October 2, 1949, in Waterloo, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Painting and Printmaking, 1971. Following completion of undergraduate studies, Huber studied Figure Drawing and Contemporary Theology at the University of Notre Dame, 1971, and participated in the Blossom-Kent Art Program at Kent State University, 1973. Huber earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing from Cranbrook Academy of Art, 1975, studying with George Ortman. 

In 1994 Huber received a Mid-America Arts Alliance/National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in Painting. He has been a Resident Fellow at The Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, Vermont (2008); twice at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Lynchburg, Virginia (1987, 1988); and once at the Cummington Community of Art, Cummington, Massachusetts (1988). Huber has been a Visiting Artist/Visiting Scholar at the American Academy in Rome, Rome, Italy, 2013 and 2015.

Huber’s airbrushed acrylic paintings have been exhibited in more than 60 exhibitions including the Joslyn Museum of Art, Omaha, Nebraska; the Arnot Art Museum, Elmira, NY; Parsons School of Design, New York, NY; Salmagundi Club, New York, NY; the Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas; and many others. His paintings are represented by the Lizardi/Harp Gallery in Los Angeles, California.

Huber is a tenured professor in the Department of Art at Texas A&M University-Commerce, Commerce, Texas (formerly East Texas State University).

His studio is located at 3500 Oak Lawn Avenue, #275 Dallas, Texas 75219

www.gerardhuber.com

gerardhuber33@gmail.com

(214) 528-5167

 

“Gorgeously painted voluptuous male figures are the protagonists in Gerard Huber's mesmerizing compositions. Perfectly rendered in a classical style the works bring Grecian ideals of beauty into a contemporary context.

In "Reflection I" Huber's own David is depicted among a variety of symbolic motifs cunningly placed to make it impossible for the viewer to evade the narrative.

Often literally in conversation with ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, the nude characters display a tenderness that comes in contrast with taboo expectations and stereotypic assumptions surrounding what it means to be a strong man. The brawny figures with every muscle and vain painted in exhaustive detail come to contrast with their gentle gestures and tranquil poses. These complex characters manage to exude power from their vulnerability as they seem comfortable and resolved with the combination of strength, power, softness, and emotionality they simultaneously represent.

What is significant in Huber's work is not his extraordinary capacity for realism but more importantly his ability to think and create in a post-modern context where the pieces become mesmerizing for the multiplicity and complexity of the content they evoke whether that is a conversation on art itself, on sexuality or the strong man etiquette.”

- Circle Foundation for the Arts, Director

Reflections I
Classical Figures II - Amplexus Aeternus
Classical Figures XI - Invidere
Classical Figures XII - Equa Noctis

This review was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

 

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Fong Fai

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“Abstract art, it is a reality that does not exist, a product of thought, momentary feelings, and music melody... all that could be my inspiration to create.”

Random - Acrylic on canvas 36 x 36 in.

Fong Fai studied art at the Hong Kong Academy of Art in Hong Kong. He was selected as one of the six leading artists in Hong Kong. He owned an art gallery (Fong's Art Gallery) and also taught at the Oriental Arts Institute in Hong Kong. Fai's artworks have been exhibited in Asia, Australia and North America. Later, Fong Fai was invited to exhibit his paintings in San Francisco and Hawaii, where he fell in love with this country and decided to stay. Today his works continue to appear in the United States. An abstract artist, Fong Fai uses brushwork calligraphy techniques to produce works that integrate concepts of Eastern and Western art. Fong Fai currently lives in San Francisco.

Look Forward - Acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 in.
Ode to Nature - Acrylic on canvas 30 x 40 in.
Trace 7.10.19 - Acrylic on canvas 40 x 30 in.
Revelation of Nature - Acrylic on canvas 36 x 48 in.

This review was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

 

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Christine Alfery

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Born in: 1947, USA

Lives in: USA

Media: Painting

Describe your work in 3 words: Conceptual, experimental, natural

See More Work:  www.christinealfery.com

Rolling Stones

Describe your creative process.
I had a professor once who told me that I need to be in the studio every day and work on art every day. I took his advice to heart and have constantly tried to work in the studio every day. I also believe that one needs to struggle in order to find success and this same professor said to me, to be a great artist, you need to get out of your comfort zone. The struggle is important. I am in the studio every day - beginning. continuing on, and ending works of art.
What influences your work? What inspires you?
Two concepts, freedom and individuality are tucked within in my work “Rolling Stones.” There are no two identical ways artwork can be viewed. There is no right or wrong when viewing artwork our minds need to be as open as a child’s, playing with colorful building blocks or choosing colors from a box of crayons filled with possibilities.
What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?
"art." What is good art? Can one see the artist's hand in the work - can one see the artist in the work - not what others think is good art - instead "good" art should reflect the uniqueness, one-of-a-kindness, individuality and freedom the artist has and their work needs to reflect all of those things. Too many times all of the above is missing in what is today called "art. "
What is the role of the artist today?
It is hard to be an artist; it would have been easier being a lawyer or physician. I have tried to give it up but I am only at home when I am creating, discovering, exploring, inventing. Those things are the role of the artist today and it is not easy.

This page was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist

Stephanie Holznecht

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Born in: 1959, England

Lives in: Janesville, WI USA

Media: Painting

Describe your work in 3 words: Emotional, inspirational, provoking

See More Work: https://www.sholznecht.com/

Golden Dragon - Acrylic, tempera and latex paint on canvas 36 x 24 in.

"I invest in the creation of a piece of art to convey what I have inside: my thinking, my emotions, my life, my essence and my soul. The inspiration that I take from experiencing life creates a feeling that continues to inspire me. I don't think, as an artist, that is something I will never lose."

What themes does your work involve?
My artwork is an emotional journey inside my mind. Expressed as abstract art, it embodies what I am thinking and feeling.
Describe your creative process.
The process I use for creating my artwork style is by taking various sizes of squeegees and scrapers that are used to move paint splashes around the canvas, and add more paint if it is necessary. I choose my colors based on my mood at the time. I move the paint in the same way. Happy brings bright colors and loose, playful movement. Sad and angry moods bring colors reflecting those feelings, and the movement of the paint is more frantic and wild. A piece is finished when I can feel the title.
What influences your work? What inspires you? Why do you make art?
I began drawing when I was very young. I could copy a photograph of an animal exactly as it appeared by the age of eleven. From that moment on I knew I wanted to be an artist. I took this seriously by the time I reached high school. I make art for myself. Even if a person commissions a piece in particular colors and look, I still create that piece for me. I am inspired by everyone and everything and take my inspiration from the emotions and feelings I get from them.
What is good art? What makes a piece of art great?
I think a great piece of artwork tells a story. Whether it is realistic or abstract, it should take the observer on a journey. A look into the artist's thought process while creating it. Whether it be the story of a face, flower, geometric shape, loose abstract or a landscape; everything delves into the heart of the creator and helps describe the painting, photograph, sculpture, mixed media, needlepoint, quilt, etc. I believe a great piece of art is truly in the eyes of the beholder.
What is the role of the artist today?
I am an artist because that has always been my calling. I chose to dedicate myself to art because I love it so much. I originally chose the practical side of artist as a graphic designer and art director. For an artist today it is the safest position to take, if your abilities allow you this great fortune. It is also where an artist can have a loud voice. As a professional artist life is much harder to make yourself heard. Getting out there and marketing your style is a never-ending quest.

This page was published by Circle Foundation for the Arts © CFA Press ∙ Images are courtesy of the artist