Sunday, October 16, 2011

Heidi Alamanda Visits Martin Wittfooth's The Passions at Lyons Wier Gallery

I haven't been out to NYC lately for attending some art openings or for other fun exploration. Mostly I've been busy with my own art, but I wish I had more time to see more of art shows. Pushing myself to step out to a destination is always challenging when I'm focused and time is a constraint. Sometimes I feel bad since I truly enjoy seeing other people's art. Seeing other artists' creation always makes me grateful because I'm so glad that these people with talent and different styles of artwork are sharing their arts to the world.

I had planned attending my friend's, Martin Wittfooth, opening a while back since he announced the official date.  The only painting I've previously seen in person of Martin's was a small sized painting for Cotton Candy Machine's inaugural show.  I've been wanting to see more of  his paintings since then, so I was glad when he told me about his upcoming solo show at Lyons Wier Gallery.

Martin Wittfooth's solo show entitled The Passions featured eight huge oil paintings on canvas and three charcoal drawing studies. He also released a limited edition of twenty giclée prints of one of his paintings, The Sacrifice.

If you see Wittfooth's work either in person or online, you will sense the influence of Dutch old masters' style. This new body of work really showed his mastery of classical technique. The merging of the modern setting world that symbolized the suffering animal kingdom as martyrs as a result of human-created environmental disasters, and the aesthetic manner of Dutch masters, really pulled me as a viewer to contemplate deeper beneath each of Wittfooth's painting throughout the body of work.

Personally, the classical aesthetic of his paintings brought me to the serene feeling of how beautiful the world we live in, then the chaotic surrounding suddenly strucked me to the realization of the suffering that I couldn't control.

There are always small things when I go or look outside that remind me of how amazingly beautiful this world is, but I fear that the uncontrollable human-created disasters  slowly creeping and may turn everything into faded memories one day. Martin Wittfooth's works reminded me of that feeling. His works are not only captivating but they also make me think.

Martin Wittfooth "The Passions" runs until November 12, 2011 at Lyons Wier Gallery.

Lyons Wier Gallery 
542 West 24th Street
New York, NY 10011
Phone: (212) 242-6220 
www.lyonswiergallery.com

Photos from the opening
(all photos by David F. Luecke, © Alamanda Art. Original works © their respective creators. All rights reserved.)






The Coronation

The Rapture

The Ecstasy

Sebastian - charcoal drawing study

Pieta

Martin with his painting "The Sacrifice" as the background

Martin Wittfooth and Jenny Morgan


Martin, Martin's beautiful Mom, and me

Sebastian

The Baptism

The Sacrifice (limited giclée)



Martin and Victoria Selbach



Details from The Rapture

Details from The Baptism
Details from The Baptism


Domini Canis - charcoal drawing study


Domini Canis


Some other photos of NYC at night on our way for dinner at Olieng restaurant after the opening







and finally food!


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