Arcadia Fine Arts Gallery Online Log / Blog

If you’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting in front of a painting for an extended amount of time in a public place (such as working in a gallery), you might begin to notice trends in what people say about certain types of work. Time and time again, wherever Matthew Cornell’s work is hanging, people stop to admire the superhuman rendering of landscapes and seascapes by exclaiming how it “looks just like a photograph.” While I understand how that is often meant as a compliment, there is so much more to Cornell’s work than imitating photography— especially within this depiction of a coastline. While Cornell’s brushwork is water-tight, and his surface is immaculate, there is a sensitivity to the ebb and flow of nature that can only come from a brush tip held by a graceful hand. Check out his latest seascape masterpiece— “Unconquerable Sea” that will be on display at the Los Angeles Art Show next week at the L.A. Convention Center.

Matthew Cornell, “Unconquerable Sea,” Oil on Canvas, 22″ x 33″

Matthew Cornell is slowly and surely becoming one of the most strangely exciting and unpredictable painters working with us today. He’s a quiet and fairly cryptic painter, who only tells us that we’re receiving artwork, but rarely actually gives us any idea what we are about to receive. This results in 5 x 6 foot crates with giant wave paintings, or small fedex boxes with one tiny landscape enclosed. With his latest painting to be featured in our Small Works Show, Matthew is back to his intimately small scale, but he has made a departure in subject from the wave paintings that have built his career. Initially painted with our floral group show in mind, [but just a little bit too late (look for the flowers btw....)] this painting features a weathered Florida home, beautifully rendered in Matthews signature single hair brush technique. Look close enough and you can feel what it’s like to endure hurricanes for decade after decade.

Matthew Cornell, “The Studio,” Oil on Panel, 9.5″ x 11.5″

This giant painting from Matthew Cornell showed up unannounced yesterday at the gallery.  You may recognize his work as these tiny little pieces painted with a magnifying glass and single haired brush that normally size up to 4″ x 6″.  This piece is 64.5″ x 73″— that’s pretty large for most painters.  It’s MONUMENTAL for this guy!!!  The finish is as smooth as any of his tiny pieces.  It’s incredible.  I have no clue how he even begins on a piece like this.  Totally breath-taking.

Matthew Cornell, “Genesis II,” Oil on Canvas, 64.5″ x 73″

This morning started by visiting a cruise ship that was docked in the Hudson, to view the artwork on board (some of which was acquired from Arcadia, I might add). It’s the closest I’ve been to a large body of water in quite some time, and it reminded me of this Matthew Cornell painting. I could talk about his super tight technique, and his super smooth surface for years to come. I could even mention how he works with a magnifying glass and a single haired brush, but I really just wanted to show everyone a large body of water while it was on my mind.

Matthew Cornell, “Open Sea,” Oil on Canvas, 24″ x 30″

Since the ice is piled up outside the gallery, I thought it would be nice to live vicariously through Matthew Cornell’s latest wave painting. Here’s a new little gem called “Illuminated Sea.”

“Illuminated Sea,” Oil on Panel, 6″ by 8″

Matthew Cornell’s pastels for Small Works 2010:

Matthew Cornell "Repose" Pastel Paper- 13x9 Frame- 25.5x21.5

Matthew Cornell "Reveal" Pastel Paper- 8.5x6.5 Frame- 19x17

As you can see, we’re just about to send a cargo boxes full of work to The San Francisco Fine Art Fair.  The fair opens May 21st with  a lot of great new work from Ron Hicks, Malcolm Liepke, Matthew Cornell, Michael Chapman, Daniel Sprick, Joseph Todorovich, and Aron Wiesenfeld, plus some brand new work from up and comers Kerry Brooks and Julio Reyes.

Stay tuned for previews of the new work…

Julio Reyes @ the Arcadia booth with American Art Collector editor Amy Elliot

Julio Reyes was one of the many artists whose work was featured at our booth this month at the Los Angeles Art Show 2010.  We received a bunch of new work for the art fair, most of which is posted below.

The show this year was at the LA Convention Center for the second year in a row, a marked improvement from the previous years spent at The Barker Hangar.  Response this year was great, as there were lots of red dots scattered throughout the booth.  Collectors seemed enthusiastic to be collecting again.

Joseph Todorovitch stopped by the booth for a while.  He brought in a significant amount of new work including a piece called “Succulents” that he is submitting for the 2009/2010 Portrait Society of America competition.  We are eagerly looking forward to his upcoming show with us in October 2010.  Todorovitch also had a piece in a group show that same weekend called Who Killed The Music, which was curated by Will.I.Am, which also featured a new piece from Jeremy Lipking.

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Welcome to the big, official blog of Arcadia Gallery.  This is where you can find all of the most up to date news about what our gallery and our artists are up to.  Enjoy!