Arcadia Fine Arts Gallery Online Log / Blog

I really have no long winded art speak to get into this morning. It’s Saturday and I’ve just been scrolling through images of works on their way to New York from LA. As the guy that was manning the fort in New York while the LA show was happening, there are a lot of works that I haven’t even seen in person yet. Then there are other pieces that I saw for a minute between arriving from the framerand then being packed away for shipping. So, I’m pretty excited to see all of the new works arrive and get a chance to spend some quality time with them.

Of those pieces, there’s this little UFO sighting piece from Steven Skollar that I’ve been looking forward to seeing in person. If you recall his last show in the fall of 2010, he started experimenting with these great Maxfield Parrish-esque landscapes with these great flying saucers ominously floating through the twilight sky. He has continued exploring that theme, and I’m pretty excited about it. It seems like a complimentary direction for a guy who has established himself with classically painted portraits of robot toys. He’s a fantastic painter with a fresh perspective on classical realism. Besides, who doesn’t love UFO’s and Maxfield Parrish?

Steven Skollar, “Visitation,” Oil on Canvas, 26.5″ x 22″

While seemingly looking at playful robots, small toys, and pop ephemera- Steven Skollar peels back a layer of Americana culture revealing a more powerful undertone.  By taking a medium such as painting which is so seriously rooted in classical history and churning out paintings of children’s playthings is a statement onto itself. He is asking us to take a closer look at children and ourselves.  After all we all were children at one time, so in his paintings we are looking at ourselves.

Personally I feel that some of his strongest pieces are taking cast-iron robots which speak particularly to the generation of baby boomer Americans.  Are the toys of those 1950′s children the promises of a bright future now forgotten? Where is my rocket pack is a common saying these days, and for a good reason.  The future sold to children of the 1950′s did not come to fruition.  The space age has not arrived, and these toys are the only remnants of a dream, now forgotten as an adult.

If you have been following these posts for a while, you may have noticed how often I talk about how much of a pleasure it is to work with our artists, and how many of these folks are just really great people.  While painting is obviously the key to beginning a working relationship with an artist, the ability to communicate and function as civil human beings dictates the rest of that working relationship.

Having said that— Steven Skollar is one of those guys that is a total pleasure to work with.  He lives in Brooklyn and rides his bike to the gallery just to check in and see what’s going on.  Super great guy– knows everyone that works at the gallery on a personal level, always has a good joke, and is eager to listen when it comes to business.

Bottom line though— this guy is a killer painter.  He’s not just painting some old toy robots.  He’s painting very empathic portraits, that capture a human spirit — and they just happen to begin with toy robots.  The difference between Skollar’s work, and every low brow illustrator out there painting random stuff for the sake of being clever or ironic— is the fact that Skollar’s work is very un-ironically about the human condition.  Real people outside of this art game, can find themselves in his work.  There is an honesty in his work that resonates, a technical quality that is beyond compare, and he’s a pleasure to work with.

Steven Skollar, “Robert,” Oil on Canvas, 38″ x 26″

Before the Mr. Softee theme song became the soundtrack of a New York summer, there were Good Humor Trucks. There is a certain generation that fully appreciates the reference, however it’s pretty easy to appreciate the painting. Steven Skollar has a brilliant knack for exalting nostalgic memorabilia into fine, tasteful works through classical painting skills and true reverence.

Steven Skollar, “We All Scream,” Oil on Canvas, 8.5″ x 12″

The basement walls full of new work for the Small Works Show .

Just giving you a little preview of the first show of our 2010 fall season: The Annual Small Works Show 2010.  This will be a group show of works roughly 12″ x 12″ or smaller (mostly…).  The show contains some fantastic little gems from a wide range of artists from Dan Adel to Aron Wiesenfeld.  We will be posting previews until the opening of the show- September 23, 2010 at 6 pm.  Stay tuned!

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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!