Exhibition by Rackstraw Downes and Stanley Lewis now on view at Betty Cuningham Gallery
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Sunday, December 22, 2024


Exhibition by Rackstraw Downes and Stanley Lewis now on view at Betty Cuningham Gallery
Stanley Lewis, Winslow Park, Westport, 2010-2014, Oil on canvas, 21 1/4 x 35 1/4 inches.



NEW YORK, NY.- “Paint what you see! Paint what you see!” so exclaims Stanley Lewis to a group visiting his retrospective at American University in 2007, describing the mammoth challenge that he faces daily in his own work. Meanwhile Rackstraw Downes traverses the country conscious of season, light, ditches and power lines to find a site that satisfies “some inner need”.

Betty Cuningham Gallery is now conducting a two-person show featuring major paintings by Rackstraw Downes and Stanley Lewis. Both Downes and Lewis are on-site painters. Both fight for ‘honest’ observation, with a shared interest in the particular and the mundane. However, they differ greatly by method, by subject, by need, and even sometimes by humor. While Rackstraw will travel miles to sites which intrigue him, Stanley stays put and paints where he is. In a 2006 gallery video Rackstraw speaks about his frustration to do it right: “Do it again, Downes, and get it right this time, the way it REALLY is!! And I love that!”

In a letter to the gallery Stanley writes about trying to get it right: “To do my BEST means I go very slowly and try to get everything as good as I can before I move on – I always have to redo everything almost 100 times. Very Slow process. After my eyes warm up, I see every blade of grass.”

Both share the need for adjustment and change. Downes will often find the need to extend his canvas, to include a more than 180º view, splicing on sections on left or right, top or bottom. Lewis on the other hand self-corrects, piling paper over paper, incorporating tears and sometimes staples or nails all towards getting it right. Downes’ canvases surround the viewer demanding a virtual visit to the location, and often exposing an environmental/political message. On the other hand, Lewis’ thickly worked, bas-relief canvases physically share the viewer’s space and open a complex experience of discovery.

A juxtaposition of these two painters, who work to capture the truth of their subjects, opens-up the question of personal observation and objectivity: Painting and building on each moment in time through their personally constructed windows.

“Paint what you SEE!”

“Do it again! And get it RIGHT this time!”

Stanley Lewis was born in Somerville, NJ in 1941. He received a BA from Wesleyan University in 1963 and an MFA from Yale University in 1967 as a Danforth Fellow. Throughout his career, Lewis has held posts as teacher and critic at various institutions including Kansas City Art Institute, Smith College, and American University. In 2005, Lewis received a Guggenheim Fellowship and in 2015 he received an Arts and Letters Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. His work can be found in numerous public collections including the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; National Academy Museum, New York, NY; Hollins University Gallery, Roanoke, VA; William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation, Mt. Kisco, NY; the Collections of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Geneva, NY; and the Watkins Collection at American University, Washington, DC, among others. In 2007, the Katzen Art Center at American University, Washington, DC hosted a retrospective of the artist’s work. Lewis lives and works in Leeds, MA.

Rackstraw Downes, born in England in 1939, received his BA from University of Cambridge in 1961 and his BFA and MFA from Yale University in 1963 and 1964 respectively. He remained in the United States, becoming a citizen in 1980. He is the recipient of the Guggenheim (1998) and MacArthur (2009) Fellowships, and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters (1999). A retrospective, Rackstraw Downes: Onsite Paintings, 1972-2008, was organized by the Parrish Art Museum in 2010. It traveled to the Portland Museum of Art, ME, and the Weatherspoon Museum in Greensboro, NC. His work is in the collections of several museums including The Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art.

This exhibition is accompanied by an online viewing room and will be open to the public through Friday, July 28, 2023.










Today's News

April 12, 2023

Auctioneer admits to helping create fake works shown as Basquiats in Orlando

Brenda A. Levin, FAIA Archive donated to the Getty Research Institute

Bonhams' first Islamic and Indian sale in Paris achieves strong results

Sapar Contemporary Gallery to open 'Sofia Cacciapaglia: INCANTO' on April 13th

Phillips to offer Roger Smith's career defining, handmade pocket watch number two, a landmark achievement in watchmaking

Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair opens this May

High Museum announces Director of Communications Natali Johnson

Monique Meloche celebrates announcement of representation of Lavar Munroe and her 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship

Liberty Science Center launc es "Big Art" program with new inaugural installations by Leandro Erlich and Dustin Yellin

Inès van den Kieboom's 'Le Temps des Cerises' on view through May 20th at Tim Van Laere Gallery

JG.Limited announces History & Culture timed online auction, April 25th

Exhibition by Rackstraw Downes and Stanley Lewis now on view at Betty Cuningham Gallery

Polk Museum of Art opens scholastic art & writing awards student exhibition

Art in the Twenty-First Century: begins eleventh season of series on contemporary art

"Gabriela Vainsencher: Epic, Heroic, Ordinary" at Asya Geisberg Gallery for last 3 days

Michael Lerner, 'Elf' and 'Barton Fink' actor, dies at 81

Construction begins to restore first Christian church tower

New digital art commission by Rick Silva launches on whitney.org

New Orleans Museum of Art appoints Brian Piper as Freeman Family Curator of Photographs, Prints, and Drawings

KP Projects proudly presents the new solo exhibition of Henri Dauman

Review: 'White Girl in Danger' flips the script on soap operas

Janny Ji (Wangyingzhi Ji) shares her stories of leading prominent design agencies and judging prestigious competitions

Sublimation Tumblers: The Ultimate Solution For Your Drink

Everything You Should Know About Beautyforever V Part Wigs

Tips for Choosing a Domain Name for a Website

The Limitations of Using BMI as a Measure of Health

Get the Best Promo Codes at the Top Social & Sweepstakes Casinos so You Can Redeem Winnings for Cash Prizes




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful