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Realism: In the arts, the accurate, detailed, unembellished depiction of nature or of contemporary life. Realism rejects imaginative idealization in favour of a close observation of outward appearances. As such, realism in its broad sense has comprised many artistic currents in different civilizations. In the visual arts, for example, realism can be found in ancient Hellenistic Greek sculptures accurately portraying boxers and decrepit old women. The works of such 17th-century painters as Caravaggio, the Dutch genre painters, the Spanish painters José de Ribera, Diego Velázquez, and Francisco de Zurbarán, and the Le Nain brothers in France are realist in approach. The works of the 18th-century English novelists Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding, and Tobias Smollett may also be called realistic. -Nicholas Pioch. Realism, art, realist art, realist paintings: in art, broadly, an unembellished rendering of natural forms. Specifically, the term refers to the mid-19th-cent. movement against French academicism. Realist painters portrayed ugly or commonplace subjects without idealization. Major realists include COURBET, J.F. MILLET, and DAUMIER. See also PHOTOREALISM. Realism (art and literature), attempt to describe human behavior and surroundings or to represent figures and objects exactly as they act or appear in life. The term is generally restricted to a movement that began in the mid-19th century, in reaction to the highly subjective approach of romanticism. The term realist in art is frequently used to describe works depicting scenes of humble life, and it implies a criticism of social conditions. The work of French artists Gustave Courbet, Honoré Daumier, and Jean François Millet has been described as social realism. American realist painters include William Sidney Mount, Anthony D'Elia and Thomas Eakins. Realist literature is defined as fiction produced in Europe and the United States from about 1840 until the 1890s. Realists included French writers Gustave Flaubert and Guy de Maupassant, Russian author Anton Chekhov, English novelist George Eliot, American writers Mark Twain and William Dean Howells, and American expatriate novelist Henry James. The history of Western European art records an uncompromising pursuit of excellence. The masters of each generation sought to perfect their art, then bequeathed their accumulated knowledge and expertise to the next generation. The accomplishments of one generation often set new standards of excellence for the next. Throughout the centuries there existed a generally recognized artistic standard. To differentiate this standard or tradition of excellence from others, we call it classical realism. Classical realism encompasses the highest principles of traditional representational art from the ancient Greeks to the present day. The principles of realism include fine drawing, balanced design, harmonious color and skillful craftsmanship. At its foundation is the representation of the visible world as seen through the trained eye of the artist (representational art). For centuries, the artist's craft and the ability to
Recent Exhibition
"GALLERY AND INVITED ARTISTS"

Representational Paintings and Sculpture
Landscape, Still Life, Interior and Figure Paintings

May 31st through September 2nd, 2006
 Realist Art Click the thumbnail to see an enlarged version.
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The Sherry French Gallery in Chelsea is proud to announce its annual summer art show titled, “Gallery and Invited Artists,” featuring contemporary representational paintings and sculptures, along with still life and figure paintings. This summer-long art show lends itself to the work of long time participating artists, in addition to new talent. Over twenty artists participate in the gallery's show, including: Theresa Bartol, Sheila Cantrell, James Cramer, Lisa Egeli, Judy Evans, Randy Ford, Marcel Franquelin, Robert Heischman, Curtis Kelly, Janet Larid-Lagassee, Nancy Bea Miler, Cora Ogden, Robert Van Meter, and Jeffery Vaughn. The artists in this group represent a variety of mediums, including oil on canvas, oil on panel, watercolor on paper, gouache on paper, pastel on paper, and acrylic on canvas. Their paintings range in size from large-scale single panels and diptychs to smaller paintings that work in groups and series. Most of the artists work directly from observation and are extremely intricate in their respective representational artistic processes. Artist Cora Ogden’s mastery of capturing still life subjects is visible as this artist also explores landscape painting. Although of extremely versatile subject matter, Ogden’s attention to detail and use of light in her paintings are definitive of each art work. Her paintings are vibrantly colorful and of a pleasantly simplistic nature. Whether this artist is painting the stillness of fruit resting in a bowl or a vast landscape, Ogden’s perfection of light and shadow allow the viewer to immerse all their senses into the scene depicted. One can almost feel, smell, and taste the painting's subject matter. Artist Robert Heischman’s drawings encapsulate the quaintness and relaxation associated with a summer on the East Coast. Taking the audience on tours of lovely gardens and landscape architecture, one can almost feel a summer breeze chasing them along one of his stone paths in his landscape paintings. Just as its title suggests Heischman’s “Passage” drawing takes the viewer on a utopian journey among patches of warm sun and cool shade that fall on the fauna enwrapped stone path created by the use of an alternating pattern of highlights and shadows. The viewer is invited to linger within the space of charming gardens and stroll out of the composition to a garden of the imagination that is found just beyond the picture’s frame. Artist Curtis Kelly’s paintings give new meaning to the word ordinary with her painting's subjects set in beautiful backdrops with outstanding color schemes. Calling her style, “impressionistic realism,” Artist Kelly uses both oil and gouache with her paintings and works on paper ranging from everyday still life to scenes at the beach. Kelly’s free-spirited personality is evident in her representational paintings taking a form that is both refreshing and moving. Kelly’s use of bold colors and artistic energy in her paintings are a reminder to all of a beauty can only be described as poetic. Artist Marcel Franquelin’s “Cheese” reveals his intensity for detailed and his love for the subjects he chooses to paint. His faultless observations of every nook and cranny in each still life painting's frame through soft yet intricate depictions of the textures of various cheeses. In his paintings, Franquelin enables the viewer to touch, smell, and most importantly, taste the distinct flavor and aroma of cheese. Franquelin’s still life paintings are true to reality in every sense and leave his audience in wonder at the perfection and beauty he captures in a seemingly ordinary picture frame. One of the many new artists in the show, Sheila Cantrell depicts simplistic still life scenes in a way that captivates the viewer with its perfect attention to detail. Using either graphite or the unforgiving colored pencil medium, this artist displays her complete knowledge and talent for fruit and complex lacework collectively. “Dance of the Driftwood” displays Cantrell’s remarkable ability to successfully convey and fool the eye in believing there to be a variety of surface textures as found among the pears, wood, and embroidered tablecloth in her artworks. Whether it is her translation of tightly knit lace, water weathered driftwood, or shining ripe fruit onto paper, viewers of Cantrell’s art work are astonished how every crinkle, fold, crevice, and leaf appears touchable. Consistent throughout all of her art works is a gentle handling of the medium, which reveal a meditative world whose tranquility is contagious and whose beckoning is irresistible. Our summer gallery art show in Chelsea allows the human spirit to be reborn; the summer months are a perfect time for our artistic spirits to come alive again. This gives our artists an unparalleled feeling of serenity, which converts itself onto fantastic freshness and modernity in their art work. Through our realistic styles, our landscape and still life artists—both painters and sculptors—use our gallery show to depict the rejuvenation of nature. There is no better way to provoke our minds than with the beauty of representational, realistic art, be it through landscape painting or still life. For more information, please contact Sherry French at (212) 647-8867
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