ISABEL SULLIVAN GALLERY

New Realism - Looking Forward and Back

Thursday March 14th, 2024 - Sunday April 21st, 2024

39 Lispenard Street NY, NY 10013

“The past and present wilt – I have fill’d them, emptied them, And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.” – Song of Myself, Walt Whitman 

Isabel Sullivan Gallery is pleased to present Realism Today: Looking Forward and Back as its inaugural exhibition in Tribeca. The group exhibition, featuring recent works by Neil Jenney, Joseph Santore, Elisa Jensen, Victor Leger, Mercer Tullis, and Frank Webster, will be on view from March 14 through April 21, 2024. An opening reception will be held on March 14 from 6-8pm at 39 Lispenard Street. 

A myriad of iterations of Realism have emerged since its inception in late 19th century France. Gustave Courbet and Jean-Francois Millet sought to convey truth and objectivity through embodied depictions of modern life and its array of social classes. German artists Otto Dix and George Grosz’s meticulous Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity) paintings, created during the short-lived Weimar Republic, responded to the brutality of the First World War. Their American counterparts, Edward Hopper and George Bellows, created a new American visual idiom through their depictions of the urbanization of America and its shifting class structures. Despite the disparate geographical production of these Realist painters, what each respective iteration shares most prominently is their emergence and proliferation following great moments of social, political, or cultural change. 

The past few years have been no exception to this artistic penchant, as there has been an increase in artists turning to themes intrinsic to Realism, and a recommitment to time-honored subjects, such as genre, landscape, and figurative. Realism has always functioned primarily as a means to record our epoch and its dwellers, however in its present context, the paintings included possess both objectivity and expression. Through Jenney’s painted, sculptural skyscapes, to Jensen’s shadowed, yet vibrant, intimate interiors, to Santore’s dynamic and existential paintings reflecting the human condition, to Mercer’s meditative yet piercing graphite works, and finally to Webster and Leger’s serene topographical canvases, we pose the question: What is Realism today? 

The exhibition presents a selection of paintings that utilize various concepts and technical aspects of Realism. Realism today stands as the rebirth of the three-dimensional picture plane, and a turning away from abstraction. The artists included explore both internal and external space, the natural world and urban life, memory and imagination, offering a respite from the modern world. Their reflections of nature and humanity are presented for us to behold, to momentarily possess and perhaps to stir a particular affect. Our exhibition presents a survey of artists looking both forward and back – painting through the tides of today. 

The gallery is delighted to have organized this exhibition in collaboration with Neil Jenney, who has remained ardently committed to both curating and exhibiting shows associated with Realism. He most recently curated the group exhibition American Realism Today at the New Britain Museum of American Art, from September 16, 2022- January 01, 2023, in which Mercer Tullis and Victor Leger were included. We are indebted to his generosity, kindness, and guidance in helping the gallery realize our inaugural exhibition. 

American Realism Today

Friday, September 16, 2022 - Sunday, January 01, 2023

56 Lexington St, New Britain, CT 06052

Capturing scenes of the landscape and everyday life, American Realism Today celebrates the rich tradition of Realist art in America while reflecting the innovative spirit of our contemporary times. The exhibition encompasses more than 50 paintings, sculptures, and works on paper, by a network of 21 artists working across generations, including Robert Lobe, Kathleen Gilje, Joseph McNamara, James Prosek, Faith Ringgold, Mercer Tullis and many others.

American Realism Today is curated by acclaimed artist Neil Jenney (b. 1945, Torrington, CT), who is known for his unique and influential brand of Realist painting, steeped in the landscape, people, and pastimes of America. The subject of a retrospective exhibition at the NBMAA in 2018, Jenney now returns to the Museum as artist-curator, presenting the first survey of contemporary American Realism made by the current New York scene in over half a century.

December 28, 2013 - January 11, 2014

15 WARREN STREET, NY 10007

Three young artists from Lower Manhattan—Abeline Cohen, Andrew Kass

and Sean Vegezzi—have curated an exhibition that represents perspectives

not often championed by the art world, presented in a disused retail space

that still holds vestiges of its history. On December 28, paintings,

installations, photographs, videos, sculptures and live performances will

be on display for one week before the interior is demolished and becomes

corporate office space.

The participants’ diversity is a piece in itself– works will be

shown from artists of all ages and backgrounds: some contributors have

gallery representation, while others have never formally engaged with the

art world before. This unprecedented collaboration is possible because

the gutted tri-level space on 15 Warren Street was provided for free just

before its renovation. By holding the show in 15 Warren, the curators and

participants seek to create an environment where art is divorced from

financial market-pressures.

Participants had a week to confirm their involvement, then another two

to create before installation. Because 15 Warren offers a rare opportunity

for artists to experiment without the pressure of making a sale, the

curators encouraged participants to challenge themselves and use a medium

they had never worked in or shown before.

An emerging voice in the New York art world, artist and first-time

curator Sean Vegezzi highlights the importance of this opportunity: “I

know how difficult it is to find safe places for self-inquiry in New York;

I’ve always worked hard to find them– with or without permission. We

finally get the chance to create our own and it’s been interesting to see

what people do when they’re free of financial and social pressure.