City as Subject

50 artists present their creative response to life in NYC
Curated by Xico Greenwald

On view from September 20th through October 5th, 2014
Westbeth Gallery 55 Bethune Street (at Washington Street)
New York, NY 10014 www.westbeth.org
Gallery hours: Wed—Sun: 1-6pm
Mon—Tues: Closed

Opening Reception: September 20th, 6 to 8pm
Poetry Reading: October 5th, 3 to 5pm

New York City, the adopted hometown for thousands of artists, has been the center of the international art world for decades. But for many of the painters, sculptors and photographers here, New York offers more than career opportunities and cultural riches; for some, this place, buzzing with life, is as alive a subject as a friend sitting for their portrait.
City as Subject, displaying abstract and representational pieces in a variety of mediums by emerging, mid-career and established artists, presents a range of artistic responses to New York City life, including pictures of its parks and dog runs, views from subway platforms and skyscrapers, derelict alleyways and active construction sites, capturing the grandeur and grime of a bustling metropolis.
Westbeth is the world’s largest live/work facility for artists, a nonprofit art colony providing affordable housing and studio space since 1970. As rents continue to rise across the five boroughs, artists are routinely priced out of New York City. But Westbeth operates under the principle “that the life of a city and the persistence of the arts depend on the accessibility of affordable housing and work studios for artists.” Some of the painters in this exhibition are Westbeth residents and some grew up here. With its commitment to preserving a diverse creative culture in New York City, Westbeth Gallery provides a suitable setting for this show.
In this great city, human presence is everywhere, its colors and shapes conveying a sense of shared experience. Though it would be impossible to organize a definitive exhibition on the creative influence of New York, the nearly fifty artists in City as Subject demonstrate that, despite the challenges of daily life here, the constant change and rushing crowds, inspiration may lie just around the corner.
Xico Greenwald, 2014

EXHIBITING ARTISTS:

Lennart Anderson
Kerry Law
Ben Aronson
Andrew Lenaghan
Olive Ayhens
Ying Li
E.L. Brown
Mari Lyons
Rudy Burckhardt
Ron Milewcz
Simon Carr
Loren Munk
William Carroll
Janice Nowinski
Ryan Cobourn
Elizabeth O’Reilly
Peter Colquhoun
Fran O’Neill
Carol Diamond
Neil Plotkin
Diane Drescher
Michael Putnam
John Dubrow
Thaddeus Radell
Jane Freilicher
Eleanor Ray
Marianne Gagnier
Deborah Rosenthal
Kyle Gallup
Peter Ruta
Todd Gordon
Joseph Santore
John Goodrich
Dena Schutzer
Eric Holzman
Tony Serio
Diana Horowitz
Kim Sloane
Katherine Jackson
Steve Stankiewicz
Elisa Jensen
Kamilla Talbot
David Kapp
Scott Williams
Julian Kreimer
Thornton Willis

INFORMATION

For interviews, guided exhibition tours or supplemental information, please contact

Xico Greenwald 917-291-0409
xicogreenwald@yahoo.com