Michael J. Abraham

"Light Switch" Contemporary Pastel Toned Hyperrealist Still Life Painting

2024

Contemporary pastel toned hyperrealist still life painting of an electric outlet plug by Texas-based artist Michael J. Abraham. Recently featured in "Michael J. Abraham: Quasi-Realis...

Contemporary abstract interior still life painting by local Houston artist Tommy Taylor. Currently featured in the show "Septet" at Reeves Art + Design in Houston, TX. Signed, titled...

Contemporary pastel toned abstract painting by Houston based artist Kristen Anton. The work features grey, pink, brown, and orange blocks of color accented with layers of brushwork. ...

Contemporary abstract interior still life painting by local Houston artist Tommy Taylor. Currently featured in the show "Septet" at Reeves Art + Design in Houston, TX. Signed, titled...

Intimate paintings represented by unmade beds and tossed sheets, absent of any human evidence, on intentionally blank, somewhat rough backgrounds. The empty bed in these paintings represents a place for grief, isolation or healing. As such, the work speaks to our shared feeling of grief, with the understanding that while we all suffer in our individual ways, suffering is universal. Source material for this work are photographs the artist has both taken and found, and the intimate size of the paintings references the intimate nature of the subject matter. The backgrounds of the paintings are repeatedly painted and sanded, to create a frame and backdrop for the bedding that is flat, yet rough with work and time. The bedding itself is seen from different perspectives, but still indicates a scene of desolation and despair. While the series began in the fall of 2016, recent events—including the pandemic—have provided a new dimension to the work and have compelled Serpick to consider the themes in light of these events. Our forced isolation and the challenges it has brought to our physical and mental health provides an additional shared experience from which to consider grief and eventual healing. Biography Stephanie Serpick is a painter whose work explores themes of isolation, grief, and healing. Her work has been shown in various exhibitions in the U.S. and internationally, and she is a fellow at several residencies, most notably at the Florence Trust Studios in London, MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, and the Vermont Studio Center, where she was awarded a full fellowship and stipend to attend. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at Sweet Lorraine Gallery in Brooklyn, the College of Southern Nevada, and a two-person exhibition at The Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute at the Museum of Art at Pratt in Utica NY...

Solitaire (It’s 3am) Nicholas Maravell, American Date: 1992 Oil on Canvas, signed, titled and dated in marker on verso Size: 78 x 54.5 in. (198.12 x 138.43 cm)

Signed, verso, 'Tom Kraa' and dated 1987 on stretcher; bearing original gallery label verso with artist name, date and title, 'Funny Money'. Previously with: DW Gallery, Dallas, Texas An exceptional trompe-l'œil still life showing illuminated party lights, United States currency and a crossword puzzle against the backdrop of a sheet of pegboard. This little known artist exhibited with the prestigious DW Gallery in Dallas in the year before it closed. Along with several other women, Linda Samuels (formerly Linda Surls) started the DW Gallery (DWG) as a small women's co-op at McKinney and Hall streets in 1975. In the first few years, the gallery was staffed by member artists, each of whom worked three days a month and paid a $33 monthly fee toward overhead costs. Throughout its 13-year history, the gallery developed a reputation for recognizing raw talent and eventually became one of the nation's most respected showcases for contemporary regional artists. DWG was the first to exhibit several "new" artists who are nationally recognized today, including Lee N. Smith, David Bates, and Clyde Connell. The gallery was also successful at promoting up-and-coming Dallas artists such as David McManaway, John Hernandez, and Sam Gummelt. In 1978, the gallery was incorporated after receiving backing from founding member Lou Alpert (formerly Frederickson). By 1980, when director Linda Samuels moved to California, the gallery had expanded twice. In 1981, Diana Block succeeded Samuels as DWG director. Under Block, the gallery continued its successful theme exhibits, including a popular Book/Art exhibition. In 1983, DWG expanded to a new space on Main Street in Deep Ellum and opened a bookstore in a renovated warehouse. In 1986, when the gallery again needed to expand, it moved to new space on Canton and Oakland Streets rented from John Tatum, Dallas developer and major stockholder in DWG. After a dispute over the lease, the gallery closed in September 1988. By this time, its operating budget had increased from $24,000 to $100,000 since 1981, with investors contributing less than 25 percent of the annual budget. The closing exhibition, The Last Show, was guest-curated by founding member Linda Samuel. It featured recent works by each of the 28 artists associated with the gallery over the past year. The gallery received postcard tributes from more than 80 artists who had exhibited there through the years, including Bob Wade, Peter Julian, Gilda Pervin, James Surls, Benito Huerta, Dan Rizzie, Danny Williams, Bill Komodore, and Frank Tolbert.

Very nicely painted American school Trompe L'oeil still life painting. Finely executed with great detail. Signed. Framed. Ready to hang!