Jacob Collins: Recent Paintings
April 29th - June 4th 2004
April 29th - June 4th 2004
On Thursday, April 29, 2004, Hirschl & Adler Modern will open an exhibition of recent paintings by the New York artist Jacob Collins, his first solo show at the gallery. A 16-page catalogue featuring an essay by art historian and art critic John T. Spike accompanies the exhibition.
More than forty oils will be on view, most of them completed in the past fifteen months, ranging in size from a dazzling still life of Roses, 10 x 12 in. to larger landscapes such as the sumptuous and chromatic Great South Bay from Fire Island, Off Season, 30 x 54 in. The subjects separate into four groups: still lifes, portraits, figures, and landscapes.
The exhibition is timely, as it occurs during a powerful resurgence of interest in the figure and in academic modes of representation among contemporary American artists. As founder and director of his own private art school, The Water Street Atelier, Collins finds himself at the forefront of a new generation of representational artists striving for excellence, for whom tradition is held in the highest esteem. Whether the subject is a landscape, figure, still life, or portrait, Collins' work demonstrates an unparalleled technical mastery and skill. Of the show, John Spike writes:
So the question posed by Jacob Collins' new paintings at Hirschl & Adler Modern in this spring of 2004 is whether American realism means looking backward or, as history might be trying to tell us, forward. American painting did not die twenty years ago, as critics said then, but it was sleeping profoundly. This show represents a wakeup call, as Collins is well aware. ìThis is an important moment,î he said recently, ìand I hope to be a part of the changes that will take place.î
Collins' work fits neatly into the tradition of great figurative painting exhibited by Hirschl & Adler Galleries and Hirschl & Adler Modern over the past fifty years, from the works of John Singleton Copley and Charles Willson Peale to those of Robert Henri and Fairfield Porter. Jacob Collins is a welcome addition to this distinguished lineage, and fulfills our interest in presenting the very best of both earlier and contemporary art.
More than forty oils will be on view, most of them completed in the past fifteen months, ranging in size from a dazzling still life of Roses, 10 x 12 in. to larger landscapes such as the sumptuous and chromatic Great South Bay from Fire Island, Off Season, 30 x 54 in. The subjects separate into four groups: still lifes, portraits, figures, and landscapes.
The exhibition is timely, as it occurs during a powerful resurgence of interest in the figure and in academic modes of representation among contemporary American artists. As founder and director of his own private art school, The Water Street Atelier, Collins finds himself at the forefront of a new generation of representational artists striving for excellence, for whom tradition is held in the highest esteem. Whether the subject is a landscape, figure, still life, or portrait, Collins' work demonstrates an unparalleled technical mastery and skill. Of the show, John Spike writes:
So the question posed by Jacob Collins' new paintings at Hirschl & Adler Modern in this spring of 2004 is whether American realism means looking backward or, as history might be trying to tell us, forward. American painting did not die twenty years ago, as critics said then, but it was sleeping profoundly. This show represents a wakeup call, as Collins is well aware. ìThis is an important moment,î he said recently, ìand I hope to be a part of the changes that will take place.î
Collins' work fits neatly into the tradition of great figurative painting exhibited by Hirschl & Adler Galleries and Hirschl & Adler Modern over the past fifty years, from the works of John Singleton Copley and Charles Willson Peale to those of Robert Henri and Fairfield Porter. Jacob Collins is a welcome addition to this distinguished lineage, and fulfills our interest in presenting the very best of both earlier and contemporary art.