THE MODERN PRIMITIVES

Transcription

1 THE MODERN PRIMITIVES PALM BEACH EXHIBITION 2012

2 THE MODERN PRIMITIVES PALM BEACH EXHIBITION 2012 He n r i Ma i k ( ) Gu s t av o No v o a (b. 1946) Annette Ollivary (b.1926)

3 He n r i Ma i k ( ) An extraordinary interpreter of the animal world as we know it, Henri Maik didn t like the labels of Primitive or Naïf painter. He simply liked painter, and there certainly was nothing simple about his work. In many ways, the paintings of Henri Maik are paradoxical, at once familiar and strange, childlike and sophisticated, quiet and vocal with color. They are dreamscapes, their terrain lush with fields of simple flowers, exotic trees, rare birds and the beasts of the jungle. In a Maik painting, you enter a community of creatures, at rest and at play, dwelling in perfect harmony, which seem to look out at us, as if to suggest we might do as they are doing. Multi-talented, Maik who was born in Paris on March 27, 1922, was influenced by his fashionable illustrator father which eventually led him to create tapestries woven in collaboration with Aubusson, and create a collection of limited edition fine jewelry, and simultaneously authored and illustrated several popular children s books throughout France. In 1964 Wally Findlay Galleries recognized his talent and hosted Maik s premier United States exhibition in Palm Beach, Florida. This was to be the first of many successful exhibitions presented at the Galleries in New York, Chicago, Palm Beach, Beverly Hills, Tokyo and Paris. The Musée de l Art Moderne, Paris, featured Henri Maik s paintings in 1966, 1967 and 1968 in an exhibition of sacred art. The Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris featured his canvases in 1966 and Maik s work garnered critical acclaim in exhibitions at the Abbey of Salinsles- Bains (Jura) in 1965 and in 1966 at the Galerie Johnson, Usès (Gard). In 1968 he was honored with an exhibit at the Maison de la Culture d Argenteuil. By the late 1980 s Maik had exhibited in the Salon d Automne, the Salon de Bollène, the Centre National de la Tapissserie d Aubusson, as well as the Salon of Swedish Art. His paintings are in the National Museum of Budapest, the Center of Contemporary and Experimental Art at Rebhoboth, Israel, the Musée d Art Naif de I lle-de-france at Vicq and the Musée de Colmar.

4 Henri Maik UN RECONTRE 38 x 51 in., OIL ON CANVAS

5 UN DETAIL: UN RECONTRE 38 x 51 in., OIL ON CANVAS

6 Henri Maik LES TROIS COPAINS 31 x 25 in., OIL ON CANVAS

7 DETAIL: LES TROIS COPAINS 31 x 25 in., OIL ON CANVAS

8 Henri Maik MARCHE DANS LES HAUTES HERBES, X 44 in., OIL ON CANVAS

9 DETAIL: MARCHE DANS LES HAUTES HERBES, X 44 in., OIL ON CANVAS

10 Henri Maik MISS TIGRE 51 x 38 in., OIL ON CANVAS

11 DETAIL: MISS TIGRE 51 x 38 in., OIL ON CANVAS

12 Henri Maik LA JEUNESSE, X 13 in., OIL ON CANVAS

13 DETAIL: LA JEUNESSE, X 13 in., OIL ON CANVAS

14 Gu s t av o No v o a (b. 1946) In his sublime, constructed and dream-like jungles where the lions lay down with the zebras, and panthers and pandas share the shade with African monkeys and American raccoons, Novoa s bonds with the surreal become hard to shake once you embrace them. The gently radiant colors of Novoa s luxuriant foliage seem to wield a mystical power, the power of bringing together both predator and prey, both the strong and the meek. Opposite forces transcend the ruthless laws of nature to bring harmony to the whole composition and essence of living. Gustavo Novoa was born in 1941 into a family of lawyers in Santiago, Chile. He attended the Academy of Fine Arts followed by a year of law school, only to learn that a career behind a desk was not going to satisfy his quest in life. Since the early 1970 s Novoa has been exclusively represented by Wally Findlay Galleries. His one-man shows were highlighted in exhibitions through the network of Wally Finlday Galleries worldwide. Novoa has also enjoyed success as the author of several books and established himself as a champion of the environment and wildlife conservation. In recent years, Novoa s work has moved towards surrealist expression. This turning point spurred a surrealist exhibition Art from Art that opened in March 1998 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Santiago, Chile. In these recent pieces, we can appreciate a more liberal posture in the realities of his imagined world. His extraordinary artistic career has been collected by a spectrum of admirers: from the Warhol avant-garde of the 1970s, to the Hollywood Academy winning celebrities, to the social icons of Palm Beach to Capri, including recognition from the first families of Reagan and Bush.

15 Gustavo Novoa THE SPELL 36 x 36 in., ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

16 DETAIL: THE SPELL 36 x 36 in., ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

17 Gustavo Novoa FULL MOON PROMISE 24 x 20 in., ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

18 DETAIL: FULL MOON PROMISE 24 x 20 in., ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

19 Gustavo Novoa GUARDING THE UNICORN 40 X 30 in., ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

20 DETAIL: GUARDING THE UNICORN 40 X 30 in., ACRYLIC ON CANVAS

21 Annette Ollivary (b.1926) Annette Ollivary s family is Burgundian in origin, but she was born in Marseille on December 12, She spent her happiest days growing up on the Cote d Or of Burgundy. From Marseille she went to Paris to study painting at the Academie Julian. Those who see her paintings today are inevitably reminded of the work of Rousseau, but the resemblance is actually only superficial. Annette was adamant that she had never seen any of his work when she started to paint. An attentive study of her canvases reveal that Annette paints in a manner that is distinctly her own. Her lifelong work has amused and charmed critics across all genres of art. Most of Annette s exhibitions were part of group exhibits due to the fact that a single painting would take months to finish, thus providing less than six to eight works a year. Her subjects evoke the initial impression of primitive or naïve painting. There is nothing primitive of naïve about her work. Every line, every stroke of her brush exhibits sure craftsmanship, a sense of composition, a planned use of color, a solid foundation of design. Annette is occupied with a world that seems linked to a Golden Age or a lost paradise. Her forests and fields are filled with gentle creatures living together in peace. The fanciful animals are the pets of the bemused children who play in the forests. Flowers of all colors bloom in profusion, bathed in the calm and limpid air. Placid ponds and murmuring brooks of crystalline clearness traverse these enchanted forests. Sometimes Annette introduces the ocean in her paintings, but when the sea is depicted, its waves are graceful additions to the harmony of the composition, without any hint of the terror and death that can lie in an ocean storm.

22 Annette Ollivary LA CUEILLETTE DES FLEURS 11 x 9 in., GOUACHE ON PAPER

23 DETAIL: LA CUEILLETTE DES FLEURS 11 x 9 in., GOUACHE ON PAPER

24 Annette Ollivary UNE JOURNEE DANS LA CAMPAGNE 10 x 13 in., GOUACHE ON PAPER

25 DETAIL: UNE JOURNEE DANS LA CAMPAGNE 10 x 13 in., GOUACHE ON PAPER

26 Annette Ollivary LA FLEUR ROUGE, X 8 IN. GOUACHE ON PAPER

27 DETAIL: LA FLEUR ROUGE, X 8 IN. GOUACHE ON PAPER

28 ART WALLY FINDLAY EST FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT OUR CURRENT COLLECTION AND PRICING PLEASE CONTACT THE PALM BEACH GALLERY (561) OR GALLERY HOURS: MONDAY - SATURDAY : 10 AM - 6 PM SUMMER HOURS - BEGINNING JUNE TUESDAY - SATURDAY : 10 AM - 6 PM OR BY APPOINTMENT: