INTRODUCTIONS 2010 / New Artists and Fresh Works April 17, 2010

ArtZone 461 introduces to the Gallery and its followers five new oil painters: Jhina Alvarado, Randy Beckelheimer, Holly Downing, Heidi McDowell and Ryan Reynolds. An introductions exhibition may be considered a survey show that is as much about the artists in it as the Gallery aesthetic. This show presents examples from both emerging and established painters. These contemporary works are at the same time diverse and individual; together they are a cohesive, complimentary grouping.

Artists Reception Saturday April 17, 5 - 8 pm

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Gallery Hours: 12-6 pm Wednesday-Sunday, anytime by appointment

About the Artists

Jhina (Hee-Na) Alvarado works in oil and encaustic and calls herself a figurative abstract artist: recognizable images and figures are presented in an abstract way of seeing. Within an ethereal, ambiguous environment, individuals are transformed into anonymous ‘everyman’ or contrarily, perhaps into long-gone out-of-mind & sight no men. Accordingly, her newest series is named “Forgotten Memories”. Works from these and her previous “Nature Series” are included in the show.

Randy Beckelheimer showed his abstract, color field paintings for several years at the Triangle Gallery in San Francisco. In 2005, he took up figurative painting. Based in the artist’s interest in documenting the urban landscape, he began to paint neighborhoods he had photographed and views from his Hunters Point Studio. The result is a mix of luscious, colorful San Francisco and Bay Area scenes that take months to complete and a series of black & white pieces that must be finished in a rigorous matter of days.

Holly Downing’s career offers over 30 years of solo exhibitions. Throughout this time mezzotints have had a co-equal status with her paintings; examples of both are featured in this show. After studying at the Royal College of Art in London, Downing pursued research on the mezzotint with a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.

Donald Kuspit, critic, writer and Professor of Art History, State University NY wrote: “Downing is in fact a master of chiaroscuro, as her mezzotints show: light and dark are fundamental to her geometry, and her geometry is complex and multidimensional, especially her extraordinary images of drapery. They seem lively and to have a ‘dialectical’ intricacy with which Downing ingeniously weaves the fluid sections of her drapery together.”

Heidi McDowell’s paintings are contemplative and quiet; they convey a distinct sense of place. She sketches and photographs locations and visits them several times before painting scenes that the viewer could almost step into. Careful attention to the quality of light and surface texture produce images that skillfully achieve specificity. At the same time, they suggest a narrative to be fleshed out by the observer.

Ryan Reynold’s paintings provide a direct connection to the places he has basically developed relationships with. In his studio he creates images of the dirty industrial shore and suburban sprawl of the East Bay. His works document specific place and time, though fragmented by the artist’s memory and visual perception. On full tuition grant from the UC Berkeley Department of Art Practice, he completed his MFA in 2003.

ArtZone is pleased to present this talented new group of painters whom we see as having long careers ahead of them and a great fit with our current stable of accomplished artists.

Official Website: http://artzone461.com