Jenny Toth's animals and magnificent creatures at the Blue Mountain Gallery

The Blue Mountain Gallery in Chelsea is currently presenting a collection of work by Jenny Toth for the exhibit Barking Up the Tree: Fur and Form. Toth creates her work by combining her observations of the relationship between space and form with her wild imagination and deep love for nature, animals, and mythical creatures. Toth has accumulated an extensive body of work over the years and the pieces in her latest show include bas-reliefs and small sculptures created with materials that include ceramics, cardboard, and wood among others. Many of Toth's animal depictions include various types of birds including those featured in her many cardboard cutouts and the very realistic sculpture El Chapito depicting a life-size parrot painted in primary colors evoking a somewhat commanding presence with its large beak and large feet clutching a rock. Works that explore human and animal relationships include Coyote and Woman, a ceramic bas-relief showing a nude woman offering her compassion by kneeling and hugging the wild animal.
Perhaps one of the more graphic pieces in the show is the sculpture Giving Birth to a Camel on a Camel depicting an elongated, skinny nude woman with exaggerated feet and hands arched over her newborn baby lying on its back on the camel's body. Some of the more playful pieces of childlike subject matter includeBig Bad Wolf Back Off a small-scale sculpture made from cardboard, stick, and wire depicting a small creature trying literally to keep the vicious wolf at arm's length. Similarly, the sculpture Brothers Grimm Hans my Hedgehog Remix inspired by one of Brothers Grimm's children's stories features a trio of animals: the title hedgehog character surrounded by farm animals of the story including pigs and a rooster. At the Blue Mountain Gallery, 547 W. 27th St., Suite 200, through Dec. 20. The gallery is open Tue.-Sat. from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. IMAGES: Brothers Grimm's Hans my Hedgehog Remix(2025, glazed ceramic), Giving Birth to a Camel on a Camel (2024, ceramic).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A World of Calm and Chaos by Owen Gray

Image
By ALISON MARTIN A collection haunting and dreamy images by Owen Gray is currently on view for the exhibition A World of Calm and Chaos . In this show, Gray examines how numerous crises going on in our world tap into human subconsciousness and appear in our dreams in various forms. The most prevalent global crises that is examined in this collection of work is that of climate change and how it's disrupting life on Earth with animals being removed from their natural habitats. Hieronymus Bosch, a 15th-16th century Dutch painter known for his expressive, fantastical masterpieces is one of Gray's biggest influencers and Bosch's vision is very much evident in Gray's paintings.  Exotic Gathering by Owen Gray (2022, oil on paper) One work titled  Exotic Gathering features flying insects, beetles, a purple butterfly and several mandolins that have come together in one dreamlike sequence. Another painting with a similar concept of creatures coming together is  Reptile Meeting ...
Read more

Expressive Portraits by Stuart Snoddy at Lower East Side Gallery

Image
.                                  The Landscape Painter (2023, oil on canvas) by Stuart Snoddy By ALISON MARTIN The Massey Klein Gallery on the Lower East Side is currently presenting,  The   Dither featuring several new paintings by Stuart Snoddy. For his second solo show at the gallery, the Indianapolis based artist unveils intriguing portraits of mysterious and somewhat unusual looking people.  Some of the characters he portrays are goofy and satirical and exude animated vibes. Examples include The Method Actor  and  The Gonzo Painter.  The Method Actor depicts a man, short and stout in stature, with a balding head and droopy eyes and lips. Similarly,  The Gonzo Painter  portrays a young man with his face made up like a clown's but exhibiting a tired, unhappy expression as is indicated by his droopy facial features. The muted browns and grays add to the solem...
Read more

Dena Schutzer conveys chaos and calmness in latest show

Image
The Bowery Gallery in Chelsea is currently presenting a collection of work by Dena Schutzer for the show Agitation and Retreat . For this show, Schutzer, who’s based in the New York City area, unveils several oil paintings completed over the last two years that include cityscapes, rural scenes, still-lifes, and portraits of people and animals as they go about their daily lives in varying environments. Regarding the title, Schutzer explains that “Agitation” refers to the hustle-and-bustle feeling of scenarios she observes while “Retreat” refers to quieter and more personal moments she experiences. Some of the works depicting “Agitation” include Four Men Working that shows a group of construction workers diligently and fervently opening up a city street with clouds of steam rising. Other works in “Agitation” include the energy felt in Sparring showing a boy and his father in a boxing match in a park; Cables and Green Sky depicts a chaotic arrangement of power lines and thick, cur...
Read more