Highlight: Gramercy is the latest in a series of enlightening and captivating exhibitions, and is curated by independent curators, Paul Efstathiou and Eleanor Flatow. It features works by eight emerging and established contemporary artists based in Athens, Vienna, New York City, Connecticut and Los Angeles. The artists included in the exhibition are Marcel Dzama, Amir Fallah, André Hemer, John Knuth, Liz Leggett, Olga Migliaressi-Phoca, Evan Robarts and Anne Vieux.
While drawing attention to each artist’s particular style, techniques, mediums, themes and intentions, Highlight: Gramercy collectively delivers a vibrant, enthralling and erudite visual experience evoking positivity, verve and curiosity. Parallels can be made among the artists –their interest in extraordinary processes and materials, use of technology, and the integration of social commentary – however, it is the uniqueness of their visual expressions that produces a compelling show and reflects the essence of contemporary art.
Referencing Islamic and graffiti art, while grappling with his identity as an Iranian-American, Amir Fallah reinterprets conventional notions of portrait painting with his distinctive use of boldly painted rich ornamentation and layered patterns. Evan Robarts uses found objects and unusual tools in his singular sculpture and paintings elevating ordinary materials and tasks while investigating themes of gentrification and the condition of the blue-collar worker. John Knuth employs flies and their regurgitation to create minimal and pointillistic abstractions that capture the chaos and beauty of nature, and are metaphors for the density and sprawl of urban landscapes. Liz Leggett, championing the act of painting, dynamically applies vibrant colors to her canvases empowering the spontaneity of the medium and process to reveal the narrative and composition.
Integrating technology within their unique and complex processes, Anne Vieux and André Hemer both explore the harmony and dichotomies of the digital and physical worlds resulting in striking abstract compositions. Vieux’s works depict vibrant, lustrous and fragmented planes in striking hues of purples, blues and pinks;
Responding to the current political and socially charged environment, Olga Migliaressi-Phoca challenges the mainstream portrayal of women by referencing global fashion magazines, editorials, found objects and photographs of street graffiti. With sarcasm and humor, Migliaressi-Phoca manifests the female image with empowerment and equal privilege. Marcel Dzama gleans from the Surrealists and various source materials to create fantastic worlds where women carrying guns lead a revolution and marvelous creatures wearing costumes perform playful yet sinister roles.
About Paul Efstathiou
Paul Efstathiou is a second-generation art dealer and native New Yorker with expertise in the primary and secondary contemporary painting and sculpture markets. For more than a decade he has been working as an art dealer in New York. In 2016, he made his successful curatorial debut with Highlight: Summer One at Hollis Taggart Galleries in Chelsea. Since then his Highlight exhibitions featuring emerging contemporary artists continue to achieve acclaim. More information about Paul Efstathiou can be found at www.highlightcurated.com.
About Eleanor Flatow
Eleanor Flatow, a native New Yorker, has held leadership positions at various art organizations over the past 20 years, including as a specialist at Christie’s and most recently as Executive Co-Director of the Carriage Barn Arts Center in New Canaan Connecticut. Her background in the worlds of for-profit fine art, not-for profit institutions, and financial services informs her work as an entrepreneur in the arts. This is her second collaboration with Paul Efstathiou.