Off The Balcony (Front Yard)
In Collaboration with his Daughter, Jessica Stewart Popovitch
74" x 88"
Oil On Canvas
"I prefer to make a fool of myself, which I find to be alarmingly easy when I am alone. It makes painting an obvious choice."
- James Stewart
Overture (Detail), 30" x 22", Oil On Canvas
Deaf Republic Series
"This group of work comes about from the influence of a book of poems by Ilya Kaminsky called ‘Deaf Republic’. The poems are about living in an occupied city and the unrest that ensues. In the poems, we follow a young, newly married couple with their newborn and a rebellious woman with a puppet theater.
For several years I had been using Weimar, Germany as a time period in my paintings, and when this book of poems came along it allowed me to explore more specific moments or events pulled from Ilya’s narrative.
Although I’ve illustrated the poems in Ilya's book with drawings, I feel that the paintings reflect an 'overall feel' of aspects of the poems, and posess an independent sense of their own."
Rehearsal II, 24" x 33", Oil On Canvas
Brundibar Series
"This work seems to be an extension of the ‘Deaf Republic’ work. The story line has no tie but there was nevertheless a feeling of connection in the studio.
Brundibar is the name of a children’s opera, written by Hans Krasa and performed at Theresienstadt, a hybrid concentration camp and ghetto established by the SS during World War II that was known for its relatively rich cultural life, including concerts, lectures, and clandestine education for children.
With Degas’ influence, I was trying to imagine the childrens' rehearsals and backstage activities."
She Flies Over The Country, 32" x 54", Oil On Canvas
Stewart has been painting full time since leaving school in 1992. He has had solo exhibitions with Gross McCleaf, Gallery 71, Swarthmore College, Washington County Museum of Art, Carspecken-Scott Gallery, Hoyt Institute of Fine Art, and The Butler Museum of American Art.
After attending the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts he was awarded a travel prize allowing him to travel and study in Europe. In 2007 he was awarded a Guggenheim that again allowed travel and study in Europe. In 2009 he was awarded the Ballinglen Fellowship which allowed travel and work in Ireland where he has returned to work. Stewart lives and works in Western Pennsylvania.
Weddings Before The War (Deaf Republic Series), 47" x 62", Oil On Canvas
"I don’t find I am necessarily gifted, but I will give myself credit for being tenacious."
- James Stewart
“Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign yourself to the influence of the earth.”
– Henry David Thoreau
Gross McCleaf Gallery invites you to experience the magic of summer with a group exhibition titled Summer Playlist. Curated like a finely tuned mixtape, this vibrant selection of works explores seasonal themes of celebration, relaxation, and engagement with nature.
“How do I choose a subject? I stumble into it, usually if not always, through the work of other painters. Sometimes momentum in the studio leads me. But it is the language of painting that drives me.”
– James Stewart
Gross McCleaf is pleased to present Place Setting, a new series of oil paintings by gallery artist, James Stewart. The works in this exhibition highlight Stewart’s acute awareness of group dynamics, interpersonal relationships and the settings in which these affairs unfold. While a few of Stewart’s outdoor scenes reference broad themes from history and well known stories from antiquity, most of the paintings depict intimate, everyday interactions between family and friends, many around the table of a dinner party.
“I believe artists must make space for pleasure in painting, both in the act of painting and in the pleasure of viewing it.”
-Lauren Whearty
In her first solo exhibition with Gross McCleaf Gallery, titled Painter’s Table, Lauren Whearty celebrates cheerful color and playful patterns in a contemporary take on the artistic tradition of still life painting. With a keen eye for possibilities within this genre, Whearty embraces a feminist perspective, using everyday objects as building blocks to create her own distinctive universe. Each item she incorporates becomes a referential exploration of art history and the process of image creation, adding depth and meaning to her work.
Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to host The Portrait of the Artist… And Other Things, curated by local art consultant and former CEO of The Center for Emerging Visual Artists (CFEVA), Maida R. Milone. This sixteen-artist exhibition features works by Gross McCleaf artists, Christine Lafuente and James Stewart, as well as other artists, many with strong ties to Philadelphia and past group exhibitions with the gallery – Katie Baldwin, Jill Bell, Donald E. Camp, Vincent Desiderio, Marguerita Hagan, Darla Jackson, Robert Jackson, John Karpinski, Alex Kanevsky, Chelsey Luster, Kirk Maynard, Lydia Panas, Hiro Sakaguchi and Ron Tarver.
In “Deaf Republic,” allegoric poems that rail against violence and military oppression, Ilya Kaminsky created a young deaf martyr and a community that protested with sign language.
The collection of poems, published in 2019, is a story that is meaningful not just for the Eastern European country that Kaminsky envisioned, but also for any oppressed place.
The American figurative painter James Stewart, who lives in western Pennsylvania, envisioned “Deaf Republic” taking place in Weimar, Germany, and created a body of paintings to reflect and illustrate the poems...
Gross McCleaf Gallery and Blue Stoop are pleased to welcome Ilya Kaminsky for a special poetry reading event in conjunction with James Stewart's exhibition: Recent Work - Influenced By Ilya Kaminsky's "Deaf Republic". Following the reading, Philadelphia-based writer Sara Novic will be moderating a discussion with Kaminsky.
This event will run for approximately one hour and is offered both in-person and virtually on Zoom to provide a safe and accessible viewing experience for all. ASL interpretation will be provided along with priority seating upon request. Out of an abundance of caution, in-person attendees are required to present their COVID vaccination card (a copy or digital image will be accepted), and masks are also required for the duration of the event.
We encourage attendees to visit James Stewart's exhibition before or after the reading. Stewart's work is on view in the gallery from September 1 - October 23 with an opening reception from 2 - 4 pm on September 18. Locally owned bookstore The Head & The Hand will be onsite with copies of Kaminsky's & Novic's work for purchase.
“In early March 2020, Haverford College, like educational institutions throughout the country, closed its campus to visitors and moved classes online in order to mitigate the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the months that followed, Ying Li, the Phlyssa Koshland professor in Fine Arts at Haverford, responded to the crisis with astonishing and prolific creativity. Comprising 47 paintings created in just five months, Blossoms in a Sudden Strangeness reflects a profound aesthetic discipline. Li began each painting through closely observing subjects she discovered in or near her apartment on Haverford’s campus, such as the view from her porch or cherry trees in bloom. Responding to beauty and ephemerality in nature, she abstracts and reworks each composition until her expressive gestures and densely layered surfaces convey the complexity of her observations over time. Reveling in possibility, she adds, spreads, and scrapes away paint, creating relief-like topographies. Amid the ‘sudden strangeness’ of the pandemic, Li was fortunate to safely remain on campus, taking inspiration from flora and fauna that have fascinated her for more than 25 years...
