Martha Armstrong
Christine Lafuente: The View From Here
Joseph Lozano: Mythologies
+ Group Show: Bouquet
April 1 - 30, 2021
Gallery hours are Wednesday - Saturday, 10 - 5 pm
APPOINTMENTS ARE ENCOURAGED BUT NOT REQUIRED
Calle Sol, Evening
11" x 14"
Oil On Linen
Featured Exhibition, Christine Lafuente: The View From Here
“This rhythm of working led to an idea to create a body of paintings in Old San Juan, PR. I hoped to explore the fluidity of interior and exterior spaces in Spanish Caribbean architecture and to connect with my identity as a first generation Cuban American. Through this project I aspired to understand, approximately at best, the culture of my father’s childhood in Cienfuegos, Cuba during the 1940’s and 50’s. My sense of this culture, known only through stories and photographs, was lost when my father was killed at the World Trade Center on September 11. . ."
Christine Lafuente is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College, received her Certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and her M.F.A. in Painting from Brooklyn College. After spending years in Philadelphia where she was artist-in-residence at the Fleisher Art Memorial, Lafuente moved to Brooklyn and completed her MFA at Brooklyn College in 2004. She has exhibited her work throughout the Mid-Atlantic region in numerous solo shows and had a solo exhibition in London, England in 2008. Lafuente has been represented by the Gross McCleaf Gallery since 2002.
Featured Exhibition, Joseph Lozano: Mythologies
Joseph Lozano’s paintings exist in the world of dreams and stream of consciousness writing. The artist pieces together subjects, objects and scenes that originate from diverse sources. He takes fragments from art historical paintings, pop cultural references and items from his personal environment, creating combinations that are humorous, absurd and at times disorienting. As these unexpected juxtapositions appear on the canvas, relationships between the objects begin to develop. The viewer observes a logical, if improbable narrative, including the appearance of playful opposites and visual puns and is invited by the artist into a private world of relationships that had not previously existed.
Joseph Lozano received a Certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2007 and his Master of Fine Art in 2009. He has an extensive exhibition record in regional galleries and his work can be found in many private and public collections, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts museum collection. He is the recipient of the J.M.C. Purchase Prize and the Women’s Board Scholarship for European Travel. Lozano lives and works in Philadelphia and has been represented by Gross McCleaf Gallery since 2013.
Irene Mamiye, Homage 6928
36″ x 36″
Dye-sublimation Prints On Iodized Aluminum
Featured Group Show: Bouquet
Celebrating la primavera, Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to present Bouquet, an exhibition that delights in flowers! Works featured are by Melanie Fischer, Kati Gegenheimer, Eileen Goodman, Elizabeth Hamilton, Ying Li, Jonathan Mandell, Irene Mamiye, Lynn Muchnick, Scott Noel, Barbara Sosson, and Frank Trefny.
The artists present their contemporary blooms through assorted mixed media such as 3-D sculpture, mosaic lapidary, textiles, paper, oil paint, photography, watercolor and VR digital collage. At times, the viewers are drawn into the unapologetically romantic world of bouquets and gardens, while in other instances they are offered a window into the unruliness of nature. Some of the works explore perception itself through the use of trompe l’oeil and virtual reality, while others incorporate playful motifs using pattern and design. Overall, there is a consistent focus on the positive radiance of flowers, whether closely observed or through tactile interaction.
We Invite You to Virtually Preview GMG's April Exhibitions!
CLICK HERE to Watch the Video
Email info@grossmccleaf.com for details & availability. Enjoy!
When Christine Lafuente set out to paint her latest series of works in Puerto Rico in March 2020, she never fathomed what would transpire over the next few months. The trip was planned a year prior after having visited the country for a workshop and finding that the cities reminded her of her late father’s home country of Cuba, which he left to go to university in the United States and was unable to return.
Lafuente had planned to explore San Juan, learning more about the people, the architecture and the culture, in hopes of making a deeper connection to a similar ancestry as her own. Soon after she arrived for what was supposed to be a shorter trip, Lafuente was locked down in the country and stayed for several months because of the pandemic. Her work, which she had hoped would reflect the vibrancy and beauty of the city at a more intimate level, shifted to views from the windows of the terrace apartment she rented. The work created was more internal but still filled with the bold architecture and bright sunlight.
Gross McCleaf Gallery is pleased to announce two solo exhibitions of new paintings by gallery artists, Christine Lafuente and Joseph Lozano and a group exhibition featuring the work of Melanie Fischer, Kati Gegenheimer, Eileen Goodman, Elizabeth Hamilton, Ying Li, Jonathan Mandell, Irene Mamiye, Lynn Muchnick, Scott Noel, Barbara Sosson, and Frank Trefny.
Christine Lafuente is a graduate of Bryn Mawr College and received her Certificate in Painting from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. After spending years in Philadelphia where she was artist-in-residence at the Fleisher Art Memorial, Lafuente moved to Brooklyn and completed her MFA at Brooklyn College in 2004. She has exhibited her work throughout the Mid-Atlantic region in numerous solo shows and had a solo exhibition in London, England in 2008. Lafuente has been represented by the Gross McCleaf Gallery since 2002. . .
Gross McCleaf gallery was founded in 1969 by Estelle Shane Gross, and the Rittenhouse Square Gallery has celebrated a half-century legacy of female leadership.
"This was really at the beginning of what would become a rich gallery scene in Philadelphia," says gallery owner and director, Rebecca Segall, who adds that Gross started with the idea of a New York City-style gallery, but then began supporting local artists. . .
