Todd Hebert and Jennifer Nehrbass Unveil Fresh Bodies of Work in Solo Exhibitions
July 11 until August 15, 2009
Artists’ reception for both solo exhibitions is Saturday, July 11, 5 -7 p.m.
“City and Country” is an exhibition of nine new paintings by acclaimed artist Todd Hebert. In this new series of works, Hebert shifts his focus from the large-scale close-up to long perspectives on smaller canvases. This playing with expected scale produces intimate and captivating works that entrance the viewer with the deft precision of their small details. Hebert embraces the label of “photorealistic Travel Tea Sets
DomiTeasurrealism” that his past work has earned, yet produces something that is altogether subtler and quieter, these new ovals and extended landscapes depicting snowmen, steam trains and dilapidated signs all shrouded in darkness. Still his work retains the same anthropomorphic quality, these inanimate objects encompassing the universal loneliness of night, speaking of isolation, decay and desolation. The iconography Hebert employs suggesting inevitable impermanence, his canvases capturing a fleeting moment just before a firework, a holiday or a season passes and is forgotten.
Todd Hebert received his BFA from the University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) before going on to earn his MFA from Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI). He has had major solo exhibitions throughout the United States, including at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum (Ridgefield, CT). His work is included in numerous prestigious public collections, including that of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (Los Angeles, CA). Publications that have reviewed his work include the Los Angeles Times, ArtReview, the New York Times and Art Lies, to name a few. Hebert lives and works in Rhinebeck, NY. City and Country will be Hebert’s fifth solo show at the Mark Moore Gallery.
Snowman with Fireworks, 2008
Acrylic on canvas over panel, 24 x 24 inches
Simultaneously, Mark Moore Gallery presents “Weep and Wonder,” an exhibition of seven new paintings from artist Jennifer Nehrbass‘ most recent series of oval “cameos” in the Project Room.
The paintings from Jennifer Nehrbass’ new body of work act as “anti-vignettes,” the subjects’ faces contrasting sharply to the simple backgrounds, each portrait an unadulterated expression of grief, fear or lust. Far removed from her earlier portraits – where the narratives of her tableaux were so apparent, each canvas capturing a performance rather than a pose – these cameos remove the subject compleTelephone: , isolating them in pure emotion. Yet rather than presenting the voyeuristic viewer with a contained objectified subject, by embracing the distasteful or challenging – an unflattering tilt of the head, un unfaltering gaze, bloodshot eyes or a running nose – Nehrbass transfers ownership of the image from the admiring audience to the subject herself. Each canvas provides the female protagonist with a space in which to embrace a singular selfish moment, free from preconceived notions of stylized beauty.
Jennifer Nehrbass received her MA from New York University (New York, NY) before going on to complete her MFA from the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, NM). She has exhibited her work extensively in her home state of New Mexico, as well as frequently showing in New York and Los Angeles. She has also been included in group shows throughout Europe. Jennifer Nehrbass lives and works in Albuquerque, NM. This will be her second solo show at the Mark Moore Gallery.
One Thousand Sofias, 2007
Oil on Canvas, 84 x 60 inches
- Mark Moore Gallery is located at 2525 Michigan Avenue, A-1, Santa Monica, CA, 90404
- Telephone: (310) 453-3031
- Website: http://www.markmooregallery.com
- Gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
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