The Anita Shapolsky Gallery is pleased to present a cross-cultural and transhistorical exploration of the body in art. “Super Bodies” moves beyond our typical focus on abstract expressionist paintings to exhibit art from a potpourri of artists, periods, countries, and media. Antiques from Japan, China, Burma, and Greece from Anita Shapolsky’s own collection are scattered throughout the exhibition to compliment the modern and contemporary works, all exemplifying the ever-present drive to represent the body in both the abstract and the figurative.

The instinctual drive to creatively capture the body in all its forms has existed for thousands of years. It is a drive that has rooted itself at the very core of our humanity. From ancient Greek kouroi to contemporary portraiture, the human body has served as the artist’s most familiar yet most elusive subject. Even the mid-century abstract expressionists attempted to convey the complexities of thought and emotion – what makes humans human – using their own bodies as translators.

Artists

PETER AGOSTINI, ERNEST BRIGGS, DENISE CARVALHO, RUSSELL CONNOR, EMILIO CRUZ, PARKER DAY, JILLIAN EVELYN, AGUSTIN FERNANDEZ, WALTER GAUDNEK, HERBERT GENTRY, BURT HASEN, JOHN HULTBERG, FREDERICK JOHN KIESLER, SHOZO NAGANO, JEANNE REYNAL, JOAN SEUMEL, LINDA STEIN, SWOON, HOWIE LEE WEISS

Our selection of contemporary work features both rising and established artists. Denise Carvalho’s mixed-media paintings from the series “Brains” explore the sensuality of organs while Howie Lee Weiss’ Laugh creates a scene of playful bodies in nature using the soft intensity of vine charcoal. Russell Connor re-interprets and combines old masters paintings to create new, modern narratives. Parker Day, Jilian Evelyn, Linda Stein and SWOON each use a different medium and style to present their subjects, but they all challenge the idea of “identity,” especially with regards to femininity and the female body. Similarly, Joan Seumel documents her aging body in the attempt to liberate herself from stigmas surrounding body image.

While Shozo Nagano’s three-dimensional Man Standing and Jeanne Reynal’s mosaic portrait of Merce Cunningham are more realistic, “Super Bodies” also includes modern abstract art to contrast the more figurative contemporary works. For example, Cuban born Agustin Fernandez’s Nude and second generation abstract expressionist Ernest Briggs’ Untitled (“Dancing Girls”) are minimal oil paintings focusing on the dynamic movements of the body. Sculptures by Walter Gaudnek and Frederick John Kiesler both provide anthropomorphic abstractions in wood and bronze, respectively. A selection of paintings by Emilio Cruz and Herbert Gentry contain bright, gestural, and slightly disturbing faces. Finally, works by Burt Hasen, John Hultberg, and Peter Agostini blur the boundaries of reality with their surrealistic portrayals of eerie, mystical bodies.