contemporary art

Some folks like to do things in a big way.  They enjoy the spotlight, and blossom with a little extra attention.  We’re sort of that way, too, so we understand.  Even when it comes to selling an antique or collectible, we think it’s always more fun to make a splash.  Why do anything the conventional way when you can make it fun? Do you remember that Super Hero Auction we had last year?  We had national news coverage for that event, plus plenty of local headlines and spots on our local news networks.  Our own John discovered he looked good in ...

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I recently finished a commission for a woman in my writing class. Connie is a person who is overflows with enthusiasm for people and life. She bubbles over when she is excited about a topic and she can cry in an instant at something that is sad. Well... She wanted me to create an oil painting of her sister and her sister's two daughters sitting on a bench in Laguna Beach. The mother lost her husband when the girls were just babies and has struggled to work and do her best at raising the girls alone in Taiwan. It turned out that the mother did quite well financially but in the stress ...

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  If antiques are items torn from history, then auctions are the vehicles that place them once again within the context of personal history.  As surely as Curtis Jere's fanciful wire sculpture "Three Birds in Flight" or Nathan Wasserberger's nude on blue reflect today's sensibilities, two 19th C. French bronzes-Jean-Paul Aube's "Allegorie de le Pientre" and Auguste Peiffer's Allegorical Bronze Group-echo with a timeless beauty.  It will be a joy to see all find new owners. Surveying the wealth of designer modern furniture in our gallery at 80 East 11th Street, I can almost see the set of six ...

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A few days ago, a Chinese collector came into the gallery to inspect a piece of Orientalia. He brought a black light, a jeweler's loop and a translator. After thoroughly inspecting the item, the collector remarked that the nuances and subtleties were all but missing on the Internet. That's why Robert and I spend so much time staging the Roland Auction exhibitions. The preview that opens Thursday, October 13 features more than 400 lots in the October 15 sale. Catalog descriptions are, at best, curatorial and academic. We don't editorialize. We don't "sell" in the catalog you view on ...

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If I had to pick three great names in 20th Century design, I think they would be Frank Lloyd Wright, George Nakashima and Isamu Noguchi.  I was coming of age when they had already achieved a certain agelessness. Their names and work continue to endure.  We're lucky to have items by each in our September 17 auction. Frank Lloyd Wright's last project was the Guggenheim Museum on Fifth Avenue. Who can forget Isamu Noguchi's sets for the Martha Graham modern dance company? And Nakashima's offspring continue in his tradition. I won't say Roland's looks like a museum these days, but when you see ...

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Few figures in Modern history evoke images of leadership, integrity and political prowess as does Winston Churchill.  His iconic speeches and steadfast direction during World War II galvanized the Allied forces in Britain and abroad. Few people realized that, though he was most revered for his rolls as statesman, orator, historian, politician and writer, Churchill was also an accomplished artist. M.S. Rau is honored to have two of his historically significant works currently in our Fine Art collection: The Tower of Katoubia Mosque, created and given by Churchill to President Franklin Delano ...

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How is energy transmitted? Reverberations, responses, echoes – the vibrational criteria of effects. Sensitive chaos, formulating itself into waves, patterns and nature’s intermeshing. Parallel phenomena – body and spirit. These are the emotions and responses one experiences when viewing the artwork of Audra Skuodas. Her wall sculptures, hand- made books, drawings and writings have been created over forty years. Audra Skuodas’ artworks have become her voice and often reflect her inner psyche. She paints the yin and the yang, the spiritual and the material, the body and the soul. Her good ...

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Using nature as my springboard, I create optimistic, energetic and playful images. Content is of primary importance in my work. Most recently I have used the “leaf shape” as my sculptural foundation. Layering and adding a variety of materials helps embellish and define my carved wood sculptures. Working in a variety of materials (bronze, stone, stainless steel and wood), I am not restricted to just one process. This gives me the freedom to explore exciting combinations while creating my sculptures. I am constantly expanding my artistic vocabulary and look forward to the challenges of ...

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After more than 35 years in the economic and community development field, Don Iannone has mounted the creative path as a practicing artist and author. Don’s educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Anthropology, and graduate studies in Organizational Behavior and Economic Development. Very recently, he completed a Master of Arts Degree in Consciousness Studies, with a concentration in how our consciousness gives rise to art, and how art shapes our consciousness of the world. Don is a fine arts photographer living in Bratenahl, Ohio. His niche is using photography as a ...

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As co-founders of Roland Auctions, Manhattan's newest auction house, my brother Rob and I face a recurring challenge. As soon as the property in the monthly auction is picked up, we have to start filling the gallery again.  It often takes weeks of intense appraisals and negotiations before we are able to offer high caliber fine art, antiques and decorations from Manhattan's premier apartments and estates. That's why I say we're in the business of building relationships. For instance, it required strong relationship building and negotiation skills to bring three exceptional collections to ...

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A Thematic exhibition “Abstracts” by Light Space & Time Online Art Gallery in a Juried Competition. A Group exhibition of the top five finalists will be held online at the Light Space & Time Art Gallery for the month of July 2011. Awards will be for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. All winners will be selected, announced and featured on the Light Space & Time website on July 1, 2011 and remain online in the gallery for the month of July 2011. Thereafter, the artworks will remain online in the Light Space & Time Archives with links to the artist’s websites.  Apply through the website ...

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  On View through Wednesday, May 25     DOROTHY BROWDY KUSHNER & ROBERT KUSHNER: RECONFIGURED FLORA   Mother and Son: Paintings, fabric pieces, and drawings -- from the 1930s to the 1970s   for Dorothy and from the 1970s to 2000 for Robert. Dorothy Browdy Kushner (1909-2000) and Robert Kushner (born 1949), mother and son, painted side by side, sharing a deep interest in the natural world. This show explores areas in which interest, methods, and styles, travel from parent to child and then occasionally back to parent.      The entire show may be seen under Exhibitions at   ...

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Definition of PERIL 1: exposure to the risk of being injured, destroyed, or lost. and this is the definition of the word "joy: a : the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires. As an artist, I have found that if I want to have a chance at success, good fortune or the prospect of possessing what I desire, I have to risk the possibility of being injured, destroyed or lost. An artist's life is not one of hiding in solitude and indulging in self expression. An artist's life demands that I must expose myself, my ...

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As a younger artist I envisoned myself in prestigious galleries, accepting awards from people "on high". I soon lost patience with that. I found that what I love most is to create exactly the kind of art that my heart desires. I've had no problem finding people who love my work and buy it, and as far as I'm concerned, that's all that matters to me. I've always had a childlike quality to what I do. I used to try to "overcome" that, but now I embrace it. I am childlike. I love to see the world through my own lens, in the way I want to see it. My worst critics in life where all in my head. They ...

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It took me many years to find a better sense of security. Not just years, but pain. Pain is a good thing. It tells you that something isn’t right. I did all sorts of things to avoid the pain, but until I stepped forward and claimed myself, I didn’t get my release. On a spiritual level it’s about “self-realization”. I love that term because it signifies that what transformation is about is the realization! The realization of who you really are. It’s not about becoming something “else”. It’s about peeling off a skin that doesn’t fit you anymore. What’s underneath has always been there. One ...

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I have overcome a lot of insecurities in the last 10 years. I don't know what the future holds, but I feel confident that I will be just fine. I love my life!

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   I grew up in an art colony by the sea and I have a fondness for the mentality of "beach people". Beach people value relaxation. I've painted Laguna Beach for years since it is my home. I've also traveled to Hawaii several times and painted Island seascapes. Now I'm enjoying the experience of the East Coast beaches. What I like about them is the subtlety of the colors there and the openness of the beaches. There's a Zen feeling on the East Coast beaches. There are fewer colors available, so these paintings are more restful. In this series I'm accentuating the delicious feeling of solitude ...

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Artists are capable of intense emotions. That's something I've had to navigate in life over and over. They say the "sensitive" in a herd of animals is the one who senses danger first and alerts the rest which is a good thing, but high sensitivity can also drive a person completely insane. What I finally learned to do after many years of suffering is, yes... be aware of my emotions because they inform me. I don't suppress emotion, but I let it serve as guidance. I'm careful to not indulge in negative thoughts for too long though, because that habbit almost destroyed my life at one time. When ...

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I was in Barnes and Noble one day and found a book about Alphonse Mucha. I didn't know much about this artist before finding and reading the book. Although I did take art appreciation and art history classes in college, I was far more interested in my own self discovery than I was in other artists. I think a lot of us artists are self absorbed. But anyway, I am impressed by his sense of design and line work. I also love the way he portrays women. Alphones's women are classy women though feminine as well. I decided to allow myself to experiment with a little of his flavor in my painting, "She ...

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I have had the most success through my personal sales at art shows where the artist sells their own work. This way I have a connection to my clients that I wouldn't have through a gallery. Galleries are nice, but you can't count on them. If you are in a gallery and sell your own work as well, avoid selling your work for less than the gallery does no matter how tempting it is. 1. Have a mailing list!!! Get people who even stop and look for a few minutes to sign it. 2. Get "Constant Contact" a newsletter that goes to your clients once a month. Write your thoughts and show ...

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I could have pushed myself to work last weekend.  I didn't think I could afford to take a trip. But one thing I know is that life is for living. I don't think I will say on my death bed, "I WISH I would have created 20 more paintings". An artist NEEDS to take time to drink in the beauty of life, take time to observe, to breath, taste, smell and feel. That's part of our work! I did that last weekend with my partner Paul who had 4 gigs in the mountains, enough to make it worth his while to go. We were provided a rustic cabin to stay in and there was a fresh snowfall up there. Oh come ...

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May 11, 2011It is starting to heat up here, and some of the spring flowers are gasping for coolth. The pansies incinerated a few weeks ago. We had a cheerful purple-y display near the front door in a chartreuse trapezoid of a pot. This morning I noticed that the petunia that I was ready to toss had put out two more brave pink trumpets. I'll stick it in the shade with the orchids, which are just going to town with exuberance. I guess I finally hit upon the right mix of shade, watering and benign neglect. Two of the orchids are from my cubicle days and were used to arctic blasts of ...

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May 9, 2011And a happy Monday to everyone! Here are some beauteous hydrangeas I found in a London flower stall. As you might have discovered by now, London is my drug of choice. My little four-legged friend Monty, who gave us all that delicious insider info on the wedding, says that the palace gardens are just awash with fragrant and blowsy blooms right now, an unusual moment in a royal flower bed which tends to be regulated and well-weeded. Those hydrangeas have mop-top minds of their own. The hydrangeas that I have been nurturing in my sad little Sewall's Point garden are blooming ...

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May 5, 2011These are some houses along the water in St. Michaels, Maryland. I think I am getting a little too cynical in my dotage. I still look at hilly fields and wonder how they would be in the winter, if they would be good for sledding or if the grasses would become a drag factor. This is good, because we have lived in Florida for almost 20 years and the snow days here have been very few and far between...Now I look at these enviable houses, with their well-tended gardens, lacy gingerbread, inviting sleeping porches and their water views and wonder how much their flood insurance ...

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May 4, 2011When you walk around Easton, which is always a delightful proposition, you can find all manner of interesting routes. This is an almost secret garden tucked in near the Historical Society of Talbot County, which should, of course, be on your agenda. There is a crazy quilt of brickwork, fragrant boxwoods and the perky little avian detail on the wrought iron fence. The Historical Society building is red brick, edged in purple, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding it!

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