NEW YORK, NY – Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature the original work of Montreux artist Philippe Thélin in Enigmatic Realms. The exhibition will open on December 29, 2016 and run through January 18, 2017 with an opening reception on Thursday, December 29 from 6-8 PM.
The expressive portraits of Philippe Thélin balance brutality with lyricism, theatricality with introspection, and line with pure color. Thélin describes his process as a struggle between the outline of a drawing and the spread of pigment; for this reason, the very act of painting is inextricably linked with Thélin's artistic style and how he expresses his inner emotions on canvas. The subject of the piece is only of secondary importance, though Thélin does have a talent for infusing his work with a sense of pathos, which draws viewers in and makes them immediately sympathize with the figure depicted.
Thélin lives and works in Montreux, Switzerland, where his day job is researching X-ray crystallography. His paintings won two important international awards this year: the Tiepolo Arte-Milano and the Colosseo-Roma. Thélin explains the purpose of his painting as an exorcism of the ghosts of the past, an investigation of internal conflicts rather than the “reality” of the outside world. Perhaps this is why his pieces are imbued with such a sense of power and vision, akin to a “flash of madness."
Exhibition Dates: December 29, 2016 – January 18, 2017
Reception: Thursday December 29, 2016, 6:00pm - 8:00pm
Gallery Hours: Tues-Sat 11-6
Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, Chelsea, New York
Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Philippe_Thelin.aspx
Featured Artists:
Enigmatic Realms
Graciela Bosoglanian | Burhan Khan | Franck Sastre | Viccas | Philippe Thélin | Judith Tawil | Magda Hanna | Mikele Arapi
About the Exhibition
Enigmatic Realms: Endless Worlds
Agora Gallery is pleased to present Enigmatic Realms, a showcase of eight contemporary artists holding a mirror up to the people and places that surround them. Hailing from Pakistan, Switzerland, Argentina, and everywhere in between, the artists on display cover many different worlds with their images. There is the seasoned fashion designer who currently creates fashion illustrations in the form of larger-than-life metal sculptures, each abstracted female figure a sensitive exploration of the body. There is the artist who only uses organic materials from pigment to tool, with the resulting images as wonderfully evocative and detailed as any traditional painting. Some works depict the human body as neon bouquets of colorful shapes; some as flattened, stained-glass-like jewels; some as figures in a carefully crafted allegory. Some artists create whole scenes for us while others show hyperrealistic bodies against blurry, atmospheric depths. There are farms and cities, kitchens and offices. Enigmatic Realms teaches us that for every pair of eyes there is a different world.
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