Los Angeles, CA SIZE MATTERS Small works show
This July 13 to 27, Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Los Angeles will present a small works group exhibition featuring artists working in both the contemporary and Western styles. Among those with works in the show are Kim Cogan, Danny Galieote, Michael Klein, Jeffrey T. Larson, Serge Marshennikov and Jacob A. Pfeiffer. The artists’ pieces measure smaller than 20 inches in size and are done in a variety of
styles and subject matter to allow collectors an array of paintings to choose from.
Marshennikov’s 16-inch square piece Waves, features a woman lying atop folded fabric that is reminiscent of clothing items in Old Masters works. The artist explains, “I was inspired by the intriguing ‘Rembrandtesque’ collars of the 17th century whereas on a dish the given head was complemented expressiveness of the fabric
represented ‘in a profile.’
Both Pfeiffer and Larson present still lifes with nontraditional imagery. Pfeiffer’s works are often tongue-in-cheek, while Larson’s pieces elevate unremarkable subjects to objects of beauty.
“I love incorporating visual puns and unusual juxtapositions in my work,” says Pfeiffer. “In my painting Bulbous, I am playing with pears and a lightbulb. Both objects are similarly shaped and perfectly described by the title, and yet they are completely different.”
Larson’s painting À la carte depicts a whole fish in a takeout container. Explaining the inspiration behind the work, he says, “I live on the largest body of water (by surface area) in the world, Lake Superior. The herring is part of the bounty that this inland sea produces. On a practical level, the paper carton presents the smoked fish as a food offering the way we are accustomed to perceiving it. More importantly, I felt it created the perfect foil of whites to set off the beautiful metallic golds of the herring.”