Rehs Contemporary | 4/1-4/30 | New York, NY

Small Offerings

Rehs Contemporary spreads joy with their Small Works Exhibition for the month of April.

For the full month of April, Rehs Contemporary in New York, will be hosting a Small Works Exhibition of 20 artists, who hope to uplift the human spirit with miniature pieces in a variety of styles and subject matter. “With such a diverse offering,” says gallery vice president and director Lance Rehs, “we hope there is a little something for everyone.” Knowing that times continue to be difficult, Rehs “wants to offer an affordable way for collectors to continue building their collection, or even get started altogether.”Ben Bauer, St. Croix By Moonlight, oil on panel, 9 x 12"

The work may be small, but the creativity involved with this collection is not something to be missed. With works such as Red Velvet Cake, artist Beth Sistrunk offers a look into her Zero Calories series, “where collectors can enjoy all the indulgence of red velvet cake without the calories,” Sistrunk explains. This mini painting, depicting a piece of cake with a swirly lollipop, was meticulously crafted from scratch.

“I create the desserts and make the lollipops by hand using pulled sugar techniques,” Sistrunk says. “Then, the confections are staged together and photographed. I compose the images in photoshop, and draw and paint the resulting image from my computer screen.”Beth Sistrunk, Red Velvet Cake, oil on panel, 6 x 6"

Artist Ben Bauer will be showcasing a total of six of his landscape paintings “based off of memories or building ideas that could morph into larger paintings” he says. “It’s very much like journaling for the painter. I am constantly drawn to the things we pass by each day.” Bauer also enjoys photographing farms as portraits set into the landscape and pays reverence to his home in Minnesota.

One of his show pieces, St. Croix by Moonlight, is a farmhouse surrounded by a lush field and trees, and is a place near Bauer’s hometown that he passes by often. “I have painted [the scene] several times in different ways,” he furthers. “Nocturnal paintings have become something of a genre for the past five years or so. I also love working in summer and winter scenes. This is just pushing the idea of a soft moonlit night over the river valley I live in.”Katie Swatland, Dreams of Spring, oil on birch bark, 21 x 8"

Among these artists is also the unique work of Katie Swatland, who will be showing three pieces in the exhibition. Her work Dreams of Spring, modeled after some of the work in her latest series Alchemy Visions, is painted on birch bark that Swatland found in the snowy woods of Northern Vermont.

“This collection is very special to me, and one that I’ve been building for five years,” Swatland says. “It centers around nurturing the imagination through the interaction of light, serving as a reminder to pause and reflect on the mystery that surrounds.”David Palumbo, Janette, oil on panel, 7 x 5"

Swatland uses reflective materials such as gold leaf, mica, glass and shell to achieve this interaction with light, and employs mythological creatures to further entice the imagination.

Rehs Contemporary hopes to not only stoke your imagination as Swatland suggests, but also to spread joy and cheer while we all continue to navigate turbulent times. Join in on the delight from April 1 through 30. —

Rehs Contemporary
5 E. 57th Street • New York, NY 10022
(212) 355-5710 • www.rehs.com