Maritime and coastal paintings are the focus of the new exhibition Water Works, on view May 3 to 29 at Rehs Contemporary in New York City. The exhibition will include artwork from a number of the artists who paint sailboats and other vessels with adept accuracy, as well as paintings of beaches and coves showing the adoration of the water. Collectors will find paintings from artists John Stobart, Ken Salaz, William Davis, Mark Daly and Sally Swatland.
Sally Swatland, Breaking Surf, oil on panel, 30 x 36"
Stobart, who was born in the U.K., found a love for ships when he visited his grandmother in Liverpool around the age of 8. It was his first time along the coast, and he was captivated by going to the ports. In his 1977 painting Unloading in Hong Kong, the “Dashing Wave”, he depicts a now-forgotten era of maritime in the Chinese city.
“I did this painting to show the grandeur of a place like Hong Kong. It has a mountain right in the middle, which is Victoria Peak,” Stobart says. “It’s a fabulous harbor and the mixture of vessels there was extraordinary. It’s sort of the thing that I love to do in my art, and I’m just showing somebody how fabulous Hong Kong was in its sailing days. You’re never going to see this again because it’s all steamboats and freighters. When it was in the age of sailing, it was far more glamourous.”
John Stobart, Unloading in Hong Kong, the “Dashing Wave”, oil on canvas, 18 x 24"
William Davis, Yacht Peerless, New York Yacht Squadron Race, New York, 1892, oil on panel, 12 x 16"
Return of the Zodiac, by Salaz, was done while on a plein air painting excursion with his family in Bellingham, Washington. In the mornings he would go out to paint in the shadows of Wildcat Cove on the coast, wanting to get the fresh morning light. His 7-year-old son joined him, and the pair would often talk about how “the cove was a hidden location for pirates and adventures,” says the artist. “To both our surprises, out of the blue an old, old ship came passing by us, as if it were sailing out of its own time into our moment. I quickly painted the ship into the painting, wanting to capture what seemed a magical moment where the past and present were meeting as one.”
In the work, Salaz was able to depict that morning, but he also believes the work transcends to include “early mornings that had passed about 100 years ago.” When Salaz and his son returned to the dock, they found out the ship was named Zodiac, a vessel built in 1924 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places by Congress in 1982. It was returning from a four-day voyage at sea.
Mark Daly, Sea of Umbrellas (Naples, Florida, from Pier looking North), oil on panel, 24 x 18"
Ken Salaz, Return of the Zodiac, oil on panel, 11 x 14"
One of the beach paintings in the show is Daly’s Sea of Umbrellas (Naples, Florida, from Pier looking North). It’s a colorful painting capturing a pleasurable moment of life. Of the work he says, “I wanted to capture people relaxing, enjoying the sea and escaping life’s worries.”
Breaking Surf, Swatland’s painting for the show, is another that makes the viewer think of times they’ve spent at the ocean. “I am always impressed by the color and movement of the water,” she says. “The seashore and children are a beautiful complement to each other. They make for very happy memories.” —
Rehs Contemporary
5 E. 57th Street • New York, NY 10022 • (212) 355-5710 • www.rehs.com
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