Through mid-May, D. Colabella Fine Art Gallery will be showcasing the work of two very different artists, pairing established painter Rich Alexander with Corey Eid, an emerging artist who draws in graphite and charcoal. While their subject matter varies greatly, highly detailed still lifes are part of each artist’s repertoire. Alexander also paints seascapes and landscapes; and Eid’s talent shines in realistic portraits with a touch of whimsy.
Rich Alexander, What’s in the Box, oil on panel, 24 x 18"Alexander’s professional endeavors have always had a creative component—he was a draftsman and owned a sign company, hand-lettering signs and trucks and, when he became a New York City firefighter in 1986, painted dozens of firehouse tables and murals on firehouse walls during his 21-year tenure. In 2009, by then retired but involved in designing and building a 9/11 memorial in his hometown of Mount Kisco, New York, one of the project’s donors noticed Alexander’s drawing skills and introduced him to an artist friend. Soon Alexander was studying oil painting formally and hasn’t looked back since.
Corey Eid, Peace Pipe, charcoal and graphite on watercolor paper, 12 x 14"
Alexander found painting liberating and therapeutic. After working at the World Trade Center recovery site for a month, he was afraid to fly. Years later, it was getting into his first Oil Painters of America exhibition that helped him summon the courage to get on an airplane again. Another memorable moment was selling his first painting out of a gallery before the gallery had officially opened, marking their first sale. He recalls getting the news, “My hair started to tingle and I got goose bumps…I said to myself, ‘I know what I’m going to do for the rest of my life. It was so exciting.’”
Alexander’s still lifes pair unlikely objects, often the delicate with the sturdy and strong, and the fleeting with the enduring—that hint at life’s fragility. A wine glass in the grip of a vice. Or, as in What’s in the Box, sunflowers in a fluted vase atop an ancient trunk draped with a heavy chain. Other pieces combine objects that convey a subtle message. A parking meter and trophy in Time Management suggest that despite the pressure of the vice, if you manage your time, a reward awaits. The same parking meter appears in The Game of Lifewith the board game itself and an American flag.
Corey Eid, Metamorphosis, charcoal and graphite on watercolor paper, 14 x 11"
We refer to Eid as an emerging artist because it was only about three years ago when he woke up one day and started drawing. “I’m not trying to sound esoteric, but it’s the truth,” he says. “I was in the middle of a serious career change and didn’t know what I was going to do, so I prayed to God for something that I could do, that He wanted for me, and pretty much the next day I found a pencil in my hand.”
Rich Alexander, Game of Life, oil on linen, 24 x 30"
Eid often draws the people in his life because there’s already an authentic emotional connection. Although highly detailed, Eid often adds a touch of magical realism to his renderings, like the dove in the swirl of smoke in Peace Pipe, and the butterfly in the intimate close-up Metamorphosis. “I feel I’ve always had one foot in this world and the other somewhere else,” he says. “There’s a lot of beauty and magic to this life, and a lot we aren’t necessarily aware of. I want my work to feel like that. I want the viewer to be able to be present when they look at a piece and feel a connection to something greater. I think adding in a bit of the fantastical or something that’s not quite meant to be there can do that.”
Alexander and Eid’s joint show is on view in Ridgefield, Connecticut, through May 11. —
D. Colabella Fine Art Gallery 446 Main Street • Ridgefield, CT 06877 • (203) 894-5915 www.dcolabellafineart.com
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