Urban and industrial landscapes are popular subjects among contemporary artists and George Billis Gallery represents some of the finest artists working in the genre. Each year the gallery showcases their work in an annual cityscapes show. This year’s edition features artists Roland Kulla, Nicholas Evans-Cato, Francis DiFronzo, David Leonard, Judy Nimtz and Stephen Magsig, all of whom zoom in, or out, on a different aspect of the man-made environment.
Nicholas Evans-Cato, Horizon, oil on linen, 24 x 36 in.For Leonard, the endless possibilities of surface and texture in the urban landscape are an inexhaustible source of inspiration. In his painting Soho, Leonard focused on the contrast between the muted colors of the buildings and the model on the billboard. “She is bright and colorful, relaxing with a drink, while the old factory lofts remind me of the immigrant workers who once toiled in them,” he says. “This neighborhood was once a place of industry then largely abandoned. Later on, artists found this place. Rent was cheap although not legal to live in at first. Still the landlords thought having artists living and working in their lofts was better than having them vacant. The artists and then the art galleries helped revitalize this neighborhood which is one of the most familiar in New York City to the outside world.”
Francis DiFronzo, Borderline, mixed media on panel, 30 x 60 in.
Kulla has been featuring bridges in his work for more than 25 years. In his home-city of Chicago, “the rivers are small, but there is no elevation on the flat prairie,” he explains. “New York is a different story. The bodies of water that need to be crossed are wide and deep. The design solution in this context are tall, fixed spans that let the river traffic move below the bridge. That said, the towers that allow that to happen—Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg—soar from the water like cathedral towers of old and are worth, I believe, a closer look.”
David Leonard, Soho, oil on canvas, 20 x 30 in.
Roland Kulla, Manhattan II, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 45 in.
Horizon by Evans-Cato is another Manhattan view, this one from Pier 17 looking north up the East River. “It’s usually pretty windy by the harbor, making painting a large canvas on-site very challenging,” he says. Therefore, Evans-Cato created Horizon in the studio, using a photo of the tangle of buildings and highways on a sunny day for reference. “Like the wave patterns, the gray light is conjured from my memories of the winter,” he says.
For DiFronzo, his painting of a graffitied box car in a desolate landscape is metaphorical in nature. “In some ways, Borderline is about human existence itself,” say the artist. “I think of it as a painting of a sky with a train car in front of it. The world spins and time marches on endlessly in the background. Everything we do—every mark we leave on our world—is fleeting and barely registers any significance in geologic or astrological time. Yet here we stand, however momentarily, under that sky and the infinite march of time.”
Judy Nimtz, DTLA, oil on panel, 11¾ x 8¾ in.
These works and many others that showcase the beauty of the urban and industrial landscape are on view at George Billis Gallery in Fairfield, Connecticut, from June 3 through July 11. —
George Billis Gallery 1700 Post Road • Fairfield, CT 06824 • (203) 557-9130 • www.georgebillis.com
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