An installation view of artwork by Jefferey Cornett.
Distelheim Gallery opening
The Distelheim Gallery recently opened in Chicago, a multi-dimensional, digital-first platform that aims to revive and build upon the legacy of Dr. Irving Distelheim and his famed Distelheim Galleries, which he established on Chicago’s Oak Street in the early 1960s. The new Distelheim Gallery follows a story-centric, single-artist model, featuring large-format, mixed media works by artist Jefferey Cornett. The Distelheim Gallery carries Distelheim’s vision forward under the leadership of his daughter, Lisa Distelheim Barron, an award-winning journalist, and her partner, Cornett, who strives to build his own legacy through his bold artwork. “The gallery that once resided within brick and mortar in a bustling Chicago neighborhood now lives dually as a physical space and as a digital platform that honors the Oak Street-born Distelheim tradition, while bringing the modern advantages of an online presence,” Distelheim Barron says. “Jefferey’s vibrant creations and the narrative approach of the new gallery invite collectors of all levels to experience art in a personal and powerful way.”+++
Arizona-based artist Timothy Rees.
Tim Rees opens Scottsdale Atelier
Award-winning artist Timothy Rees is opening Scottsdale Atelier in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona, on August 31. The 501c3 nonprofit was founded with the goal of offering art students in the Southwest structured, intensive training in drawing and painting, following the techniques of the Old Masters. The atelier is walking distance to more than 50 art galleries, two art museums, the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts and more than 100 restaurants, making it one of the few schools outside of Europe where students can truly immerse themselves in arts and culture. Rees is a Portrait Society of America faculty artist; he is represented by Arcadia Contemporary (New York City), Bonner David Galleries (Scottsdale, Arizona), Susan Powell Fine Art (Madison, Connecticut) and Studio Pintura (Minneapolis, Minnesota).+++
Willie Birch, Boy with Blue Hair I, 2000.
Willie Birch: Stories to Tell
The first-ever career retrospective of renowned artist Willie Birch is currently on view at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, California. Willie Birch: Stories to Tell brings together groundbreaking works from the late 1960s to the present that chronicle Birch’s unique vision of the Black American experience and explore the interconnected nature of global art forms. Raised in New Orleans and trained in Europe, Baltimore and New York, Birch often speaks about “retentions,” a term he uses to describe cultural evidence of another culture’s traditions in Black American life. The exhibition is organized chronologically and in three major sections, beginning with Birch’s earlier works, continuing through his shift towards papier-mâché in the 1980s and closing with large-scale charcoal and acrylic works on paper. It hangs at CAAM through October 21, then moves on to the New Orleans Museum of Art from March 20 to September 5, 2027.+++
Richard Estes, Escalator at Penn Station, 2023, oil on panel.
Richard Estes retrospective
New York City-based Schoelkopf Gallery presents Richard Estes: My Camera Is My Sketchbook, a major exhibition examining the practice of Richard Estes, the 94-year-old master of photorealism whose work helped define the movement and is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim, Tate and dozens of institutions worldwide. The exhibition brings together paintings, prints, and, most notably, photographs that Estes presents as standalone artworks for the first time in his career. For decades, photography has served as the foundation of Estes’ process, but this exhibition marks the first time he has publicly revealed these images as finished works in their own right, offering an unprecedented look into the visual language behind some of the most iconic images in contemporary American art. Focusing on New York City and Maine, the exhibition includes familiar urban subjects ranging from Penn Station, Times Square, storefronts, subway cars and reflective glass facades to harbors and coastal landscapes. Richard Estes: My Camera Is My Sketchbook will be on view through August 21. —Powered by Froala Editor
