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Facing Reality: The Seavest Collection of Contemporary Realism

9/14/03 - 2/15/04

This exhibition features selections from a collection amassed by Richard D. Segal, a Westchester County resident. The Seavest Collection includes work by leading masters of American Realism, among them Steven Assael, Jennifer Bartlett, Carolyn Brady, Robert Cottingham, Don Eddy, Christopher Evans, Janet Fish, Gregory Gillespie, Curt Hoppe, Alex Katz, Robert Longo, Alice Neel, Philip Pearlstein, and James Rosenquist. (right: Christopher Evans, Chrysler Building, Nocturne, 1993, oil on canvas, 42 x 22 inches)

Facing Reality presents works in a broad range of styles, from the loosely painted to the photo-realistic, and provides a forum for an exchange of ideas about the history and persistence of realism in art. The works selected for this presentation attest to the power of direct visual language as a continually renewing source that fills the need to formalize and authenticate ideas. The collection and the exhibition are a testimony to the indomitable persistence and strength of Realism as an art form.

"In the arts, Realism is the accurate, detailed, unembellished depiction of a particular moment in contemporary life or nature. Realism rejects imaginative idealization in favor of close observation of outward appearances. As such, in its broad sense, realism has comprised many artistic currents in different civilizations," says Dede Young, Neuberger Museum of Art Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. (left: Curt Hoppe, Sun Bather with Glamour Magazine, 1982-84, acrylic on canvas, 42 x 35 inches)

The Seavest Collection ranks among the most prestigious collections of Contemporary American Realism. It represents a commitment to art and patronage on the part of Mr. Segal with the participation and support of his family. "The right painting focuses the eye and mind, and fills my soul with the peace that comes from understanding," Segal writes. "Each of the works in the collection has a hold over me, informs me and defines me. It is my hope that in presenting this collection to the world there will be others for whom they will do the same."

The exhibition is curated by Dede Young, Neuberger Museum of Art Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Read more articles and essays concerning this institutional source by visiting the sub-index page for the Neuberger Museum of Art in Resource Library Magazine

BSearch for more articles and essays on American art in Resource Library. See America's Distinguished Artists for biographical information on historic artists.

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