Truth in the Face of Reality: Non-Objective Art in the 21st Century

About

Since its inception in 2014, the gallery’s specialty is identifying and working collaboratively with emerging 21st-century artists whose work has the ability to influence society positively and powerfully. Truth in the Face of Reality: Non-Objective Art in the 21st Century highlights abstract painters that have dedicated their studio practices to carrying the flame of non-objective art into the 21st Century. The gallery aims to refocus the art market on the next generation of abstract artists. 

Robert Berry Gallery is exhibiting non-objective gallery artists Alex Cao, David Kastner, Ned Martin, Tom McFarland, Ned Martin, Taney Roniger, John Ruby, Jennifer Small, and Leonardo Silaghi, and is pleased to introduce Nick Aguayo, Peter Anton, Jonathan Apgar, William Bradley, Paula Cahill, Melanie Comber, Brandon Dunlap, Sebastian Helling, Tamiko Kawata, Michael John Kelly, Alex Kroll, Gena Milanesi, Javier Pelaezg, Josh Rowell, Silka Schwietzer, and Benjamin Weaver. 

Non-objective art is abstract or non-representational art. It tends to be geometric and does not represent specific objects, people, or other subjects found in the natural world. At the turn of the 20th century numerous artists were “discovering” abstract art at the same time. An early adopter of both abstraction and arguing about the founder of abstraction was Wassily Kandinsky who claimed that he created the first abstract painting in 1911, but further research proves he was not the first at all. Some arguments for the first non-objective artist call Swedish-artist Hilma af Klint as the first abstractionist who made her first non-objective painting in 1906, but in the summer of 1871, Georgiana Houghton was busy preparing for the opening of her very first art exhibition, Spirit Drawings in Water Colors, to be held at the New British Gallery on London’s Bond Street. The prolific artist presented prepared a grouping of sweeping non-objective works that were truly groundbreaking for the time. To be expected, her work did not receive a warm welcome. There has also been argument for Victor Hugo was making abstract works with washes of blue and black ink during exile in the 1850s and 1860s, but most relate to landscape, so are not truly the first non-objective works. 

The artists in this show are all up-and-coming non-objective artists who have studied the early masters of abstraction and are using their foundation to build and experiment upon and chronicles the rise and development of non-objective painting into the 21st century. Non-objective painting is not only abstraction by another name, but a separate focus that aims to completely separate abstraction from any elements of reliance upon anything from the natural world. 

For further information, please contact Robert Berry at 212-203-3661 or Robert@RobertBerryGallery.com, or visit www.RobertBerryGallery.com.