When you're lonely and tired of the city
Remember it’s a flower made out of clay
-The Velvet Underground
Auxier Kline is pleased to present, A Flower Made Out of Clay, a group exhibition featuring the works of ten New York painters. Taking its title from the lyrics in The Velvet Underground song “Ride Into the Sun (Session Outtake)”, A Flower Made Out of Clay is a metaphor for the city of New York.
The paintings included in the exhibition come together to create a visual love letter of sorts to the idiocratic city these artists currently or have called home. New York City and its 8.468 million residents are famously known for being tough and resilient. The ten contemporary artists included in the exhibition have created paintings that capture and celebrate moments of beauty found in a gritty city that is continually in flux, and notoriously never sleeps. These paintings commemorate the daily lives of New Yorkers, the cityscapes they inhabit, and the apartments that act as sanctuaries from the hustle and bustle of the city streets. These images salute scenes familiar to any of the city’s dwellers; the Statue of Liberty glimpsed from the back of cab on the Brooklyn Bridge, the laundromat, bunches of flowers at the bodega, discarded furniture on the street corner, pigeons, skyscrapers that act as landmarks, ever present constructions sites, fashionable retail stores, insanely expensive apartments, losing your umbrella to the wind in a rainstorm, and the city skyline ablaze after the sun sets on the Hudson River.
A Flower Made Out of Clay is dedicated to the unique spirit of the City of New York, and to the New Yorkers that make the city one of the greatest in the world.
Participating Artists:
Matthew Zaccari - Logan T. Sibrel - Rachel Rickert - Paula Querido - Emila Olsen - Chelsie Kirkey - Brandon Elijah Johnson - Scott Csoke - Joseph Bilger - James Bertucci
Emilia Olsen, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not...", oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches, 2019
Matthew Zaccari, "January", oil on masonite, 8 x 10 inches, 2023
Brandon Elijah Johnson, “whether the storm”, oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches, 2023
Chelsie Kirkey, "Clean break", oil on linen, 10 x 7 inches, 2023
James Bertucci, "Viewing panel (VI)", oil on canvas, 18 x 18 inches, 2021-22
Logan T. Sibrel, "Fallen (Glenmore)", oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches, 2023
Paula Querido, "the laundromat", oil on linen, 75 x 90 in, 2023
Scott Csoke, "John Derian Dry Goods", acrylic on panel, 20 x 16 inches, 2023
Rachel Rickert, "Brooklyn Dreamers", oil on panel, 11 x 14 inches, 2021
Joseph Bilger, "Ego Ski", oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2014
Joseph Bilger, "Ego Spring", oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2014
Joseph Bilger, "Ego Ferry", oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches, 2014
Joseph Bilger, "Ego Eagle", 12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas, 2013
Joseph Bilger, "Ego Shadow", 12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas, 2014
Joseph Bilger, "Ego Peonies", 12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas, 2023
Chelsie Kirkey, "Subway slumber", oil on linen, 20 x 26 inches, 2023
Scott Csoke, "My Gay Painted Room", acrylic on panel, 14 x 11 inches, 2023