This is it. The final weekend of AN INTIMATE VIEW: Small Paintings & Drawings by Ben Solowey. The show has been another success for the Solowey Studio and we are delighted by the scores of people who have visited and have enjoyed the exhibition. Even after 17 years of shows, it is surprising how many of these works have never been exhibited before, or have not been shown in years.
As there are pieces from virtually every part of of Ben Solowey’s career, this exhibition is literally a small retrospective. The show cover a half century of Solowey art.
The first pieces are from Ben’s sojourn to Europe in 1924 (the subject of a 1995 exhibition) and reveal their influence on his later work.
From his New York years, there’s a peek into Ben’s studio, theater portraits, and a still life (in one of Ben’s hand carved, gold leaf frames) that was recently discovered in a private collection and that has not been exhibited than 60 years.
There are several portraits of Rae throughout the years, including an very early portrait, a stunning 1939 oil, and an exquisite view of the artist’s wife from the 1950s (in another of Ben’s handcarved, gold-leaf frame).
What you don’t want to miss are the unexpected pleasures of Ben’s work in the exhibition. The heavily impasto 1925 self portrait, the quintessential image of Rae titled Sunny Corner, the serene still life of peonies in a cut glass vase, the pastel that brought so much joy to Kitty Carlisle Hart, or the roughly painted landscape in which Ben used a palette knife rather than a brush.
To see all of this in the studio where much of it was created, set in the middle of a 34 acre farm where the winter wheat is almost ready to harvest and lush vegetation is everywhere, is an offer that you don’t want to let pass by.
Clockwise from top left: Nasturtiums. Oil on canvas, c. 1935, 16 x 20 in; Jardin de Luxemborg. Oil on board, 1924, 13 x 16 in; African Violets. Oil on canvas, 1926, 20 x 16 in. Reflection. Watercolor on paper, 17 x 12 in.
