I am pleased to announce the arrival of two new paintings, ‘Byzantine’ and ‘Gray Totem’, by artist Vonn Sumner. Mentored by renowned California painter Wayne Thiebauld, Vonn Sumner had his first museum solo exhibition, “The Other Side of Here”, at the Riverside Art Museum in 2008. He now gears up for a second museum solo exhibition at The Phillips Museum of Art in Pennsylvania in 2011.
Vonn Sumner's 'Byzantine', oil on panel, 19.25"x16"
Vonn Sumner's 'Grey Totem', oil on panel, 20"x16"
Influenced by Renaissance art, Vonn Sumner is well known for otherworldly figurative narratives, oftentimes originating in costumed self portraits. As curator Peter Frank notes, ” the decision to generate the costumes himself…has allowed the artist to burrow much deeper into the eccentricities of this characters and their idiosyncratic inner lives. They are resonant precisely because they turn inwards, rather than project their energies out into an uncaring and voracious contemporary media sphere.”
The Journey of the Magi (1435), by Sassetta
Attached is a slide show of work currently on loan to The Phillips Museum of Art for Vonn Sumner’s September 2011 museum show, which will run concurrently with the artist’s September solo exhibition at MFA!
Morton Fine Art: curator's notes 
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