Creating an appreciation for Arts – A Multi-Generational Approach

Creating an appreciation for Arts 

By Martina Dodd

We may not have all grown up around art or been born into a family of artists and creatives like Maya Asante Freelon and William Mackinnon, but that shouldn’t stop us from surrounding our family with paintings, photography and sculpture. Creating an appreciation for the arts at a young age not only improves observation and cognitive skills but can also enhance a child’s understanding of history and culture.  Trips to museums and visits to art galleries with your family can be a rewarding experience for you as well.  A child’s perspective of a piece of art can sometimes be even more inspiring than an art historians!  So let their imagination run free, especially with series drenched in memory, spiritual connects and self-discovery like Kesha Bruce’s “The Guardians” or Maya Freelon Asante’s “Handmade”.

Kesha Bruce, Soliis Journey Home, 48″x48″, mixed media on canvas

 

Maya Freelon Asante, Handmade, 36″x37″, tissue ink monoprint

 

Parents and educators can also use art as a fun and creative teaching platform.  Through Victor Ekpuk’s use of Nsibidi, an indigenous African system of writing, a child can be introduced to cultural traditions and new ways of communication.

Victor Ekpuk, Asian Uboikpa (Hip Sista) Series #11, 2015, acrylic on canvas, 60″x48″

Or they can learn about the brightly colored deep sea animals and florescent habitants which inspired some of Julia Fernandez Pol’s paintings.

Julia Fernandez Pol, Reef Series 8, 23.5″x18.5″, bas-relief hand painted monoprint

 

With the help of Andrei Petrov you can also teach a geography lesson based off of pieces like “Istanbul” and “Swiss Bliss” which loosely resemble European landscapes.

Andrei Petrov, Istanbul, 30″x48″, oil on canvas

 

Andrei Petrov, Swiss Bliss, 42″x42″, oil on canvas

 

 

By instilling an interest, understanding and love for art who knows what the next generation of artists and collectors will create or develop? And maybe during your next visit to Morton Fine Art they can help pick out your newest piece of art work!

Morton Fine Art, 1781 Florida Ave NW, Washington, DC 20009

(202) 628-2787, http://www.mortonfineart.com, mortonfineart@gmail.com

NATALIE CHEUNG’s “Facsimile” and ANDREI PETROV’s “B.C./A.D” reviewed in the Washington Post

 

 

“Cappadocian Field Trip” and other abstract oil paintings by Andrei Petrov evoke erosion. (Andrei Petrov/Courtesy of Morton Fine Art)

 

By Mark Jenkins April 10, 2015

NATALIE CHEUNG’s “Facsimile” and ANDREI PETROV’s “B.C./A.D.” reviewed in the Washington Post

Natalie Cheung & Andrei Petrov

Photograms and chemigrams are both forms of camera-less photography yet have a very different feel. Natalie Cheung illustrates the contrast with “Facsimile,” at Morton Fine Art. The smaller photograms, created by placing objects on photo paper and then exposing it, are hard-edged, black-and-white and essentially tidy. The chemigrams, painted with chemicals on photo paper, are larger and looser. The billowing black and red-brown forms suggest ink painting but also, at their most ominous, blood-
spatter patterns. One piece resembles a razor blade, dripping with black plasma. Even if it may not be what the Washington artist intended, these pictures are beguilingly dark, fluid and strange.

The abstract oils of Andrei Petrov’s “B.C./A.D.,” also at Morton, evoke glaciation, erosion and water seeping through rock. Such associations fit the Washington-born New York artist’s method: He both builds and subtracts from his paintings, scraping and sanding to achieve a hard-worked surface and compositions that feature seeming cracks and crevices. The colors include some bright blues but are mostly shades that suggest minerals. Although “Swiss Bliss” somewhat resembles a landscape, most of the works lack that picture’s sense of distance. Whatever it is that Petrov depicts, he puts the viewer very close to its center.

Facsimile: Alternative Process Photographs by Natalie Cheung and B.C./A.D.: Nature-Based Abstract Oil Paintings by Andrei Petrov On view through April 16 at Morton Fine Art, 1781 Florida Ave. NW. 202-628-2787. http://www.mortonfineart.com

ANDREI PETROV’s “BC/AD” opens at Morton Fine Art Friday 3/27/15

B.C. / A. D.

Nature-based Abstract Oil Paintings by ANDREI PETROV

Friday, March 27th – April 16th, 2015

OPENING DAY RECEPTION 

Friday, March 27th, 6pm-8pm

Artist will be in attendance.

About ANDREI PETROV:

In his exhibition “B.C./A.D”, NYC-based artist ANDREI PETROV roots his latest series of paintings in memories of a journey to Europe made nearly 2 decades ago. He emphasizes the importance and immediacy of naked observation which resonated through his senses first-hand and created a strong memory of place.  He challenges viewers to recall ways of seeing which favor the live experience rather than an instant snapshot, juxtaposing a time 20 years ago which was “before cellphones” and the distraction caused by “another digital set of eyes”.

“The production of a painting begins with a pencil or ink drawing on paper which I extrapolate from and edit as I work the canvas. First with pencil or charcoal and then with color washes done with acrylic or ink, I map the raw canvas and allow it to be ingrained with the materials. Once satisfied with the composition and balance, the surface is sealed with a clear acrylic so as to allow the use of oil based pigments. Handmade tools are used to drag, apply, scrape and blend the paint across the canvas plane. Sandpaper and rags also propel the evolution of the work. The addition and subtraction of paint are meant to act as a metaphor for the intentions and motives for which the paintings are based.” – Andrei Petrov

Contact Morton Fine Art for artwork availability. http://www.mortonfineart.com, (202) 628-2787, mortonfineart@gmail.com

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Morton Fine Art at Aqua Art Miami 2014

Morton Fine Art invites you to attend Aqua Art Miami. For the third consecutive year, MFA will be located in booth #216 at Aqua Art Miami international fine art fair.  

Show Hours

Wednesday, December 3 | 3pm-10pm | VIP Opening Preview Party (for VIP pass holders)

Regular Fair Hours
Thursday, December 4 : 12pm – 9pm
Friday, December 5 : 11am – 9pm
Saturday, December 6 : 11am – 9pm
Sunday, December 7 : 11am – 6pm

Location

Aqua Art Miami – Aqua Hotel, 1539 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33139

Aqua is located on Collins Ave, a short walk south of Art Basel Miami Beach, across from the Loews Hotel.

Morton Fine Art will be located in Suite 216.

Featured Artists

Maya Freelon Asante (North Carolina, b. USA)

Osi Audu (NYC, b. Nigeria)

Kesha Bruce (France, b. USA)

Ethan Diehl (Iowa, b. USA)

Victor Ekpuk (Washington, DC, b. Nigeria)

GA Gardner (Trinidad, b. Trinidad)

Katherine Hattam (Melbourne, b. Australia)

Choichun Leung (NYC, b. Wales)

William Mackinnon (Melbourne, b. Australia)

Nnenna Okore (Illinois, b. Nigeria)

Andrei Petrov (NYC, b. USA)

Stephon Senegal (Washington, DC, b. USA)

Vonn Sumner (Los Angeles, b. USA)

Charles Williams (North Carolina, b. USA)

Preview the work on the Morton Fine Art website: www.mortonfineart.com

mortonfineart@gmail.com, (202) 628-2787

ANDREI PETROV’s commission painting after his sketch “Arctic Retreat”

Ever been curious of how commissioning a painting works?  Here’s a wonderful example of how NYC-based abstract painter ANDREI PETROV transformed his informal sketch “Arctic Retreat” into a full blown finished painting “South Pole Soiree”.

First, a collector fell in love with his small sketch created in oil on panel. The title of the sketch is “Arctic Retreat” which measures 9″x13.5″ unframed. This work is a process painting and stands strong when framed and displayed on its own, however our collector needed a much larger piece for her space and preferences.

ANDREI PETROV, Arctic Retreat, 9″x13.5″, oil on panel

 

Next, our collector determined the ideal size and format for her commission project.  She determined a square 44″x44″ piece would be best for her space.  She also described the elements she responded to in the sketch including palette, composition and detailing.  ANDREI PETROV reviewed her specs and agreed to create a commission based on “Arctic Retreat”.  He kindly agreed to provide a halfway image of the commission painting to the collector which can be seen below.

 

ANDREI PETROV, South Pole Soiree (Stage 1 – Halfway Image), 44″x44″, oil on canvas

 

Finally, additional paint layering was added until the painting was complete.  Once finished, the commission piece was set to dry and then shipped to Morton Fine Art for our collector!

 

ANDREI PETROV, South Pole Soiree (FINAL), 44″x44″, oil on canvas

 

If you are interested in exploring commission artwork by ANDREI PETROV or any other MFA artist please feel free to contact the gallery for more details.

http://www.mortonfineart.com

mortonfineart@gmail.com

(202) 628-2787

 

 

 

ANDREI PETROV reviewed in the Washington Post

In the Galleries: ‘Syria: Sacred Spaces. Ancient Prayers,’ ‘Sedition of Sound,’ ‘Pure’

By Mark Jenkins, Published: April 18

 

Andrei Petrov, Redemption Song, 48″x30″, oil on canvas

 

Andrei Petrov

Like the mid-20th-century abstract expressionists, Andrei Petrov attempts a pictorial equivalent of music. But where the usual preference was jazz, Petrov’s “Sedition of Sound” was inspired by Delta blues and 1960s protest songs. The New York painter writes that his show, at Morton Fine Art, reflects “the shifting moods and sentiments captured in those recordings.”

The colors and textures in Petrov’s paintings shift, although usually over a steady visual beat. Typically, his pictures emphasize a vertical pattern, something like a wood’s grain. Over that matrix, the artist adds splatters, rough circles, contrapuntal gestures and areas that simulate tears in the canvas. These may represent another of Petrov’s themes, “the distortion, incompleteness and rare moments of clarity in the shadows of memory.”

The artist employs both addition and subtraction. He builds up layers of oil paint over pencil and charcoal drawings, and ink and acrylic washes, yet later rubs and scrapes pigment from the surface. Most of his pictures feature a wide array of hot hues, often in gushes or glimmers than suggest lava or sunlight. Some of the show’s most striking compositions are more limited in color, whether to black, white or gray or the blue, white and orange of the vast “Theoretical Geography.” Whatever it represents, subtraction serves Petrov well.

Sedition of Sound: New Paintings by Andrei Petrov On view through April 22 at Morton Fine Art, 1781 Florida Ave. NW; 202-628-2787; www.mortonfineart.com.

Andrei Petrov, Piece of My Heart, 24″x47″, oil on canvas

View images of ANDREI PETROV’s exhibition “Sedition of Sound”

SEDITION OF SOUND

New Oil Paintings by ANDREI PETROV

March 28 – April 22, 2014

 

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EXHIBITION LOCATION  Morton Fine Art (MFA) 1781 Florida Ave NW (at 18th & U Sts) Washington, DC 20009 HOURS  Tuesday – Saturday 11am – 6pm Sunday 12pm-5pm About the inspiration for Sedition of Sound: In the 20th century music has served as a medium to express injustice, lack of freedom, loss of love and opposition to war. The blues from the field recordings from the Delta in the twenties or the protest songs from the sixties both evoked unjust circumstances that demanded change. Power from song extended the messages, of speeches and protests, through records played on the airwaves or at home and shaped imagination. This series of paintings is a reflecting pool of the shifting moods and sentiments captured in those recordings. – Andrei Petrov About ANDREI PETROV’s process (New York, b. USA): The production of a painting begins with a pencil or ink drawing on paper which I extrapolate from and edit as I work the canvas. First with pencil or charcoal and then with color washes done with acrylic or ink, I map the raw canvas and allow it to be ingrained with the materials. Once satisfied with the composition and balance, the surface is sealed with a clear acrylic so as to allow the use of oil based pigments. Handmade tools are used to drag, apply, scrape and blend the paint across the canvas plane. Sandpaper and rags also propel the evolution of the work. The addition and subtraction of paint are meant to act as a metaphor for the intentions and motives for which the paintings are based. – Andrei Petrov

 

MORTON FINE ART returns to Booth#216 at AQUA Art Miami

Morton Fine Art is proud to participate in Aqua Art Miami’s international contemporary art fair Dec. 4th -8th 2013.

VIP Preview 

Wednesday, December 4  4pm -11pm

Access for Art Miami, CONTEXT and Aqua Art Miami VIP Cardholders & Press

General Admission Hours

Thursday, December 5	12 pm – 9 pm
Friday, December 6	11 am – 9 pm
Saturday, December 7	11 am – 9 pm
Sunday, December 8	11 am – 6 pm

Location 

Aqua Art Miami 

Aqua Hotel 

1530 Collins Avenue

Miami Beach, FL 33139 

Morton Fine Art will be located in Booth 216. 

Artists Represented

Maya Freelon Asante

Osi Audu

Kesha Bruce

Nathaniel Donnett

Victor Ekpuk

GA Gardner

Andrei Petrov

Julia Fernandez Pol

Stephon Senegal

Vonn Sumner

Please contact the gallery for complimentary passes to the art fair.  

mortonfineart@gmail.com 

(202) 628-2787 

About Morton Fine Art

Founded in 2010 in Washington, DC, Morton Fine Art (MFA) represents a diverse roster of emerging to mid career national and international contemporary artists.  MFA’s primary focus, although not exclusive, is abstract and figurative work. Featured mediums include a rich variety of artworks on paper and canvas as well as sculpture. Dedicated to the belief that anyone can become an art collector, Morton Fine Art (MFA) is an accessible and education-oriented fine art gallery devoted to inspiring fresh ways of acquiring museum quality contemporary art.

About AQUA Art Miami

One of the best fairs for emerging art during Miami Art Week, AquaArt Miami will celebrate its 9th consecutive installment this December, and its first as one of the Art Miami LLC family of fairs. Over the years, the fair has been recognized for presenting vibrant and noteworthy international art programs with a particular interest in supporting young dealers and galleries with strong emerging and early-to-mid career artists.

Set within a classic South Beach hotel, with spacious exhibition rooms that open onto a breezy intimate courtyard, Aqua’s surroundings will be sure to be a favorite gathering spot not only for fun and relaxation during the busy week, but also as a place to exchange and disseminate new contemporary art ideas.
And with its close proximity to Art Basel and continuous shuttle service to Art Miami and CONTEXT Art Miami, Aqua Art Miami will transform into one of the top attended satellite art events for collectors, artists, curators, critics and art enthusiasts alike.

Aqua Art Miami will feature 45 dynamic young galleries from North and South America, Europe and Asia, and innovative special programming including performance art, new media and solo installations. With this commitment to artistic excellence, along with building a dynamic young marketplace with new and increased opportunities around marketing and audience services, Aqua Art Miami is sure to surpass all expectations for 2013.

Artwork in “Fragmentation & Integration” – GA GARDNER and ANDREI PETROV

View the work online! Including new arrivals by artist ANDREI PETROV – arriving in the gallery today!

Andrei Petrov, Anatomy of Temptation (SOLD)

Andrei Petrov, Cognitive Distortion (SOLD)

Andrei Petrov, Partial Obstruction, 29×36, oil on canvas

Andrei Petrov, Perpetual Access (SOLD)

Andrei Petrov, Time Lapse, 32″x48″, oil on canvas

Andrei Petrov, Untitled, 13×48, oil on canvas

Andrei Petrov, Havana Nocturne, 36″x48″, oil on canvas

Andrei Petrov, Maine Stay, 30″x48″, oil on canvas

Andrei Petrov, Morrocan Field Trip, 48″x60″, oil on canvas

Andrei Petrov, Nostalgia in Lake George, 30″x48″, oil on canvas (SOLD

Andrei Petrov, Process of Elimination, 36″x22″, oil on canvas

Andrei Petrov, Whiff of Hope, 13″x48″, oil on canvas

GA Gardner, Six Degrees, 42″x44″, mixed media on mylar

GA Gardner, Dangerous, 61″x42″, mixed media on mylar

GA Gardner, Home, 69″x42″, mixed media on mylar (SOLD)

GA Gardner, Red, White, Blue and Black, 72″x42″, mixed media on mylar

GA Gardner, White Path, 55″x84″, mixed media on mylar

GA Gardner, Blinding Beauty, 50″x42″, mixed media on mylar

GA GARDNER & ANDREI PETROV’s show “Gallery Opening of the Week” in Washington Post

The Washington Post, Friday, March 8, 2013

The “Fragmentation & Integration” exhibition at Morton Fine Art will feature work from GA Gardner and Andrei Petrov, including the latter’s oil painting “Moroccan Field Trip.”

GALLERY OPENING OF THE WEEK

Formal considerations – how a work of art is put together – are front and center in “Fragmentation & Integration,” a two-person exhibition opening Friday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Morton Fine Art. The show features the abstractions of G.A. Gardner and Andrei Petrov, two artists whose manipulations of surface, pattern and scale explore the tension between coming together and falling apart.

But form also can convey a deeper meaning, as in the case of Gardner’s organic images, which the artist says are about the theme of memory and forgetting.

-Michael O’Sullivan
________________________

Through April 2 at 1781 Florida Ave. NW (Metro: U Street).
202-628-2787
http://www.mortonfineart.com. Free.