A Glimpse Ahead, Elisa Contemporary Art Pop Up Exhibit in Westport CT

A Glimpse Ahead Elisa Contemporary Art Pop-Up Exhibit Westport, CT May 14 - June 13, 2021

Carol Bennett

Elisa Contemporary Art www.ElisaContemporaryArt.com Lisa@ElisaArt.com 212.729.4974

Mitch McGee

Jeffrey Palladini

Dale Najarian

The new Elisa Contemporary Art exhibit, A Glimpse Ahead, is a Pop-Up exhibit in the George Billis Gallery at 166 Main Street, Westport CT. The exhibit runs from May 14 through June 13, 2021.

A Glimpse Ahead is primarily a Figurative exhibit with a focus on the Summer Season. The artwork includes Ocean Swimmers, Surfers, Pool scenes, and Waterscapes.

It is a curated selection of work aimed at creating a sense of peace, calm and joy.

The exhibit features the artwork of Hawaii Artist Carol Bennett, San Francisco Minimalist Jeffrey Palladini, Texas Pop Artist Mitch McGee and Westport Artist, Dale Najarian.

Water flows through the art of Bennett, "I throw myself into the water almost every day - it grounds me, the body floats and the mind drifts.The "Swimmer series" has followed me over the years, resurfacing and evolving. Presently I'm working on wood, I'm intrigued by wood grain swirling like water and how that ground moves through the swimmer's form". The exhibit includes works on Wood panel, as well as a series on paper .

The Pool Scene series by Palladini features Male and Female Swimmers on lounge chairs – bringing to the viewer of a sense of relaxation and ease.

We will also feature a female Birch wood dimensional artwork by Pop Artist, McGee. The exhibit will feature several new abstracted waterscapes on canvas and wood panel by Najarian.

Elisa Contemporary Art www.ElisaContemporaryArt.com Lisa@ElisaArt.com 212.729.497

Carol Bennett Dissolve Acrylic, Oil and Varnish on Wood Panel 35.5 x 35.5

Carol Bennett Arabesque Acrylic and Shellac on Wood Panel 9.75 x 9.75

Carol Bennett Current Acrylic, Ink, Oil,Varnish on paper 22.5 x 30 framed to 28 x 35

Carol Bennett Suspense Study Acrylic, Oil and Varnish on Paper 11.75 x 17 framed to 17.5 x 23

Carol Bennett Malibu Dawn Patrol Mixed Media on Wood Panel 31.5 x 31.5

Carol Bennett Waiohai Mixed Media on Paper 15 x 20 framed to 21 x 27

Carol Bennett Effervescence Mixed Media on Wood Panel 18 x 18

Carol Bennett Flesh Board Mixed Media on Paper 30 x 11.5, Unframed

Jeffrey Palladini Chaise No. 18 Oil and Charcoal on Wood Panel 12 x 48

Jeffrey Palladini Chaise No. 19 Oil and Charcoal on Wood Panel 12 x 48

Also Available

Jeffrey Palladini Pool #21 Oil on Monitor and Video 21 x 29

Mitch McGee Forever After All Cut, Painted and Layered Birch Wood 36 x 36

Also Available: Mitch McGee All That I Can - Green Woodcut on Paper 26 x 26, framed to 30 x 30

Mitch McGee Fragments II Silkscreen on Paper 24 x 24, framed to 29 x 29

Dale Najarian Jewel Landscape Oil on Canvas 36 x 36

Dale Najarian Hidden Bijou Sun Oil on Canvas 20 x 20

Dale Najarian New England Escape Oil on Wood with Varnish 16 x 20

Dale Najarian Cloud Study Oil on Wood Block 5x5

Dale Najarian Calm Water Study Oil on Wood Block 6x6

Dale Najarian Spring Marsh Study Oil on Wood Block 6x6

Also Available: Dale Najarian Compo Jetty Oil on Canvas 36 x 48

Dale Najarian Compo Pink Sky Oil on Canvas 24 x 36

About the Artists: Carol Bennett Carol Bennett is one of the few artists I know who really captures what it's like to be in...and move through the water. She is a native of Los Angeles, who has spent the last 20 years living in Hawaii in Kaua'i. Her work is a meditative journey through both the water and through life. She is intrigued by how life continues to flow and change, being both in the moment and timeless. The viewer will experience being in a state “flow” – where the currents of the ocean suspend life and self, and the unexpected floats to the surface.

Bennett’s fascination with the swimmer imagery began when she was living in Los Angeles and swimming at the LA Athletic Club. According to Carol, “The floor beneath the pool, with its ethereal skylight, was an underwater observation room...used by Olympic coaches in the 1920's. I would feel like a voyeur, watching the swimmer's private time and drawing in their beauty. I became the swimmer I observed in the images I later created.”

Bennett’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibits throughout California and Hawaii including a 2007 solo show at the First Hawaiian Center at the Contemporary Museum of Art (Honolulu) and a 2018 exhibit, "Making Waves" exhibit at the Honolulu Museum of Art. Her work was seen alongside April Gornik, Agnes Martin, Kiki Smith, and Pat Steir (to name a few), as well as a solo exhibit, “Networking & Water”.

She has been featured in Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, CT Cottages & Gardens Design Guide, Ocean Home Magazine and the New York Times. Bennett’s artwork has also been featured in Designer Showhouses in Westchester NY and the Hamptons, and is part of public and private collections around the world.

Mitch McGee The influences for Texas artist Mitch McGee came from the style of Pop Art legend, Roy Lichtenstein. According to McGee, "Lichtenstein with a Red Bow was the first piece that started me down this rabbit hole. In an almost tongue-in-cheek fashion I wondered how I could take one of his pieces and recreate it in another medium." From that start, McGee began to create his own style and establish his unique voice.

Today, his creativity exists in that space between painting and sculpture. In his Birch series, McGee uses pieces of wood, each illustrated, hand cut and stained or painted to create dimensional pieces. Each painting is filled with thick layers and subtle shadows. There is a warmth created by the imperfection of the birch and its grain that creates an emotional connection. Each painting is a labor of love, taking 40 to 50 hours or more to complete.

His work is public and private collections throughout the world including TV journalist Serena Altschul, Pamela Ford, and the Feld Family (Ringling Bros). It was recently shown on the cover of Connecticut Magazine Home & Design Guide

Dale Najarian Dale Najarian received her BFA from Moore College of Art & Design in Philadelphia. She began painting in watercolor in 1998 and over the years experimented with other mediums including acrylics, mixed media, and oils. In 2005 she relocated with her family to Singapore for several years and traveled throughout South East Asia, New Zealand, Australia and China. Dale's photographs taken during this time are a source of inspiration for many of her landscape paintings.

According to Najarian: "Art is my passion and a huge part of my everyday life. My work is a colorful translation of everyday scenes and objects. I often work from life or in my studio using photography as a general guide. Once I get the feel for the painting, I abandon the actual image and create from within to develop a recognizable yet simplistic painting the viewer can identify with." Dale paints in her studio in Westport and her art has been exhibited and collected throughout the US and UK. Jeffrey Palladini Jeffrey Palladini’s unconventional portraits evoke feelings of sensuality and euphoria. While the San Francisco-based artist studied at California State University, it was in Florence that his true creative spirit was pulled forth from the beauty that surrounded him. Now his modern figure paintings breathe life with vibrant colors and flowing brushstrokes. Unlike many portrait paintings, Jeffrey minimizes the amount of detail and information allowing the viewer to gain intense suggestions of emotions in an instant. The simplicity is reminiscent of Alex Katz.

Palladini’s works have been exhibited in galleries across the United States and internationally, and is in public and private collections worldwide.

In 2012, Asterisk SF Magazine's Art & Design Issue named him one of San Francisco's top 20 artists. In 2013, one of his paintings was added to the art collection of the Four Seasons in Hawaii.

Elisa Contemporary Art www.ElisaContemporaryArt.com

About Elisa Contemporary Art Elisa Contemporary Art represents a portfolio of both emerging and mid-career contemporary artists, with a focus on the dynamic use of mediums and materials. Currently about 25% of our artists are from the West Coast/Pacific.

Our art and artists do not fit into any particular current trend or fashion, but are those exploring and testing the boundaries of various media, techniques, materials and ideas about humanity, nature and our world.

Founded in 2007 by Lisa Cooper, Elisa Contemporary Art is dedicated to promoting the appreciation and collection of art as a way to enrich and heal our lives, our communities, and the world. A portion of every gallery sale is donated to charities helping underserved children heal through art. We support Free Arts NYC and The Art Therapy Project.

Elisa Contemporary Art has participated in international art fairs in New York, Miami and the Hamptons. We have also curated over 40+ public art exhibits in the Tri-State area. Elisa Contemporary Art has been featured in a number of publications including Ocean Home Magazine, Hamptons Cottages & Gardens, CT Cottages & Gardens Design Guide, New England Home—CT, At Home FC, Connecticut Magazine Home + Design Guide, New York Spaces, American Art Collector, and The New York Times.

The Gallery is located at 5622 Mosholu Avenue, Riverdale NY (Open Wednesdays 12-5pm & by appointment). Our Art Salon in Fairfield, CT, which launched in 2017, is open by appointment only.

Owner Lisa Cooper is a member of Art Table, The Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County and the Art & Architect Review Committee at Saint Peter’s Church in Manhattan.

Elisa Contemporary Art www.ElisaContemporaryArt.com Lisa@ElisaArt.com 212.729.4974 For more information, visit the website at www.ElisaContemporaryArt.com or see us on 1stdibs: 1stdibs.com/dealers/elisa-contemporary-art Facebook: facebook.com/ElisaContemporaryArt Instagram: @ElisaContemporaryArt