Charlie Hewitt
New Prints Spring 2020
Charlie Hewitt: New Prints Spring 2020 Jim Kempner Fine Art is pleased to present an exhibition of recent prints by Charlie Hewitt. These relief prints - blends of woodcut and linocut - are a colorful celebration of the regional geography of the coast of Maine, where Hewitt grew up and now lives. Since the resurgence of the woodcut in the 1980’s, Hewitt has cut and gouged his way into the very soul of the medium. The physicality of this body of work reflects Hewitt’s emotional connection to the regional landscape, as well as his appreciation for the tactility of the medium. Recognizable shapes of buoys, waves, and lighthouses create a narrative throughout the show. This imagery is part of Hewitt’s personal iconography and references some of the New England industry Hewitt remembers from his childhood. These prints were printed by master printer David Wolfe, of Wolfe Editions. Charlie Hewitt, a prolific printmaker, painter and sculptor, splits his time between Portland, ME, and Jersey City, NJ. Stylistically rooted in expressionism and surrealism, Hewitt’s art is both playful and serious. Among Hewitt’s most important work to date is Urban Rattle, a sculpture that hovers prominently over Chelsea’s High Line park in New York City. He was commissioned to create this site-specific work which was installed in time for the inauguration of the second section of the High Line in 2012. Urban Rattle’s shapes intentionally recall the graffiti on the walls of the buildings surrounding it and can be said to honor the former grit and spirit of the area. Since the unveiling of this work, Hewitt has installed other large public Urban Rattle sculptures in Lewiston and Portland, Maine. These are the mill-working communities that he grew up around, and his work is largely influenced by their vitality and culture, as well as their shared values of church, family and hard work.
Urban Rattle (Ten23) (High Line), 2012. Painted aluminum. 20 feet high.
Hewitt’s work is represented in numerous collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, NY; New York Public Library, NY; Brooklyn Museum, NY; Library of Congress, Washington, DC; and the Portland Museum of Art, ME.
Copper Dome, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Dark Waters, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Hard Candy, 2020 Woodcut and linocut. 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Park Bench, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: White Light, 2020 Woodcut and linocut. 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Tin Pot, 2020 Woodcut and linocut. 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Green Tower, 2020 Woodcut and linocut. Image size: 22 x 16” 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Blue Tower, 2020 Woodcut and linocut. 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Rocking 5, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: China Bell, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 15
Malaga, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Big 8, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Duce, 2019 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Hitch, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Red Head, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Red Tide, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Black Mirror, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Yankee Roll, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Seagull, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Dogtown, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Copper Light, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Blue Cloud, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Lucky 7, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Left: Sea Smoke, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20 Right: Copper 2, 2020. Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Work Bench, 2020. Woodcut and linocut. 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Breakers, 2020 Woodcut and linocut with copper powder 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 20
Green Jug, 2020 Woodcut and linocut 25 1/2 x 19 1/2” Edition 10
JIM KEMPNER FINE ART Jim Kempner Fine Art specializes in contemporary paintings, sculpture, photography, and works on paper, with a special emphasis on contemporary master prints and outdoor sculpture. Our inventory appeals to the established as well as beginning collector. We work closely with art advisors, designers, corporations and museums to expand and enrich their varied collections. Located in the heart of Chelsea, the gallery’s three story modernist-inspired structure designed by architects Smith & Thompson boasts one of the few outdoor sculpture gardens in New York City, and is included in a number of books about contemporary architecture. Our inventory includes work by Donald Baechler, John Baldessari, Louise Bourgeois, Christo, Chuck Close, Richard Diebenkorn, Jim Dine, Sam Francis, Helen Frankenthaler, Spencer Finch, Jane Hammond, David Hockney, Howard Hodgkin, Jasper Johns, Deborah Kass, Alex Katz, Ellsworth Kelly, William Kentridge, Jeff Koons, Robert Mangold, Robert Motherwell (Jim Kempner Fine Art represents the Dedalus Foundation, Robert Motherwell’s print archive, in New York), Sol Lewitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Longo, Elizabeth Peyton, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Ed Ruscha, Paula Scher, Sean Scully, Frank Stella, Donald Sultan, Wayne Thiebaud, Andy Warhol and others. Among the contemporary artists whose work we represent are Robert Attanasio, Christopher Beane, Long-Bin Chen, Jeff Chyatte, Lin Emery, Rinaldo Frattolillo, Carole Freeman, Gianfranco Gorgoni, John Henry, Charlie Hewitt, Jay Kelly, Manuel Knapp, Nora Ligorano and Marshall Reese, Jerry Mischak, David Mitchell, Jacob Ouillette, Greg Parker, Robert Petersen, Jenna Pirello, Randy Regier, Paula Scher, Henry Schiowitz, Tom Slaughter, Pal Svensson, Boaz Vaadia, Bernar Venet, and Jim Watt. Jim Kempner Fine Art at its present location in the fall of 1997. Jim Kempner has published prints by Rinaldo Frattolillo, Charlie Hewitt, Robert Indiana, Paula Scher, Bernar Venet, in addition to Gianfranco Gorgoni’s photographs of Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty. Other publications include Ligorano/Reese’s Line Up portfolio, Untitled 2001 silkscreen, and the DEMOCRACY lightbox, made in collaboration with former gallery director Dru Arstark, under the name Madness of Art Editions. Jim has also published a number of his own prints, beginning with Apocryphal Now, in 2014.
501 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011
info@jimkempner.com
(212) 206-6872
www.jimkempnerfineart.com
