I stopped in to see Allen Bentley‘s exhibit at Bridgette Mayer Gallery the other day. It was pouring rain and inside, Bentley’s hot colors and all the steamy bodies in motion in his paintings took the chill right out of me. These new works, which were selling well, Mayer said, show Bentley moving in a new direction, away from the dance motif and into edgier territory with more about gender politics, sex and power. It’s great to see artists take risks. (image is “Two Count,” 2004, oil on canvas)
bentley, allen
“Two Count” and another work, “Thunder,” (below) both large and full of saturated, Toys-R-Us colors, are the most open and provocative of the lot. They seem to imply a questioning about roles and human interaction without coming to conclusions.
Bentley will give a public gallery talk about his work this Friday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. Email or call the gallery to rsvp: bridgetteart@earthlink.net 215.413.8893
Meanwhile, gallerist Mayer, who is an art consultant as well, is putting together a seminar for artists called “Rock Solid Finance: Building your Financial Present and Future as a Creative Professional.” The two-hour long session, co-sponsored by Mayer and Kara Zidek, will provide information on financial planning and goals for artists. The seminar is scheduled for May 11, 6-8:30 pm and will be held at the ICA (not a sponsor but they have a good room for the event). Nominal fee (in the neighborhood of $10) and proceeds go to a scholarship fund for a student from Philadelphia High School of Art and Design.
