Larry Calcagno

"Untitled" Larry Calcagno, Trompe-l'œil Mixed-Media Minimalist Composition

Louis Charles Moeller A Toast Signed lower right Oil on canvas 12 x 16 inches Louis Charles Moeller was a master of American genre painting. His meticulously detailed, highly finish...

George Luks An Actor Signed lower left Oil on canvas 18 x 24 inches Provenance Coe Kerr Gallery, New York, 1985 Manoogian Collection, Michigan Artist George Luks was one of a group...

Bratin Khan - Christ Charcoal & Pastel on Canvas, 30 x 24 inches, 2009 The anecdotes and narratives of Krishna's life are generally titled as Krishna Leela. He is a central character in the Mahabharata, the Bhagavata Purana and the Bhagavad Gita, and is mentioned in many Hindu philosophical, theological, and mythological texts. They portray him in various perspectives: a god-child, a prankster, a model lover, a divine hero, and as the universal supreme being. His iconography reflects these legends, and shows him in different stages of his life, such as an infant eating butter, a young boy playing a flute, a young man with Radha or surrounded by women devotees, or a friendly charioteer giving counsel to Arjuna. He is sometimes accompanied by cows or a calf, which symbolise the divine herdsman Govinda. Alternatively, he is shown as a romantic and seductive man with the gopis (milkmaids), often making music or playing pranks. Style : Marked for the refined handling of line work and palette, his painterly compositions, reflect influences of folk art and Bengal School. The renderings are poetic and the narratives mythical, folklore-inspired or religious. His curvaceous and languid figures, often accompanied by a surrounding halo, are set amidst a natural habitat. The imagery features Buddha, Krishna, other legendry icons as well as pretty damsels and lotus flowers. Figures dominate the whole thinking process of his paintings with different subjects such as mermaids, musicians (Classical Musicians , Rajasthani Folk Singers and Baul Singers) and mythological figures appearing in his works. He was deeply influenced by the life Sri Aurobindo and thus enlightened beings. Such as Buddha, Jesus and Krishna are also a recurring theme in his Golden Man series. His focus on detail and remarkable skill over the line make his style unique. He uses a traditional method of tempera painting which goes back to the Indian miniature though the material he uses is totally contemporary. Knowledge of the wash technique further enables him to create a soft, twilight effect in his paintings. About the Artist and his work : Born : 1969, West Bengal. Education : 1993 Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting), Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan. Selected Solo Exhibitions : 2000 - Classic Source, Mumbai. 1999 - Rightlines Art Gallery, Bangalore. 1993 - Grindlays Bank Gallery, Kolkata. Selected Group Exhibitions : 2007 - ‘A Brush with Durga’ ,Gallery Kolkata, Kolkata. 2002 - 'Gems of Bengal Art...

Forgive Us Our Sins, Sacre-Coeur (Sacred-Heart in English) depicts a high fashion model on the Paris runway. St. Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, is scrawled on the canvas, graffiti style. Created in three vertical panels that reference the classic style of altar pieces, it is elevated by the lower panel. The prettiness of the model is in contrast to the grittiness of spray paint that is superimposed on the work. This lower panel has been treated with a high gloss resin, in contrast to the matte finish of the rest of the work. Scrawled in the lower left portion of the painting, the text reads Pardonne nos péchés, or forgive us our sins. This monumental work is rendered in realism, but ultimately expressed as a defaced modern commodity. The spray painted graffiti is transformed into a series of balloon like images, festive till one realizes they came from a paint gun...