Press Release. Oct 13, 2020
Vanessa Rothe, Americans in Paris, email
Vanessa Rothe Fine Art Gallery and Fine Art Projects, presents
“Americans in Paris, ART NOUVEAU” Fine Art Exhibition & Sale
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Special Events with live art history slideshow lectures on ART NOUVEAU, artist Demos and discussions by many of the leading artists in Realism and Impressionism of today.
November 12th – December 30th, 2021
Vanessa Rothe Fine Art Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
418 Ocean Avenue Laguna Beach CA 92651
and additional Venues in Laguan Beach TBA.
949 280 1555
https://www.vanessarothefineart.com/americans-in-paris.html
This exciting and historically significant fine art project began with a purpose to inspire many of the most important contemporary artists in America in realism and impressionism to travel to Paris together and discover alluring new ideas for their works of art in a place where historically so many important artists and writers had been influenced by before.
“ We are not only making ART HISTORY” with this fine art project, we are creating works that will go down in history in the collections of top patrons, fine art magazines and books of the era”, notes Curator Rothe.
Following in the footsteps of the great American painters before them, such as Sargent, Whistler, Cassatt, or Guy Rose, a group of American realist and impressionist artists travelled to Paris to draw inspiration from the city of light, architecture and fine art. There they attended fine museums, examined the masters, absorbed the culture, shared ideas and painted together with the goal of reaching the next level of mastery in their work. Upon returning they exhibited their work together and discuss and share the inspiration and ideas with one another as well as their patrons. This important fine art project has been met with great success, sold-out shows, and is now in its 6th year.
Conceptualized and curated by fine art dealer, curator, editor and artist Vanessa Rothe, the “Americans in Paris” project, aims to influence this group of thirty of todays top fine artists in figure and landscape to learn from the historical masters whose life and works were greatly influenced by the grand city of Paris and the fields of France.
“We are not only following the footsteps of the great American painters, such as Sargent, Whistler and Cassatt, with our group of American artists as we travel to Paris to draw inspiration from the city of lights, architecture and fine art… but we are also doing something that is rare in the art world today. We are getting together as professional artists to influence each others works and to share ideas and inspiration…much like the Impressionists group and Poets/writers group in Paris from the 1920’s with Hemmingway did at the local cafes.”- explains Rothe.
Vanessa’s path to inspiring others, as well as her recognition of the importance of good subjects in art, came from many years living and working abroad where her own success was molded by the robust and cosmopolitan histoire of Europe.
“Americans in Paris” was founded upon introducing today’s fine artists to new, alluring foreign subjects and themes in order to enhance their painting subjects. She had also found, serving as West Coast Editor for a top fine art magazine for 16 years, that many of todays figure painters had not studied group figure in their art careers and would paint primarily a single figure in their works. Rothe felt it was important this was addressed and that they go and view the works together in Paris by the historical masters, in order to learn from them. Then perhaps they could incorporate those sophisticated layouts into the works of today…and at least to challenge them to try and create a large scale group figure work.
Rothe has formed an elite group of contemporary American realist and impressionist artists who wanted to expand their knowledge and subject matter. She specifically chose Paris due to its reputation for inspiring writers and artist’s imagination and awakening the intellect to an eclectic repertoire of fine art and culture. I addition they are taking note from the many historical famed artists that visited Paris and were influenced by its charm, and hence included its themes in their fine art work. The fact that Vanessa is also French, might have had something to do with it as well.
After the first “Americans in Paris” show in 2016 was met with great success, Rothe decided to make the experience an annual event. In this year of VRFA Gallery’s “Americans in Paris” exhibitions and events, we turn our attention to a new genre. The panel of invited artists are currently in the midst of creating their beguiling work, with a focus on the truly special and beautiful French theme: ART NOUVEAU.
With a theme of “ rebirth” and “ a return to nature”, this exhibit directly reflects the shifting paradigm of our world today as we emerge the pandemic. The Art Nouveau movement was born during a time when the world became industrialized and hardline. This genre of art symbolized the return to the soft, round, and feminine aspects of nature and was characterized by use of long, organic lines. The style of Art Nouveau was often portrayed in architecture, interior design, jewelry, glass design, and those illustrious posters that have become an iconic staple of the genre. According to scholars, Art Nouveau was “aimed at modernizing design… where artists could draw inspiration from organic and geometric forms.” The genre often resembles elegant floral and stem patterns of nature’s effortless yet understated beauty. It is an important era in art that launches the early California Impressionism Craftsman periods.
The exhibition will include all new rare works created just for this exhibition for sale by top American artists ( and one Frenchman) all inspired by Alphone Mucha, Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele from the Art Nouveau and Jugendstil period in Germany and France.
Invited top American Artists include: Adrienne Stein, Quang Ho, Jeremy Lipking, C.W Mundy, Casey Baugh, Dan McCaw, Danny McCaw, Suchitra Bhosle, Casey Childs, Vincent Xeus, Scott Burdick, Susan Lyon,Michelle Dunaway, Derek Penix, Pavel Sokov, Jane Hunt, Kyle Ma, Kyle Stuckey, Adrian Gottlieb, Vanessa Rothe, Jesse Powell, Bryan Mark Taylor, John Cosby, Nicolas Martin, Karen Offutt, and many more…a total of 30 artists.
Patrons of the arts, the proceeds from the sales of this exhibition, will benefit not only each artist individually, but will help to keep this important art project thriving for the VRFA Gallery who has put countless hours to its continued success.
Important history of the events and exhibitions:
Americans in Paris started with a show curated by Rothe in 2016 and an exciting trip in 2017 with twelve artists to Paris that studied together.
To raise capital for the first Paris trip, Rothe curated an exhibition at the Salmagundi Club in New York in the spring of 2016, where twelve invited American artists sold work and were able to fund their travel. The initial visit to Paris was created as a workshop, May 2017, organized by Rothe where the artists were not only able to study valuable art history, but engaged in fine art discussions each evening to discuss and debate art history, current artist trends, topics and to make plans for upcoming group exhibitions.
In addition to Rothe’s main lectures on the relationship of literature to fine art and how they inspire one another, Sean Forester from the Golden Gate Atelier spoke on the humanities and gave his notes on group figure composition. Peter Trippi head editor of Fine Art Connoisseur was called in to lecture on art history. Vanessa Rothe also presented a slide show and lecture on Atmostpheric Perspective and how it was used by the masters and artists of today. Mr. Dominique Sennelier owner of the Parisian Sennelier store and paint company overlooking the Louvre spoke on the art materials of the masters and how his company carries on the tradition today.
“ If you want to see how well our colors have lasted thru the years, just go look at a Cezanne in the Louvre.” – notes Mr. Sennelier.
The twelve AIP artists painted in Paris together and at the Grande Chaumière Atelier for a week as they filled their sketchbooks and minds with ideas, some new and some inspired by the past. Echoing the ‘salons’ of the past, the AIP artists engaged in lively evening discussions based on specific topics, like earlier creative groups had done, such as the Impressionists or Hemingway and Fitzgerald’s writing gatherings held in Paris bistros and bars years before.
In spring 2018 it was time to show the result of their experiences with some new and exciting paintings. Rothe curated and organized two bi-continental exhibitions at the foremost galleries for Realism in America and France. These showcased the AIP artists’ original works by inspired by their stay in France, from Paris nocturnes to Louis XIV interiors, from winged figures and florals by the masters to figures in the landscape and from the literature and group discussions held in Paris. The first of these exhibitions was held at Arcadia Contemporary in Los Angeles, CA, April 2018 and the second at Galerie Prince de L’Oeil in Paris, France, May 2018. Both were met with great success.
In 2019 they studied together again in America and planned a public workshop that would allow the pubic and more importantly students in the art schools today to learn what they had learned in Paris and to be inspired. In 2020-2021 the workshop with Workshops in France was put on hold due to Covid, but in 2022 it will be held in Provence the south of France. This year 2021 fall AIP will have their Americans in Paris ART NOUVEAU exhibition in southern California.
Find out more about the workshop and the events at
www.vanessarothefineart.com/events
for more information on the events for AMERICANS IN PARIS
https://www.vanessarothefineart.com/americans-in-paris.html
For more quotes or Images please contact
Tess Hezlep Assistant Gallery Director
or Vanessa Rothe Owner
[email protected]
949 280 1555
Americans in Paris Paint Provence
April 13 – 22, 2021
Unique workshop and with five master artists in Provence
More about this here
Image: Youthful Decadance, Casey Childs. Americans in Paris Artist