Show Preview | Greenberg Fine Art: Joseph Breza

Santa Fe, NM, October 19-31

Joseph Breza, Golden Cottonwoods, oil, 30 x 40.

This story was featured in the October 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Order the Southwest Art magazine October 2012 print edition here, or purchase the Southwest Art magazine October 2012 digital download here. Or subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!

Autumn is a beautiful time of year in northern New Mexico. The cottonwood trees turn brilliant shades of red, yellow, and orange, and the skies display vibrant hues of purple, blue, and pink. Fall is also Santa Fe-based painter Joseph Breza’s favorite time of year, and it’s one of the themes in his solo show, which opens with a reception on October 19 at Greenberg Fine Art on Canyon Road. More than 15 new landscape paintings are on view. “Collectors are drawn to Joseph’s paintings because of his colors, light, and textures,” says gallery owner Mark Greenberg. “By painting large planes of color with heavy texture, he conveys a sense of place that elicits emotional reactions.”

The show’s title, Moments of Contemplation, reflects Breza’s ongoing interest in evoking a mood of peace and quiet in his paintings. He often conveys this mood through his depictions of water, whether it be creeks, rivers, or ponds. As a youngster growing up in Trenton, NJ, he says, he always had a special affection for the lakes, rivers, and ocean near his home. “I do miss being near the ocean, but in New Mexico we have incredible skies that are like our oceans,” Breza says.

In GOLDEN COTTONWOODS, Breza combines his love of autumn, color, and water in a scene that captures the branches of cottonwood trees hanging over the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico. “The very strong colors, the harmonies of the blues and golds, and the meditative quality of the river combine to help me create a feeling of contemplation,” he says.

Breza studied painting with Richard Goetz and David Leffel at the Art Students League of New York. Gradually he has moved from an academic approach to his work to an impressionistic and expressionistic style. In addition to New Mexico’s natural wonders, Breza’s inspirations include works by Impressionist painters such as Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne. “The simplest idea, like Cézanne’s apples, is sometimes the most incredible,” Breza says. —Bonnie Gangelhoff

contact information
505.955.1500
 www.greenbergfineart.com

Featured in the October 2012 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art magazine October 2012 digital download
Southwest Art magazine October 2012 print edition
Or subscribe to Southwest Art magazine and never miss a story!