Show Preview | The New “Old Guard”

Fredericksburg, TX
InSight Gallery, November 7-30

Kyle Sims, Searching for Goodies, oil, 28 x 30.

This story was featured in the November 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art November 2014 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!

InSight Gallery’s latest show, The New “Old Guard,” features the newest generation of master representational fine artists. For this show, opening with a reception on November 7 from 6 to 8 p.m., gallery owners Meredith and David Plesko have gathered 30 works from 13 artists whom they see as heirs apparent in this genre.

“We wanted to bring together established artists of the highest quality,” says Meredith. “That’s not to say other artists aren’t in this realm, but this group gives an idea of what representational fine art looks like now and will look like in the future.”

The show lineup includes several artists whom InSight represents, such as Scott Burdick, Logan Maxwell Hagege, JoAnn Peralta, and Jason Rich, as well as those who are contributing work exclusively for this presentation, such as G. Russell Case, Kyle Polzin, and Tony Pro. Although the show revolves around a common theme, the subject matter is quite diverse, from Polzin’s western still lifes to Burdick’s worldly portraits. All of the artworks are sold in a fixed-price drawing on opening night.

Polzin says it was an honor to be invited to participate in the show. The Austin-based artist brings two works to the event. One of them, GUNSLINGER, depicts an old revolver on top of the weathered bar of an “old border town” saloon. “I’ve always been fascinated with the subjects of the American West,” he says of the old tack and firearms found in his works. “There’s so much story in the patina of those objects. I’ve made that my focus because I enjoy getting up close and personal with those objects, those stories,” he says.

Scott Burdick, Anika at Sheppherd, oil, 24 x 16.

Fellow painter Scott Burdick often draws from his world travels for his luminous portraits, but his works for this show represent subjects close to his North Carolina home. In ANIKA AT SHEPPHERD MILL, he depicts a neighboring farmer’s daughter in the filtered light of a barn, and in YANAKA, he portrays the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants. In each, he hopes that viewers take in the subject’s personality and humanity.

As with all artists, Burdick continues to refine his technique. “I want to balance the abstract areas with the tight and realistic places. I think the very refined areas look even more real when combined with areas that are abstracted. I’ve always done that, but I’m really trying to take it to a higher degree,” he says.

Reflecting on the theme of The New “Old Guard,” Burdick observes, “There was a time when my wife [Susan Lyon] and I were [always] the youngest ones in the show. Now to be among the artists who have built their reputations and are established—how does it happen that all of a sudden people know who you are?”

Both Burdick and Polzin are slated to attend the artists’ reception, where collectors will assuredly know not only their names but also their masterful representational paintings. —Ashley M. Biggers

contact information
830.997.9920
www.insightgallery.com

Featured in the November 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art November 2014 print issue or digital download Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!