Stonebreakers

Group Exhibition

August 26 - October 14, 2021

Description

LAUNCH F18 is delighted to present Stonebreakers, a special online group viewing room.  This unique presentation features a selection of artworks highlighting an exceptional group of seventeen artists focusing on contemporary realism.  This presentation proudly includes work by: Noah Becker, Sebastian Blanck, Andrej Dubravsky, Emily Eveleth, Samuel Guy, Trevor Guthrie, Lewinale Havette, Claudia Keep, Chason Matthams, Andy Mister, Andrew Pope, Cait Porter, Cindy Rizza, Adam Stennett, Aaron Skolnick, Stephen Truax and Lauryn Welch.
 
In 1849 artist Gustave Courbet painted a work depicting two figures laboring and breaking rocks with merely hand held tools.  Capturing this average and mundane moment, Courbet created an image that was simple, visually harsh and above all, quite real.  At the root of this piece, Courbet was forming an ultimate connection between the narrative and formal painterly aspects.  At its core, this piece is a strident reality, yet maintains the remarkable ability for the viewer to connect, and empathize with two people from a very distant generation.  It is within this piece, The Stonebreakers, that he extends his work beyond the practice of painting and represents a remarkable scene of social realism.

This online viewing room brings together seventeen artists as an oeuvre in contemporary realism and painting. As a technical practice that has passed through time, Stonebreakers encompasses a range of what can be considered contemporary realism.  Highlighting a leading group of heterogeneous artists working across a multitude of mediums within the category of contemporary art, this viewing room seeks to capture a moment within realism.

Included in this online viewing room are over twenty works, ranging from fictional and almost storybook scenes to self-portraits and still-life. These works are grand and yet straight from the everyday.  Stonebreakers aims to highlight the variety of styles, techniques and subject matters that constitute this arena of contemporary art.  Offering a homage to the lineage of this artistic tradition, these seventeen artists capture both a moment within contemporary art, and portray the deep rooted history of the movement itself. 

 

For more information and a preview of this viewing room please email us at: info@launchf18.com