George Spencer's depictions of boxers belong to an old tradition of painting fighters in action. However, the aesthetics in Greatboxers is the stillness of readiness or aftermath. In these frontal portraits, upward-facing gloves dominate the picture space, simultaneously shielding the body and occupying the most central and significant area of the canvas. Gloves, faces, body fill the paintings with an ambiguity that could indicate triumph or defeat. The lines of paint, dripping in long verticalities and downward trajectories, are reminiscent of traces of blood or sweat. The excess of paint and the volatility of brushstrokes reveal a superfluity of movement but also a stillness containing the fighter's readiness for combat or retreat. The frame confines these dialectical forces of life and beauty, death and form.
- Rawi Hage

Fred Bendheim is a contemporary artist working in Brooklyn, NY.

His work includes: paintings, sculpture, shaped paintings/reliefs, public art, drawings, collages and prints. He has lived and worked in Brooklyn, NY since 1983, maintaining a studio in Sunset Park. He is a teaching artist at The Art Student's League, and other schools in NYC. Both a painter and sculptor, Fred has had numerous one-person shows, and his works are in collections world-wide: The Museum of Arts and Design, The Montclair Art Museum, The Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, The National Museum of Costa Rica, The Neiman-Marcus Collection, and others. His sculpture commissions include two fountain/sculptures for Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. His painting commissions have been for some of the finest buildings in the world. His past art has taken the form of large room-sized installations, murals, outdoor billboards with children's art, sculptures, and fountains made with many materials, as well as mural-sized drawings. He has written numerous articles about art for the British journal, The Lancet. His art has taken him throughout the world, including several artist residences in Costa Rica and Berlin, Germany.

Nimea Ariana
Acrylic on Paper
9" x 12"

Original Work, Framed at 11" x 14" and includes a Dust Cover / Carrier Bag and Certificate of Authenticity.

A note from the artist:

On Sunday November 14th, 2021 my world shifted inside, upside down. This work is apart of a series called Morning Pages, a collection of thoughts and feelings showcasing my inner desire for change as each page is intended to cleanse the visual palate of one's mind, and promote a sense of peace in our lives.

Chip Haggerty

38" × 17", unframed

Mixed media on upcycled paper

Chip Haggerty donates this work to the auction following a successful solo show at Julia Seabrook Gallery.

About:

Propelled into the spotlight after being awarded the blue ribbon in 1995 for his sleeping bag/sheet book at the South End Art Hop in Burlington, VT; Chip has been on a slow yet steady pace ever since expanding his creativity when time and space allow. Writing, painting, and spoken word have each contributed to interpreting life as viewed through his lens.

Pulling from childhood experiences, parenting, work life, random social gatherings, literature, and every day encounters, Chip takes slices of past and present interactions to formulate the foundation of each piece produced.

Whether he is creating a poem, a radio show, or a painting, humor, deep thought, and passion goes into crafting the end result.

Now emerging on the world wide web this self-taught, closet artist is ready to share his work.

Text via artist website: palmtreepapers.com

Rebecca Bird

30" x 22", Framed

watercolor on paper

Artist Bio:

Rebecca Bird received her BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art in 2000, having attended the Yale Summer School of Music and Art in 1999. She was a Fulbright Fellow to Japan in Painting 2000-1, researching Nihonga. Before university she apprenticed in egg tempera painting with painter Michael Bergt. Her painting concentrates around time recorded in material and animation of matter. Her open practice includes animation, narrative, performance and collaborations of many kinds.

In 2019 Bird completed Intent & Assembly, a 91-foot-long commissioned painting for Building Cure™, the new immunotherapy lab of Seattle Children's Research Institute.

Bird has had solo shows at Kopeikin Gallery, Los Angeles (2019, 2017, 2015, 2011, 2009), Russel Day Gallery, Everett, WA (2017), Voookhyang, Seoul (2016), William Holman Gallery, New York (2015), Wave Hill, Bronx, NY (2003) and other venues. She has performed at the Hammer Museum, The Armory Show, Fumetto Festival and Issue Project Room, and shown her animation at Lincoln Center, the Everhart Museum and on Triple Canopy and The New York Times online. Her paintings have appeared in the Paris Review and Harper's Magazine. She is the recipient of numerous grants and residencies. Her work is held in public and private collections including MOMA, NY.

From 2007 to 2011 she drew Middle Kingdom relief fragments for the Metropolitan Museum on site in Dashur, Egypt. She has painted many carousels for amusement parks around the world.

Currently Rebecca Bird curates the artist run space Tomato Mouse in Brooklyn.

KAVES

38 x 60 inches

Mixed media on archival paper

About:

Michael "KAVES" McLeer is a world-renown graffiti artist, musician and tattooist. Having left his mark, literally, on the NYC transit system from the age of ten, Kaves turned his attention to "legal" art in the form of fine art and tattooing, as well as acting and directing. Kaves has created original pieces for companies such as Nike, Adidas and Jaguar, to the Beastie Boys and the 2011 Beaujolais Nouveau wine label for Georges Duboeuf. Kaves' images have been published in books including Henry Chalfant's pioneering 1984 chronicle SprayCan Art, Burning New York, Mascots & Mugs: The Characters & Cartoons of Subway Graffiti, Fresh Paint NYC, Graffiti 360, Graffiti Planet 2 & Piecebook: The Secret Drawings of Graffiti Writers. His own premier book release, Skin Graf: Masters of Graffiti Tattoo, is set to be released on April 25, 2013 through Prestel. His paintings have been shown everywhere from the MTV Real World: Brooklyn loft, as well as, the Gunter Sachs Museum of Fine Arts in Germany, The Blackstone Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, The Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, CA and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. His first-ever New York City solo show during the summer of 2011 at the Hionas Gallery, garnered overwhelming critical acclaim and saw collectors clamoring for works by the former "vandal."

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Perry Flash Fong

12" x 15"

Inkjet print on paper

This print was created specially for this event with a limited run.

About:

Perry Flash Fong was born and raised in San Francisco and is an abstract geometric artist living in NYC.

His inspiration stems from creating shapes, forms, and new perspectives. Original, spur of the moment designs that capture the precise moment in time. Instead of following a manuscript beforehand, Flash discovers an artwork's character on the fly. This spontaneous process allows his artwork to contain a degree of playfulness, all while maintaining a sense of direction and solidity.

Flash hopes that his high-energy vibrant abstractions invoke one's aesthetic senses.