Americans in london 2016 catalog

Exhibition organisation: Art Fusion Galleries and Abba Gallery
Curated by Vito Abba
Press office and Public Relations: The Good Events and PR Company
Catalogue editing: Carlotta Marzaioli
gallery@oxo is owned and managed by Coin Street Community Builders
www.coinstreet.org
Reproduction and diffusion of this catalogue or any part of it by
electronic storage, hard copies, or any other means, are prohibited
unless a written consent is obtained from the copyright holders.
© 2016 Abba Gallery
www.abba.gallery
www.abba.gallery/london
Art Fusion Galleries & Abba Gallery
present
AMERICANS IN LONDON
gallery@oxo
Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, London, SE1 9PH
Opening
21 July 2016 – 6.30pm-8.30pm
Exhibition
20-24 July 2016 – 11am – 6pm
gallery@oxo is situated on the Riverside Walkway at the heart of one of
the richest cultural areas of London, between the London Eye, The Hayward
Gallery and Tate Modern. Oxo Tower Wharf is a landmark building on
London’s South Bank.
Cover photo by Samuel Zeller

William Braemer and I have worked successfully from afar for a number of years now,
he effectively combining being a gallery owner and an artist based in Miami, Florida
and myself in Italy, curating exhibitions predominantly in Europe for the artists I have
the honour of managing. Recently however, I have found myself working more closely
with him as I now have a permanent space “Abba Gallery” for some of my artists in
his 8,000sq.ft. contemporary gallery, ArtFusionGalleries. And so when I was in Miami
last December for Art Basel week and William suggested the idea of an exhibition in
London for a particular group of American artists, I accepted this stimulating proposition
without ado.
London appeals to any artist, being today’s hub of contemporary art and not only, and
this group of five artists exhibiting at the gallery@oxo in the heart of the Southbank will
certainly triumph here. The five artists – David Harry, Michael Katz, Chris Reichenbaum,
Tiril and William himself - are all presenting exciting new works in London that will
without doubt, in turn, appeal to the London market. Who will have the opportunity
to visit this beautiful exhibition will see, emerging from the diversity and originality of
the artists, a fil rouge, a constant reference: American Abstract Expressionism, with its
European roots. The title of the exhibition, ‘Americans in London’, underlines the influence
of the movement that gained a lot of space on the large walls of American museums
and proudly stole the limelight from Paris.
In Tiril’s works for example - highly personal and almost transcendent in her use of
colours - we can clearly see aspects of Robert Motherwell and Franz Kline in the heavy
black brushstrokes, sometimes with scratches. Tiril then adds a surprising green or a
spiritual gold streak, that reminds one of Byzantine mosaics. The use of colour is also
dominant in David Harry’s art where one sees notes of Sam Francis, David preferring
‘anti-action painting’, with his large precise brushstrokes that infuse movement and
depth into the large canvases. William’s paintings offer Rothko-like colours, warmed
by the sun of Miami, with a nod to the Impressionists whilst clearly looking to his
American abstract expressionist predecessors. In his sculptures we find forms worthy
of 4th century B. C. Athens combined with flashes of Dadaism and Nouveau Réalisme.
Dadaism, that paved the way for abstract expressionism, can also be seen in the work
by Michael Katz. Here the medium is different: he uses photography and digital art but
the connection to abstract expressionism is in its very roots: Surrealism and Dadaism.
In the ephemeral images in Michael’s work, we see a direct reference to Paul Citroen
and Raoul Hausmann, taking us back to the early photo collages. Once again, we
find a reference to abstract expressionism - this time in the art of Adolph Gottlieb
and William Baziotes - in the chromatic choices and shapes in the paintings by Chris
Reichenbaum. Her artistic production has a notably American matrix, with a clearly
abstract expressionism formation.
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all five artists for making “Americans
in London” a great success.
AMERICANS IN LONDON
Vito Abba

WILLIAM BRAEMER
Twiggie III
30x15x10 inches - 76x38x25 cm
Approximately 15,000 US Dimes

William Braemer is a South Florida artist who also owns his own gallery in Miami’s
Wynwood Art District. His artwork is the result of an amazing life experience and a
personality that hungers for rich, character-defining adventures. He is a prolific artist
and creates large format, mixed media paintings as well as elaborate coin sculptures.
William’s paintings can be defined as abstract expressionism; notably flavoured with
valiant colours, rich strokes and provocative themes. William states “my intense passion
and extreme love of life is the foundation of my creativity. I like to define my artistic
style as abstract in nature coupled with an expressionist quality. My interpretation of
a subject matter is transformed into rich, vibrant bold colours, they are an awakening
of the soul, uplifting and radiant. They evoke many moods and each piece I create is a
moment in my life and a reflection of that moment in time.”
William’s paintings are created in custom sizes and his mediums vary to include moulding
paste, cement, crackle medium, oil pastels, oils, acrylics, pumice, gold leaf and variegated
leaf, sand, resins, even recycled shredded paper. His ornately crafted sculptures are
labour intensive and, thanks to his tenacity and determination, are completed after many
months of continuous work. William’s full body and torsos sculptures may include US and
Canadian pennies, US dimes and nickels, sea shells, resin flowers, miniature pearls, glass
stones and recycled paintbrushes. Some of his sculptures even wear Christian Louboutin’s
famed red sole shoes.
William’s artwork appeals to a wide cross-section of collectors. His works can be found
in private and public collections around the world and he works closely with many
interior designers creating commission paintings and sculptures for a variety of private
and commercial properties.
Aphrodite
www.williambraemer.com

Dime Lo

Whipped cream corset - Red soles on the P.M.
18x12x12 inches - 46x30x30 cm - 23x27x22 inches - 58x68x56 cm
Mixed media

In the still of the night I - In the still of the night II
42x36 inches - 106x91 cm each
Acrylic on canvas
Colors of seduction I - Colors of seduction II
60x48 inches - 152x122 cm each
Acrylic on canvas

DAVID HARRY
Blue heat
30x30 inches - 76x76 cm
Ink on encaustic board

David Harry grew up in a household with the sweet smell of turpentine, where the
shelves were stocked with books about art and the walls were covered with paintings,
as both his parents were painters and his grandmother was the well-known artist, Beulah
S. Bowers.
He however started seriously painting relatively late around the age of twenty-five and
so his art education was subjective. Various styles have since marked his career: from
early neo-expressionism to a post-modernist project called Anti-Action painting and his
latest works consist of relatively large scale abstract paintings.
In his artistic statement, David states that “fine art is a form of expression where works
are a visual metaphor for a shared experience. My latest work is about a process not
unlike jazz composition, action initiated over a familiar structure. The paintings also
respond to location, as my move to Florida has resulted in a greater emphasis on the
depiction of light and I believe has heightened the importance of colour in my painting.”
Their scale takes advantage of the peripheral nature of composition. Colour, light form,
composition and energy are qualities that are important to him as an artist. The deep
well of memory and the light and perspectives that attend colour, give clarity to his
personal stories and the compositions lend form to emotion. David’s paintings have to
have layers to them too; layers that contradict themselves visually yet move effortlessly
between the foreground and background. The work builds up organically through a
series of trials eventually coming harmoniously together as a whole.
David has had successful solo exhibitions in Paris and New York City, as well as
Hamburg, Potsdam, and Freiberg in Germany and his works can be found in many
private collections.
Purple rose
Ink on encaustic board
www.davidharryfineart.com

Serendipity
Acrylic on canvas
Blue kite
Acrylic on canvas

Sapphire
Acrylic on canvas

MICHAEL KATZ
Hanging out
Photograph printed on aluminum with a copper standout mount

Michael Katz was born in 1953 and raised in Brooklyn, New York. At the age of 15, he
received his first camera and fell in love with photography. At 16, his family built him a
complete darkroom where he learned how to roll film, experimented with developing
film in different ways and made black/white and Sepia prints. He attended the State
University at Oswego New York where he received a B.S. degree in Elementary
Education in 1975. After a career of 26 years in purchasing working for Fortune 100
corporations, in 2002 he decided to dedicate himself to one of his biggest passions,
photography.
Michael started working in the field of food and interior photography for several well-
known American restaurants and as a result, his work has appeared in Wine Spectator,
USA Today, New York Times Magazine, Elite Traveler, Where Magazine, the Miami
Herald and GQ-UK, to name just a few.
He loves to find natural lines in nature as well as images that have eye appeal. This
spurred his passion for Fine Photographic Artwork. As Michael states “I enjoy capturing
the world through the eye of a camera and interrupting what my mind’s eye sees.”
He takes everyday images, impressions one may remember from the past and by using
a selective tinting process or a combination of light, contrast and use of colour, and with
his creative talent and digital techniques, he transforms them into fascinating art works.
These vivid images, in a nod to Dadaism and Nouveau Réalisme and to the collages by
Mimmo Rotella, become truly contemporary images and he blends them with a constant
gradation and harmony of dimensions to become a fascinating collage of images and
memories. He expertly places these well-known subjects, whether of a political, cultural
or historic nature, within the same work and each catches the viewer’s eye for just a
fleeting moment, making each of them the protagonist of the artwork for just an instant.
Parallax view of the world – The Blue Mosque
Photograph printed on aluminum with a silver standout mount
www.michael-katz.com

Retro drugs 101
Photograph printed on aluminum with a silver standout mount

Working man shirts
Photograph printed on metallic paper on white sintra board between two plexiglass

CHRIS REICHENBAUM
Confetti
Mixed media

Chris Reichenbaum was born in Rockville Center, Long Island, New York. She has lived
in Boston, Manhattan, Miami and Greenwich, where she fostered a natural sense of
curiosity that is clearly evident in Chris’s unique artistic style. Currently, Chris resides in
Miami Beach and maintains a full-time art studio.
Chris enjoyed a successful 20-year real estate career, specializing in building conversions
and foreclosures. Always an artist at heart, she enrolled in various drawing and painting
classes and discovered her passion for Abstract Art.
Chris paints using shapes and vivid colours and she is particularly interested in painting
circles and squares. She defines circles as representing generosity and a giving spirit,
while squares represent the order within life and sensibility. Her choice of colours is also
essential to her art. The lines and recurring geometric shapes represent the texture of
an emotion that Chris communicates through these carefully-selected colours and their
nuances, which dominate every work. Lines and shapes often move between different
dimensional planes, giving the paintings a depth that is perceptible on a subconscious
level. Chris relies on this to guide the viewer’s contemplation of the forms, creating
rhythm and movement which thereby transmit a feeling of coherence and harmony.
Using a multitude of textural finishes while incorporating burlap, gauze, metals and
netting in her mixed media pieces, Chris creates art with many moods. When working
with pastels and acrylics, she finishes her works with super fine high gloss coating and
by drawing inspiration from music and light and transcending “love and good energy”,
Chris translates one form of art into another.
Retro
48x60 inches - 122x152cm
Mixed media
http://goo.gl/OFUOBp

Looking glass
48x60 inches - 122x152 cm Diptych
Mixed media

Eyes open
Mixed media Detail
Eyes Open

TIRIL
Timeless bliss
Acrylic on canvas

Born in London, Tiril now resides in Alabama, USA. Primarily self-taught, she has had
many, very successful solo and group exhibitions in the US and Europe. Tiril’s works are
part of many international private collections.
Her pulsating abstract acrylics juxtapose a seemingly unstoppable momentum of action
with an expert, essential eye for editing. Tiril’s brushstrokes are objects in themselves
– they are the subject of the work, not a component – and they are palpably forceful.
Yet they are deployed carefully, almost sparingly. A painting may depict two marks,
one black, one white, overlapping and interlocking, surrounded by bare canvas, or
alternatively the infinite mixing and blending that occurs when one shade of blue is
laid across a field of white paint. With her strong, powerful lines and the emphasis on
the movement of the artist’s hand, Tiril’s most obvious spiritual predecessors are the
twentieth century schools of Art Informel, Abstract Expressionism, but above all, Lyrical
Abstraction.
Tiril explains “as the dialogue begins there is an internal digging, a stirring of knowledge
held deep within the psyche, words filter into the subconscious as concepts, truths. Colours
evolve and a singular prompting will rise to the top into consciousness and the canvas
becomes receptive, fluid, light […]. Each of my canvases is approached with a feeling
of excitement, wonder and a sense of adventure, free of any preconceived ideas or
sketches […] I believe that through the language of art and the employment of colour,
we are able to communicate on the highest vibrational level. The external experience
serves as the catalyst for the internal striving to comprehend the connectedness of
all on an energetic level. It is the quest of the human journey to balance the life of
matter with the life of spirit.” Tiril’s art is a lively and fully-committed exploration of the
communicative possibilities of paint as a medium.
Unassailable
Acrylic on canvas
www.artbytiril.com

Jai
Acrylic on canvas

Upala
Acrylic on canvas Mukhti
Acrylic on canvas

gallery@oxo, Oxo Tower Wharf, Bargehouse Street, South Bank, London SE1 9PH
gallery@oxo is owned and managed by Coin Street Community Builders
www.coinstreet.org
facebook.com/OxoTowerWharf @OxoTowerWharf

Americans in london 2016 catalog

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