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Roberto Azank

Flowers & Vessels

March 19 ~ April 30, 2005

Eleonore Austerer Gallery

Brian Russell

RA 227 “Still Life with Dahlia Tulip and Apples” 44x 72 inches

RA 230 "Still life with Dahlia and Cala Lily”

40 x 52 inches

RA242“Still Life with Sunflower and Lemons” 42 x 50 inches

RA245 “Still Life with Peony”

32 x 32 inches

RA248 "Still Life with Apples"

42 x 64 inches

RA250 "Still Life with Night Blooming Cereus, Queen of the Night” 40 x 42 inches

RA252 "Still Life with Sunflower"

44 x 32 inches

On display in this exhibition will be still life paintings by well established Argentine hyper-realist painter Roberto Azank and original glass-and-steel sculptures by the noted glass artist Brian Russell from Tennessee.

Roberto Azank is a painter with a unique and unforgettable style. His renderings of common objects such as flowers, fruits and vessels, set against a background of bold color planes, demonstrate superb draftsmanship and a great eye for detail. It appears that he creates portraits of non-living objects, seemingly transformed to another level of reality.

Now at mid career, Roberto describes himself as a metaclassical artist whose interests lie in the abstract qualities of realism as opposed to the photographic copying of nature. He has been represented by our gallery for many years and is one of our most popular and successful artists with collectors.

Many years of hard work and meticulous research as a sculptor resulted in Brian Russell’s current work: a fusion of forged metal sculpture bases and beautifully colored cast-glass vessels.

The artist works with 45% lead crystal from New Zealand, which has the ability to transmit light efficiently and to internally refract it. This totally original technique causes the glass to appear to glow when it is slightly illuminated.

Russell works in small and large scale, and his monumental sculptures made of glass, steel, copper, bronze and aluminum can be found in many public spaces. Among them are the Tennessee State Museum and the Ballet Memphis, which owns a five-piece sculpture entitled “Dancers” commissioned by the Memphis Arts Council.