SAN FRANCISCO.- Northen California artist Bill Rhea, an elite American realism master, will be exhibiting a dazzling new collection of urban nightscape paintings at Critical Eye Design Gallery in Sausalito, CA this autumn. Opening on Saturday, November 1st, Bill Rhea: Bold American Realism features rich, revelatory portraits of San Francisco’s distinctive landscape at night, infused with mood-embodying color and form. Rhea is highly esteemed for transforming isolated images into powerful visual statements on canvas. In this vivid new collection, Rhea showcases a vigorous array of subjects for his Bay Area collectors, including glittering steetlamps exposing parked antique cars, taxicabs emblazoning new perspectives on San Francisco storefronts, a vibrant canopy of lanterns for al fresco diners, and still-lifes of fresh fruit commandingly structured through the interplay of shadow and light.

Bill Rhea is an Academy of Art University School of Fine Art Painting MFA graduate and now instructor. Acclaims and awards for the boldly accentuated forms of Rhea’s still-lifes to the richly applied color and tempered luminosity of his landscapes include his Academy of Art University Annual Spring Show Best of Show Award and the Society of Western Artists Best of Show Award in 2003. As much as San Francisco’s inimitable urban landscape and many of the significant artists connected to it shape his paintings, Rhea consistently returns to the subject as the central heart of any completed artwork.

“This new collection of works from Bill Rhea really showcases his ability to create vivid cityscapes and dazzling still-lifes. He is an extraordinary talent for the Bay Area in the growing realm of contemporary realism,” shares Critical Eye Design Gallery Director Susan Schneider.

Bill Rhea: Bold American Realism will open to the public on Saturday, November 1, 2008 with an Opening Artist Reception from 5:00 to 9:00PM. Critical Eye Design Gallery is located at 12 Princess Street, Sausalito, CA. The gallery is open to the public on Wednesday through Friday, November 5th through 7th from 10am to 2pm and Saturday, November 8th from 10am to 5pm. The exhibit will also be open by appointment from Saturday, November 1st through Saturday, December 6th .