NEW YORK, NY.- Christie’s Private Sales and Adelson Galleries announced a public selling exhibition of recent works by the celebrated American realist painter Jacob Collins (b.1964), Jacob Collins: New Works, in New York, from November 24 – December 19, 2012. Held at Christie’s Private Sales Gallery, located at 1230 Avenue of the Americas, the exhibition unveils a selection of 40 recent works comprised of landscapes, still lifes and figural compositions. New Works marks the third in a series of remarkable American realist collections presented this year, in partnership with Christie’s Private Sales and Adelson Galleries, following Stephen Scott Young, and Andrew Wyeth in China.
Warren Adelson, Adelson Galleries, commented “Aside from Jacob’s obvious technical skill as a painter and draftsman, his paintings have a rich and elusive psychological character. Throughout his broad range of subject matter there is a taut sense of movement. His landscapes and seascapes roll with a palpable resonance; his figures seem on the verge of active expression, and his still lifes glow with light. We are thrilled to present this exceptional artist to the vast audience that Christie’s allows.”
In an essay surrounding the collection of New Works, Dr. William H. Gerdts, professor emeritus of Art History at City University of New York, and author of more than 25 book on American Art said “a discussion of Jacob Collins’ latest paintings should not be concerned with a classification of Realism, but rather, what is immediately obvious to all, his astounding technical skill and his ability to impart to the viewer a meticulously nuanced visual experience. All the elements relative to such mastery are abundantly present in this new body of work-- his control of line, sensitivity to light, and command of color.”
Elizabeth W. Sterling, Head of American Art at Christie’s in New York added, “We are thrilled to present this exceptional and diverse selection of new work by Jacob Collins. These paintings and works on paper highlight Collins' technical mastery and defining ability to interpret his subjects with a vision that is simultaneously classical and modern.”
JACOB COLLINS: CONTEMPORARY REALIST
A leading figure in the contemporary revival of classical painting, Jacob Collins was born and received his formal training in New York, and also studied in Paris. He embraces a variety of subject matter and is equally adept at portraiture (his sitters have included J. Paul Getty Jr., President George Herbert Walker Bush, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger) as he is at painting landscape, still-life and figural themes. Collins, who has said he aims to "paint with the skills of past masters while still feeling fresh," relies on meticulous observation, careful draftsmanship, and dramatic use of darkness and illumination to create works that -- while set in the present -- exude a sense of timelessness.
In addition to his own painting, Collins is also a sought-after teacher who believes in rigorous classical training in disciplines that hark back to the Renaissance. While living and working in New York, Collins has established several painting ateliers in the tradition of the French academy, finding the rich exchange of ideas among like-minded peers to be stimulating and beneficial to his work as well. Collins has been the subject of over 20 solo exhibitions, and his work is represented in numerous prestigious public and private collections including Harvard's Fogg Art Museum and Amherst's Mead Art Museum, among others.
