FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
MAXWELL STEVENS
_“AUTUMN LEAVES” NEW PAINTINGS_
OCTOBER 1 – NOVEMBER 21, 2021
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8, 6 - 8 PM
GALLERY HOURS: TUESDAY - SATURDAY 11 AM - 6 PM, SUNDAY 1 - 5 PM, AND
BY APPOINTMENT
NEW YORK - ONETWENTYEIGHT is pleased to present MAXWELL STEVENS
_“AUTUMN LEAVES”_ a new suite of oil paintings centering around an
impromptu ensemble of musicians practicing together at New York
City’s famed Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. Initially conceived
and begun prior to the pandemic, the series was further refined and
elaborated upon while the artist was quarantined in his NYC studio,
serving as a meditation on cultural diversity and the positive social
interaction that is one of the defining characteristics of New York.
Interrelationships between painting, music, and the seasons have long
drawn associations in world culture and art. Abstract painting in
particular, has had numerous comparisons made to music since
Kandinsky’s groundbreaking “Improvisations” and
“Compositions” series, and alternately, various musicians such as
Vivaldi have created their own compositions based upon the seasons,
while inspired by the landscape paintings of Marco Ricci. By combining
emotive abstractions with representational clarity, Maxwell delves
inside this relationship and makes it explicit. In rhythmic
improvisations of lemon yellows, emerald greens and oxblood reds,
vivid smears and gestures overtake the meticulously detailed portraits
of the musicians themselves, with images alternating between the
spatial depths of crisp autumn park scenes and fluid, glassy designs
of pure abstract form.
In the large central panel ”Autumn Leaves, Rehearsal at Bethesda
Fountain” measuring 6’ x 8’, a young violinist gazes out at the
viewer from beneath undulating movements of lime green and autumn
gold. As her companions focus intently on the musical score at hand, a
wedding rehearsal is underway with bridesmaids laughing in the
background. In the upper right corner, the artist has included Emma
Stebbins’ magnificent sculpture, in reverence to the first female
artist to have a public work commissioned in NYC, the bronze angel
looming over the lively scene.
The happenstance nature of how we collect in the city’s public
spaces is evident throughout the series, as background characters
shift from random tourists to friends and families relaxing outside,
yet they retain the tensions of unpredictability that underlie city
life. In paintings such as “Blue Dancer” and “Drum Circle,
Central Park” performers interact directly with passersby, the
dynamic abstractions sliding across the images creating their own
hybrid scores, while eliciting the unpredictable nature of
improvisation in art, music, and life.
_MAXWELL STEVENS “AUTUMN LEAVES” NEW PAINTINGS IS ON VIEW FROM
OCTOBER 1 THROUGH NOVEMBER 21, 2021, with an opening reception on
Friday, October 8, 2021, 6-8 pm. For sales inquiries please contact
the gallery at autumnleavespaintings@gmail.com, +1.917.863.1231,
+1.646.341.0175._
onetwentyeight
128 Rivington Street
New York, NY 10002
+1.917.863.1231
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22/11/2021 Last update