FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Elliot Elgart “Computer Images”
and
Sam Amato “A Selection of Recent Paintings”
April 16 – May 17, 2008
Reception: Saturday, April 26, 4 - 6 PM
2525 Michigan Ave, Bergamot Station G6, Santa Monica, CA 90404
Contact: Jeff Gambill, Director
Tel: 310 829-0345, Fax: 310 829-7612
Email: fig@figgallery.com
Web: http://www.figgallery.com
Gallery Hours: Wed - Sat, 11am - 5pm, and by appointment
LEFT:
Elliot Elgart, Untitled, digital image/photo paper, 8.5 x 11”, 2007.
RIGHT:
Sam Amato, Gust with Red Chair, acrylic/canvas, 36 x 36”, 2007.
In recent years Elliot Elgart has been creating artwork on the computer in addition to drawing and painting. Some of his digital images originate from scans of artwork and many of them are invented completely on the computer. Elgart has found working with the computer to be a stimulating and fertile new direction. Elgart says of the process, “After the usual initial awkwardness, I began to develop a variety of ideas which felt like drawing and painting on paper or canvas. I found that there was a flexibility to the process which allowed me to erase, layer and glaze with more ease than I had imagined. A number of these works come from both abstract and figurative sources. One image derives from the sides of an old small truck that I see on my morning walks. Its commercial lettering and color eroded by time, at one point suggest landscape with a subtle grayish complexion and at other times, a bull-like animal. Another approach was to lay down some spontaneous marks and color from which I could develop forms with increasing associations. I also start a work outside the computer, usually a small drawing or painting on paper. While it is still in a malleable state, I scan it into the computer using the new medium to further develop the piece.”
Sam Amato’s recent paintings investigate his immediate surroundings. The artist continues with themes he has been working on in recent years: views of the windows of his apartment which he describes as frames for the light and color mingling with the trees that grow in his yard; and also patio chairs isolated in nature, painted with an intimacy suggestive of portraiture. The artist says of his paintings, “This work is not directed to achieve an accurate interpretation or for descriptive narrative. They are inventions of color and light modified by different brushing applications. The works are personal and original in expression.”
Elliot Elgart received his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the University of Iowa, Iowa City. He was a long-time professor of art at U.C.L.A., retiring in 1991. He has been exhibiting his work locally and nationally since 1951.
Sam Amato is a graduate of Pratt Institute of Art in New York. He has exhibited his work in galleries and museums frequently since the mid-1950’s. He taught for over 30 years at U.C.L.A., retiring in 1990.
For further information please contact: Jeff Gambill, Director (310) 829-0345.
