Two Voices In Tandem
Craven Contemporary is excited to announce its latest show “Two Voices In Tandem” featuring work by New York painters Michael De Feo and Shira Toren. The show opens on Saturday July 19th with a reception for the artists from 4pm to 6pm.
Two artists with different histories and practices intersect and converse in their same overlapped interests. De Feo and Toren create paintings that explore chaos and order, organic abstraction, and beauty in the ephemeral. The artists seek to create living objects that are imbued with these ideas and energy.
Their output is physically manifested predominantly in the medium of painting on canvas. De Feo uses oils and oil sticks whereas Toren uses Venetian plaster, pigments, and acrylics. Both artists activate their surfaces by layering and building with their chosen materials. They have developed unique lexicons within their work, languages that were born out of their individual process-driven studio practices that tap into memory and perception. Although both artists employ additive techniques of layering as well as utilizing subtractive methods to partially or completely alter their surfaces, De Feo’s paintings have pronounced or course texture whereas Toren’s are a mostly smooth, slick texture. Constant change is embraced.
Renewal, loss and growth are frequent themes for both artists. De Feo has said of his work, “the perpetual spinning of the cycle of life and the idea of the temporary are major influences on me.” Of her 2019 series, Stepping Stones, Toren has expressed, “there is a latent tension lingering between presence and absence.”
Two Voices in Tandem is a presentation of two passionate artists who recognize that letting go can be synonymous with creation and progress.
A preview of the show can be seen here and I hope to see you in the gallery:
About Michael De Feo
De Feo is widely known for his paintings which examine themes of ephemerality, play, growth, and the cycle of life. De Feo’s use of, and inspiration from flowers has earned him the nickname, “The Flower Guy”.
De Feo’s monograph, Flowers, was published by Abrams Books in 2019 and was supported with a tour of museums and bookshops in both America and Europe. His most recent book Out of Fashion was published by Poster House in New York in 2022. De Feo’s work has appeared in a variety of film documentaries including Alice Arnold’s To Be Seen (aired on PBS/WNET and screened at The Museum of Modern Art, 2006); and Banksy’s Exit Through The Gift Shop: A Banksy Film (Paranoid Pictures, 2010) which was an Academy Award best documentary nominee. De Feo’s work has been featured in over 40 books and he has collaborated with fashion brands such as Neiman Marcus, Christian Louboutin, La Mer, and presently with French luxury perfume house, Guerlain. In addition to Craven Contemporary, his work has been exhibited at museums and galleries around the world including The New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, NY; The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; Rice Gallery, Rice University, Houston, TX; Museo de Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico; and most recently, Hexton Gallery, Aspen, CO.
About Shira Toren:
Toren is an American visual artist originally from Tel Aviv, Israel, currently working in Brooklyn, New York. She holds a BFA from Pratt Institute and an Associate Degree in Art Therapy from The New School. She also studied painting and printmaking at The Art Students League of New York.
After graduating from Pratt, Toren worked as a fashion designer specializing in knitwear and pattern construction. Her work led her to travel extensively throughout Asia and Europe. This experience – rooted in a deep understanding of materiality, structure, and color – continues to inform her visual art practice, which often weaves together Eastern and Western influences.
In addition to Craven Contemporary, her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally at a wide range of museums and galleries, including: Thierry Goldberg Gallery (New York, NY); NYU Gallery (New York, NY); Front Room Gallery (Hudson, NY); Bernay Fine Art (Great Barrington, MA); Susan Eley Fine Art (New York, NY); Gallery Sitka (Newport, RI); Sweet Lorraine Gallery (Brooklyn, NY); The Arsenal Gallery in Central Park (New York, NY); The Painting Center (Chelsea, NY); Katonah Museum of Art (Katonah, NY); Islip Museum (Islip, NY); Galerie Bij de Boeken (Ulft, The Netherlands); and Galerie Schaeffer Gate 5 (Oslo, Norway).
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