Press Release

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Gallery:                  Phoenix Gallery Topeka                                                                 2900 Oakley Ave. Ste. F  (29^th St. and Oakley near Gage)

Topeka, Ks. 66614            (Brookwood Center)

Contact:                  Kyle Garcia  (785) 272-3999                                      

                                 Email: Phnxgal@aol.com

Regular Gallery Hours:     Monday-Saturday 10-6pm

Title & Artist:      David Gross     Autumn Masterpiece  

Master Painter    paints The Kansas Prairie and Regional Gardens Along    Interstate 35                                                                                                 

Media:  Presents new oil paintings of the Flint Hills of Kansas, regional gardens and indigenous wildflowers in a fresh, colorful, contemporary style.     

 Show Dates:    Opening    Now Through August 30, 2006

Show Times:          Gallery Hours   Monday - Saturday 10-6 PM or by special appointment. Gallery owner, Kyle Garcia will meet with select clients on Sundays.  Call for availability. 

The American Heritage Dictionary defines autumn as a time of maturity. This adjective perfectly describes the career of master painter David Gross.  At the pinnacle of his lifework, his highly sought after paintings of bright iris gardens, dreamy European pastorals and bold colorfield landscapes have brought this regional artist international acclaim. This premiere collection of paintings, based on studies of the Kansas prairie, regional gardens and places of provincial splendor along Interstate 35 is alive with warmth, texture, sumptuous color and simplicity.    

After more than thirty years of artistic experience, David Gross continues to approach each new canvas as a pristine world in which to place his mark.  Just as a writer faces a blank page, an artist faces a blank canvas, and according to Gross, “There is nothing more terrifying or exciting than this blank space.”

 With an BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, an MFA from Indiana University, and subsequent studies at the Skowhegan School of Painting in Maine, David prefers to paint straightforward subjects—landscapes, still life studies, floral landscapes---in a visually simplified manner, striving for clarity and exquisite color.  Strongly influenced by the Fauve movement of the turn of the century; Gross journeys into the world of abstract expressionism creating in his works a balance between the organic reality of the “place” and “non-representation” by juxtaposition of geometric shapes, layers of texture and bold color. 

 David's early life was spent on a farm in Southeast Missouri, where an interest in oil painting developed at a young age.  Working directly from nature, his paintings radiate a vitality and eloquence.  “My work is a journey,” Gross explains, “ I paint to explore color, space and composition.  It is a search, an exploration.  The Flint Hills of Kansas is an ideal setting to pull ideas for subject matter. The atmosphere, terrain, and light quality there is extremely unique, subtly abstract in form.  The Tallgrass Prairie is the symbol of our Kansas heritage; it has a timeless quality I find endlessly exciting to paint. Only 2% of the nation’s native prairie remains, most of which is in Kansas. It is no wonder that it has become the target of fascination for artists all over the world.” 

Please join David Gross, the nationally renowned painter and Kyle Garcia, the owner of Phoenix Gallery Topeka, in launching Prairie Renaissance Arts, Inc. Phoenix Gallery is proud to celebrate David Gross and studio partner Barbara Cleary as two of the original Prairie Renaissance Arts, Inc.ä artists. A non-profit organization, Prairie Renaissance Arts, Inc. is a new and progressive way to teach fine arts education, art history, Kansas’s art history, prairie ecology, awareness and prairie preservation with and through some of the top regional artists in the state of Kansas.  Our programs and workshops are tailored and customized for your school or organization. Our professional artists and facilitators write the programs for ages K-elderly.  The artists, all nationally and internationally recognized Kansas artists, paint and teach in workshop style format right alongside the students utilizing Kansas’s educational standards in a whole new way. The programs are available for schools, cultural centers, and organizations locally and nationally.

 Prairie Renaissance-Peer Mentoringä programs and seminars are a newly established branch of Prairie Renaissance Arts, Inc. designed to explore the “business of art”, taught by successful artists, gallery owners and professionals in the field, targeted towards artists and art entrepreneurs. We teach students tried and proven methods of marketing, promotion, small business accounting, competitive pricing strategies, portfolio development, gallery presentation, publishing, grant writing, corporate art placement, Web-presence, display building and even Ebay!  There has never been a program like this offered within a five state region

50% of proceeds of the sale of prints and 20% the sale of original paintings of this art show will benefit Prairie Renaissance Arts, Inc.ä programs, artists, and Preserving the Prairie One Artist at a Time promotional efforts.

 For 15 years, you have come to know the artists that the Phoenix Gallery Topeka represents. Our exhibits are not only commercial shows to sell works, but themed venues with a message about Kansas cultural and global concerns. Through their works, our Kansas artists have proven that they have something to say and something to teach. Prairie Renaissance Arts, Inc., was born from the need to take these messages from our gallery to you and our children. Our mission is to teach about the art, the artists of this great state, and the cultural artistic legacy we are passing on into the 21^st century.   Come to this show and experience Kansas pride in a whole new way.  

 Is your school, club, group or organization interested in learning more about PRA, Inc. programs and how we can bring them to you?  To view show online, purchase prints and paintings, to become a “Friend” of PRA, Inc., donate money to the organization, or find out more about the Phoenix Gallery Topeka and The Prairie Renaissance Arts, Inc. organization, contact the gallery at (785) 272-3999 or email: Phnxgal@aol.com.      

 

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