Spring has sprung, and the seasonal Miami art scene just got a boost as Argentinean-American artist Sebastian Spreng announced the unveiling of his newest series, a departure from his previous work, whimsically titled Salad Bar. The installation is comprised of 250 paintings (5×5, 6×6 and 8×8 canvases), which will be unveiled at the Kelley Roy Gallery starting May 12 through June 11, 2011.
Completed in over the course of a year, Salad Bar harkens the arrival of spring with undertones of rebirth and renewal. Spreng, a minimalist at heart, shines new light on his soul-searching pivotal themes to present a fresh new puzzle-like installation. Nature remains a prominent motif, as the artist channels landscapes of his native Pampas, Argentina, fused with his love of music, to create bucolic and enigmatic, gem-like square paintings juxtaposed with abstracts and textured canvases functioning as pauses and intervals in “a woven tapestry of life”, as he calls it. Spreng has been defined as “an artist that recontextualized the Pampas into an oneiric American formation.”
Attracting audiences since he was fifteen-years-old, Sebastian Spreng’s career spans over three decades. He’s been featured in exhibitions in over 30 cities around the world, participated in a bevy of high-profile art fairs and is currently represented by galleries in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, Panama, Santa Fe and Seattle. His artworks can be found on the walls of prestigious institutions like Miami Art Museum, Museo Rosa Galisteo de Rodriguez in Argentina, The Four Seasons, Miami-Dade Public Library System, Seattle University, several banks and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, DC. He also produced a public art commission in Miami, when he was selected by Metro-Dade’s Art in Public Places program to create nine paintings as a memorial to George Armitage, a local advocate for the disabled who died in 1991. The commissioned opportunity was a challenge and an inspiration to Spreng, who is wheelchair bound since childhood.
When he is not painting, he devotes his time to his other passion, music. Spreng is an esteemed classical music critic, writing for several publications. According to Spreng, he balances his profession (painting) with his hobby (writing about music) making his hobby as a job and vice versa, in order to give a continuous and satisfying dynamic to his artistic endeavors.
Art critic Dr. Carol Damian, Director for the Frost Art Museum at FIU, wrote “…Sebastian Spreng’s paintings demonstrate the essence of simplicity, visual abstractions of form and color… upon close examination it is quite evident that technically they are anything but simple…”
Music plays a crucial role in Spreng’s body of work, it can be seen in the colors, composition, rhythm and spatiality of his paintings – one of the reasons many of his artworks grace the covers of music albums, playbills and most recently, a book. Spreng’s Daphne was selected to be part of the project and art book “Speak for the Trees,” along with 76 other artists including David Hockney, Christo, April Gornik, Yoko Ono, Julie Heffernan, Robert Longo, Mark Ryden and the Starn Brohters.
A feast for the eyes, Salad Bar marries Spreng’s lyricism and drama with a fresh new perspective. Like a salad bar, there are numerous flavors and combinations (given the small scale of the square paintings). Avid collectors are encouraged to mix and match, and create entirely unique arrangements.
Kelley Roy Gallery is located at 50 NE 29th Street, in the Wynwood Arts District. For more information, or to make an appointment, please call (305) 447-3888 or visit www.kelleyroygallery.com