Superlative Records

The Phillies, visually referenced in this Jesse Vandenburgh painting, have gotten off to their best start in history, winning 37 of their first 51 games after completing a sweep of the defending World Champion Rangers earlier this afternoon. Similarly, Jesse sports a sterling tally of sales in MLMME19, with seven red dots, including some major canvases. However, this one is still available — and marvelously represents the artist’s newer body of work. “After painting in a realistic style for many years,” explains Jesse, “I decided to explore more abstract ways to evoke viewer sensations. In my recent work, I use dreamlike subject matter, distortion and even humor to help me achieve my new goals.”

JESSE VANDENBURGH
“Five O'Clock”
32 x 34
oil on canvas
600.

Final Days for Two Masters

The highest accolade we bestow on artists in our community is selection for the Mary Liz Memorial Masters Exhibition. This annual staple showcases the work of rare talents — and the 19th edition is no exception. JESSE VANDENBURGH has shown with us for the better part of four decades, even as his canvases have evolved in intriguing ways from pure realism to an expressionism uniquely his own. JEFF THOMAS invented his own approach to painting, just as distinctive: his “hanger paintings,” which start with ideas captured in photographs he has taken from the 1970s to today. Along the way, Jeff’s body of work has grown with the recent addition of wood sculptures that evoke his own log cabin home. These two true Masters, while they will remain this year’s Mary Liz Fellows, will have to make way for the arrival of BRICK BY BRICK 2 on Saturday, so you only have a few precious days to take in their work in person.