Nicholas Metivier Gallery is pleased to present Sigillum, an exhibition of new paintings by Stephen Appleby-Barr. The exhibition will open on September 17 and will be on view through October 10 with a reception for the artist on Thursday, September 17 from 6 – 8 PM. The exhibition is accompanied by Mark Kingwell’s essay, “I See for Miles: Stephen Appleby-Barr’s Fantastic Vistas”.
Over the last seven years, Stephen Appleby-Barr has quickly developed his mastery of oil paint, mimicking a wide array of classical techniques while simultaneously subverting them. Appleby-Barr inserts elements of personal reference – his acquaintances and collection of artifacts – into historical tableaus to create new narratives that bounce between past and present, reality and fantasy. The paintings comprising Sigillumexplore a wide range of themes such as death, joy and journey. This is Appleby-Barr’s third solo exhibition at the gallery and marks the next chapter in an ongoing conversation with art history. Goya, Bosch, Velázquez, Rembrandt and Sargent are just a few of the artists he invokes in these latest paintings.
