THE NUDE IS REVEALED
AT THE SOLOWEY STUDIO

BEDMINSTER, PA --- There is a wide gulf between the naked and the nude. "To be naked," wrote Kenneth Clark in his landmark study of the nude in 1956, "is to be deprived of our clothes, and the word implies some of the embarrassment most of us feel in that condition. The word 'nude'…projects into the mind not a huddled defenseless body, but of a balanced, prosperous, and confident body: the body re-formed." As Clark points out, while artists have one by one shed many ties to the past, "the nude alone has survived."

No doubt this is in part true because a beautiful figure is a pleasurable thing to behold. The nude in art conveys by design many emotions, and while one can not ignore its obvious erotic charge, to see it only in terms of sexuality would be self-defeating. For instance, we may wish to be in a stunning landscape seen in a painting, but the fact that we cannot does lessen the work's impact. The landscape, like the nude, is an ideal.

From May 23rd to June 27th, we will present a new exhibition that shows the most intimate aspect of Ben Solowey's career. Simply called The Nude, this exhibition reveals a private world, while at the same time illuminating the connections Ben had to the art of his time and to the past.

From spontaneous pencil sketches to elaborate oils, Ben captured the female figure in both classical poses and everyday situations. For him, the nude was a springboard for work that embodied the highest reaches of human emotion and intelligence. Ben created a special world of beauty from the rhythms, shape and contours of the figure.

In this exhibition, there are homages to his spiritual forefathers such as his enchanting variation on Cezanne's bathers; another work, an elegant charcoal drawing of a reclining figure is simply titled Olympia that owes a great deal to his study of the Old Masters. A group of four paintings from Ben's years in New York display in watercolor, pen and ink, the dizzying energy of the city. While Ben may have painted no cityscapes in his 14 years in Manhattan, he has caught the mood and light of those exciting years in these works. Whether it be the demure beauty of The Manicure, or intimate loveliness of the case in Red Ribbon, these nudes show the easy versatility that is Ben's hallmark.

As always his sketchbooks reveal his first impressions of a subject that he would later revork for paintings and sculpture. The exhibition will feature a selection of these drawings. Click here for a virtual tour of some of these drawings.

While our Second Studio is devoted to this special show of nudes, the main studio houses a wonderful collection of works from different periods of Ben's career. A previously unseen 1927 portrait will greet you upon your arrival. As you move through Ben's studio you will see sumptuous still lifes and a veritable travelogue of landscapes, including a special display of works from Casco Bay, Maine painted in 1930 and 1931. As always, there will Ben's classic portraits of Rae.

The Nude is also the first exhibition to focus exclusively on a particular genre in Ben's work. This focus might be limiting for another artist, but in Ben's hands this work serves as a retrospective of styles and media that he employed throughout his career. There is even a special section that shows a charcoal drawing of a seated nude on the back of one of Ben's famed theater portraits as it evolves into a striking 40 x 32 canvas. Along the way, we witness that each step is a wonderful work on its own.

This is not a show about body parts, but rather a showcase of an important part of an artist's work. Join us for this exhibition you will not want to miss.

The Nude opens on Sunday May 23rd and runs through Sunday June 27th. Studio hours are Saturdays and Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. or by appointment. For more information and/or directions please call 215-795-0228