While New York is not the political capital of the United States, it is certainly an art capital, and galleries in the Big Apple are jumping on the nationwide craze for politics, lining their walls with artwork that contain political themes.
American Presidents
Forum Gallery is presenting "American Presidents & Selected Paintings: 1966- 2008" until November 8. The exhibition comprises of almost 50 paintings and drawings of political figures by David Levine.
The collection includes caricatures and painted portraits. An illustrator for The New York Review of Books since 1963, Levine spent decades drawing caricatures of social leaders. They include sketches of the Kennedys, Nixon, Reagan, George H.W. Bush and the Clintons – as well as their advisors and appointees.
Born in Brooklyn in 1926, David Levine studied painting at Pratt Institute, at the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, and with Hans Hofmann. His work has been exhibited extensively in major galleries and museums throughout the world. His caricatures for The New York Review of Books can also be viewed in an online archive.
The exhibition commemorates the release of Levine’s new book, American Presidents, 128 pages of Levine’s caricatures and anecdotes chronicling five administrations in some of their most notable and shameful moments.
Voices of Dissonance
ACA Galleries, a promoter of social realism for more than 75 years, is holding "Voices of Dissonance, A Survey of Political Art: 1930- 2008." Running until Nov. 29, the exhibition features works of multiple artists.
Paintings of Texas-born Irene Hardwicke Olivieri, for example, include vibrant, luscious colors while working with political subjects such as George Bush and Martin Luther King Jr. Faith Ringgold, an art professor at the University of California in San Diego, is best known for her painted story quilts. Her works are in the permanent collections of renowned museums such as the Guggenheim, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Museum of Modern Art. One of her works in this exhibition include a bloody flag.
Other artists include George Grosz, Kathe Kollwitz, and Seymour Rosenthal.
Paintings and Sculpture of George Bush
ACA is also exhibiting "Paul Marcus: The Bush Years" until Nov. 29. In this collection, the Bronx-born artist address important topics such as foreign policy, immigration, discrimination, repression, and corporate interests. One painting, for example, depicts Dick Chey as the Wizard of Oz-- his head suspended above the ground and surrounded in flames.
- Forum Gallery is located inside the Four Seasons Hotel at 57 East 57th St .
- ACA is located at 529 West 20th St. 5F
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