Alexander Rees. The Art of Imagination by Artios Gallery

Artios Gallery presents

ALEXANDER REES The collection of paintings and drawings 2003 - 2021 NEW YORK

"A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence."

- Leopold Stokowski

Foreword Feed the body food and drink, it will survive today. Feed the soul art and music, it will live forever. ~ Julie Andrews

The synergy of music and art lays a powerful claim for life’s force. The British philosopher Roger Scruton once said, “Art and music shine a light of meaning on ordinary life, and through them, we are able to confront the things that trouble us and to find consolation and peace in their presence.” Along with movement, music and art are the most expressive nonverbal forms of human creativity. They can evoke a gamut of emotions and interpretations, at times in conflict with one another. Creativity sustained and moved humanity forward through trying and prosperous periods in our history. It preserved the light of life for those in dire circumstances; it overflowed at people’s happiest moments, manifesting itself in masterpieces. It is a necessary element of human existence. It is part of human nature.

Alexander Rees is an artist of unbounded creativity. A gifted musician with a successful performing career, he possesses an equally powerful capacity for visual perception. This desire to create is akin to divine providence. By his own recollection, he started painting suddenly, without prior pondering. One night, when the artist was about 14 years old, he dreamed of a landscape painted in oil. In the morning, Alexander, who never before worked with oil paints, ran to the art supplies store, bought all the necessary materials, and recreated that landscape. Since then, he has never stopped painting. Thus, music and painting became inseparable in his life.

Alexander Rees is an intuitive artist. Never formally trained in art, he simply knows what tone to use, how to mix paints, or how to create a composition. That intuition guided his sublime landscapes and cityscapes and later gave rise to his experiments in abstraction. Where is this creative energy coming from? What inspires the artist? Rees confides,

“If we talk about what most inspires me in my artistic pursuit, it's probably nature. Its secrets, energy, beauty, boundlessness, mobility, unpredictability, tragedy, etc., etc. It's like in music - Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius, Rachmaninoff, Shostakovich, Bartok, Stravinsky, etc. etc. Nature, as well as all these geniuses, can ask questions, look for answers, think about the meaning, mystery, happiness and tragedy of human life, find the essence of beauty and ugliness and everything that can excite a person. All this is in music and all this is in nature. And all this, of course, is inspiring!”

The artist’s paintings speak for themselves. They emanate familiarity and nostalgia, happiness and sorrow, beauty and contemplation. The cityscapes reminiscent of Maurice Utrillo’s cozy Parisian scenes bring up a peaceful mood of the mostly empty streets at various seasons or times of the day. Take, for example, his Old Moscow (p.48), a painting created in 2015. The panoramic view of the snow-covered city center in the background contrasts with the naked trees that, with their black trunks, hide the classical facade of a yellow building in the foreground. You could feel the cold of the winter, but, at the same time, the image calms the gaze and immerses the viewer in a contemplative mood. Another arresting work, Paris. After A. Marquet (p.26) generates an entirely different impression. Created in 2008, it was inspired by the French Fauvist, Albert Marquet. This is a delightful example of Rees experimenting with different styles. Using mostly dark palette to depict the nocturnal city, the artist illuminates the bridge leading towards the brightly lit building on the other side of the Seine, reflecting the vibrant Parisian life. It’s raining. The wet surface of the road bounces back the light from the cars passing by and the lamp posts along the bridge. The water in the river mirrors the bleaks from the distant buildings across. The night rain doesn’t stop the buoyancy of this city. And then there are trees. Majestic trees, very characteristic of Rees, made their way to landscapes, cityscapes, and later, abstract works. As the artist experimented with different styles and techniques, the trees transformed from realistic forms (Snow Day in Riverdale, p.16) to more abstract ones (Once Upon a Time, p.67) and to fully nonrepresentational shapes (Abstract Composition, p.69). Yet, their influence is unmistakable. Rees remains true to his inspiration no matter the style or genre.

Alexander in his studio in 2019

Nature persists in his artworks; its melody directs the artist’s hand and fills the image with the spirit of harmony and beauty. Alexander claims that

music is inseparable from art in his mind. He still performs and teaches viola and often, working on a particular piece of music, catches himself

pondering what it would look like if he wanted to “paint” it as a landscape.

This volume presents 97 artworks, including paintings and drawings completed in the 2003 to 2021 period. It is organized in three sections, consisting of Landscapes & Cityscapes, Abstract Art, and Drawings. It showcases a wealth of techniques and styles Alexander has worked in throughout his career,

from Realism to Post-Impressionism to Abstract Expressionism. The grace and intelligence of the artist perforate each page, transmitting the sense of

tranquility, splendor, and sheer aesthetic pleasure. Rees wants the viewers to enter the painting and see “the beauty behind banality, the simplicity

behind the complexity and vice versa, mystery behind obviousness, or simply smile at my work.” Undoubtedly, the music of the artist’s soul will live in

his artworks forever.

by Ellen Opman 8

About Alexander Rees Alexander Rees was born in Moscow into a family of Russian intellectuals. His father, a mathematics professor and a passionate lover and connoisseur of poetry, painting and literature, had an extensive library. Since early childhood, Alexander spent many hours there. The artist recalls, “I remember myself, still barely able to read, endlessly leafing through all these luxurious, heavy books, absorbing the entire history of painting and graphics from antiquity to modernity of the twentieth century.” Alexander went on to study viola, but his love of art continued through the years. Rees received his doctorate degree at the Gnesin Institute, now the Russian Academy of Music, Moscow, and performed as a soloist, conductor, and chamber musician. He played with prestigious chamber groups such as the Borodin String Quartet, Svyatoslav Richter chamber ensemble, Madrigal Baroque Ensemble, and others. For many years, Alexander also taught chamber music, string quartet and viola at his alma mater. Rees began creating art during his teenage years. Since that time, he has been producing sketches and paintings. The artist says,

“My interest and love for music and painting existed largely independently of each other. For a long time, books and art albums were the only means (albeit magical) for visual recognition of the world in time and space. Gradually, as I was growing up, my attitude toward painting and the way I look at it changed.”

What didn’t change throughout Alexander’s life was his keen observation and sensitivity to the beauty of nature. His trees and flowers radiate freshness; you can practically smell them from the canvases. Places also play a major role in his paintings. Moscow houses, streets, squares are all vividly reproduced in his earlier urban landscapes. At the end of the 1990s, the artist and his family moved to New York. There, he continued his musical career, teaching and performing extensively. At the same time, he kept painting, only this time, it was New York. “I quickly became the prisoner of its grandeur, energy and poetry… The might and splendor of mid and downtown are so overpowering and dazzling that for a while, you don’t notice other neighborhoods, for example, the northern Manhattan, which is more modest yet far more charming,” wrote the artist about the city in his short autobiography. Rees’ family settled in Riverdale, in the Bronx, and many of his subsequent canvases depict this quaint neighborhood in various seasons.

For many years, Alexander kept his art hidden from the public. It could only be viewed in private collections. After the publication of his first art book, Moscow-New York-Moscow, in 2003, Dr. Rees received several offers from galleries to exhibit his art. Since then, Alexander has participated in many solo and group exhibitions at such institutions as The Museum of Russian Art in Jersey City, Pleiades Gallery of Contemporary Art and Salomon Art Gallery in New York, and others. His artworks can be found in private collections in Austria, England, Holland, USA, Russia, and Israel. Alexander is a member of the Artists Trade Union of Russia, the International Academy of Sciences, Education and Arts (US branch), and the Pushkin Society in America. He continues his teaching career as a professor at Fordham University, NY, where he has been teaching music for the past 20 years. 9

Landscapes & Cityscapes Well executed landscape paintings can often be described as portals to the natural world. The greatest hold a sublime quality, inspiring admiration and transfixion. English critic and dramatist John Dennis was a pioneer of the concept of the sublime as an aesthetic quality, describing nature as a pleasure to the eye as music is to the ear, but “mingled with Horrours, and sometimes almost with despair.” The different qualities of nature, from its secrecy to its beauty and unpredictability, are critiqued by Alexander Rees. They serve as the departure point to an interrogation of beauty and ugliness.

Teetering between the scenic landscapes of New York and Moscow, the mastery of Rees’ brushwork combined with his seasoned palette have produced landscapes packed with the dexterity needed to appeal to one’s emotional and physical sensibilities. Robert Harris Rothchild, a famed American critic and collector, wrote: “Alexander’s works are popular because they celebrate the beauty of the city in all seasons of the year. His vibrant brushwork, his spatially open and airy compositions, and his beautiful blending and mixing of the colors that compose his forms all are essential elements that build his pictures. His paintings create wonderful scenic, atmospheric moods and feelings.”

Rees draws on the Post-Impressionist style to create his landscapes, reflecting the atmospheric language prescribed to our everyday surroundings. Artists working in this style often used landscape as a means of displaying the intensity of pure color to communicate the feelings and emotions of the artist. For PostImpressionists, experimenting with painting techniques and color allowed room for expression, reflecting the mind and imagination of the artist themselves. Rees’ landscapes can thus be seen as more of a representation of his inner state as it relates to Moscow and New York, offering ground for an interrogation into the ways in which these cities influence him and his artistic practice.

Early Spring (p.11) is a wonderful example of the ways Post-Impressionism presents itself in Rees’ landscape paintings. Created in 2007, the painting is wistful, yet present. Tree trunks and their branches thinly veil the horizon of expansive fields and a distant river, partly obscured from viewer’s sight. Some tall, bright buildings contrast against the cloudy sky, with the distant terrain flat and the town seemingly lonely. One could almost imagine a carnival of scents flowing in the breeze, the Spring growth around them dancing to its tune, prickling their skin. The scene is spirit-lifting in color and lonely in composition, a call to the desolate and delicate in nature.

Van Courtlandt Avenue

acrylic on ceramic

8 x 6 inches (20.3 x 15.2 cm), 2009

New York

Early Spring

oil on canvas

18 x 28 inches (45.7 x 71 cm), 2007 11

The Tracey Tower. Winter Fog

acrylic on canvas

28 x 28 inches (71 x 71 cm), 2007 12

Brooklyn Bridge

oil on canvas

18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 61 cm), 2003

Hudson River

oil on canvas

18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 61 cm), 2007

Manhattan. Riverside Drive

acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm), 2007 14

Rooftops of Manhattan

oil on canvas

20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm), 2005

New York City. Downtown

oil on canvas

20 x 24 inches (50.8 x 61 cm), 2004 15

Snow Day in Riverdale

acrylic on canvas

20 x 18 inches (50.8 x 45.7 cm), 2007 16

Saint John the Divine Cathedral

oil on canvas

24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm), 2004

Riverdale. After Rain

oil on canvas

24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm), 2007 17

Van Courtlandt Lake

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2015 18

White Tree

mixed media on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2016 19

Red Tree

acrylic on canvas

24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm), 2016 20

Van Courtlandt Lake. Willow

acrylic on canvas

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2009

Riverdale. Fog

acrylic on canvas

20 x 20 inches (55.8 x 55.8 cm), 2009 21

New York City

mixed media on canvas

24 x 36 inches (61 x 91.5 cm), 2010 22

Winter in Riverdale

acrylic on canvas

32 x 36 inches (81.3 x 91.5 cm), 2010 23

Riverdale. Fall

oil on canvas

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2008 24

Chelsea. NYC

acrylic on canvas

22 x 10 inches (55.8 x 25.4 cm), 2011

Hudson River

acrylic on canvas

6 x 16 inches (15.2 x 40.6 cm), 2008

Silhouette of New York City

oil on canvas

17 x 38 inches (43.2 x 96.5 cm), 2013 25

Paris. After A. Marquet

oil on canvas

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2008 26

Sunrise. After A. Berens

mixed media on canvas

36 x 24 inches (91.5 x 61 cm), 2019 27

Riverdale. Autumn

acrylic on canvas

13 x 29 inches (33 x 73.6 cm), 2010

Fanfare

acrylic on canvas

18 x 28 inches (45.7 x 71 cm), 2014

Riverdale. Sunset

acrylic on canvas

20 x 28 inches (50.8 x 71 cm), 2018

Footprints in the Snow

acrylic on canvas

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2015

The Cloisters

mixed media on canvas

24 x 28 inches (61 x 71 cm), 2012

Queensborough Bridge

acrylic on canvas

20 x 24 inches (50.8 x 61 cm), 2019

Winter in Chelsea

acrylic on canvas

32 x 16 inches (81.2 x 40.6 cm), 2016 31

Harlem River

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2017 32

Autumn Suite 2

acrylic on canvas

23 x 25 inches (58.4 x 63.5 cm), 2016 33

Autumn Suite 1

acrylic on canvas

20 x 20 inches (50.8 x 50.8 cm), 2016

Autumn Suite 4

acrylic on canvas

20 x 20 inches (50.8 x 50.8 cm), 2016

Autumn Suite 3

acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm), 2016 35

Riverdale

acrylic on canvas

19 x 25 inches (48.2 x 63.5 cm), 2016 36

Sunrise

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2019 37

Spring in Riverdale

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2018 38

Rain

acrylic on canvas

24 x 24 inches (61 x 61 cm), 2019 39

Riverbank

acrylic on cardboard

10 x 12 inches (25.4 x 30.5 cm), 2020

Valley

acrylic on cardboard

8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4cm), 2018

Village

acrylic on cardboard

9 x 7 inches (22.8 x 17.8 cm), 2020

Catskills. Sunset

mixed media on canvas

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2020

Tree

acrylic on paper

10 x 7 inches (25.4 x 17.8 cm), 2020 42

Moscow

Zamoskvorech'e

acrylic on canvas

8 x 10 inches (20.3 x 25.4 cm), 2004 43

Moscow. Yauzsky Boulevard

oil on canvas

26 x 20 inches (66 x 50.8 cm), 2010 44

Moscow. Window

acrylic on canvas

34 x 29 inches (86.3 x 73.6 cm), 2010 45

Moscow River

oil on canvas

18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 61 cm), 2011

Old Moscow 1

oil on canvas

16 x 20 inches (40.6 x 50.8 cm), 2015

Old Moscow 2

oil on canvas

16 x 26 inches (41 x 66 cm), 2019

Old Moscow

oil on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2015 48

Old Moscow 4

oil on canvas

20 x 24 inches (50.8 x 61 cm), 2015 49

Moscow Landscape

oil on canvas

21 x 46 inches (53.3 x 116.8 cm), 2017 50

Variation of Theme City

Variation of Theme City 1

acrylic on canvas

20 x 16 inches (50.8 x 40.6 cm), 2006 51

Variation of Theme City 2

acrylic on canvas

18 x 36 inches (45.7 x 91.5 cm), 2010 52

Variation of Theme City 3

acrylic on canvas

35 x 35 inches (88.9 x 88.9 cm), 2010 53

Variation of Theme City 4

acrylic on canvas

7 x 8 inches (17.7 x 20.3 cm), 2011

Variation of Theme City 5

acrylic on canvas

8 x 11 inches (20.8 x 28 cm), 2011

Variation of Theme City 6

acrylic on canvas

6 x 5 inches (15.2 x 12.7 cm), 2011 55

Variation of Theme City 9

oil on canvas

16 x 10 inches (40.6 x 25.4 cm), 2016 56

Variation of Theme City 7

oil on canvas

24 x 18 inches (61 x 45.7 cm), 2018

Variation of Theme City 8

mixed media on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2014 57

Variation of Theme City

mixed media on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2011 58

Abstract Art In Abstract Composition (p.69), created in 2018, Rees uses acrylic on canvas to produce a visceral work. Inspired by Abstract Expressionism and reminiscent of the work of Jackson Pollock, outbursts of yellow, red, and orange contrast against frigid hues of blue and white in the painting. Streaks of black, rising from the bottom of the canvas, prickle the eyes like thorns. There is a yin-yang quality nested in this energetic piece; it houses iciness and warmth, disturbance and tranquility, denial and acceptance. Abstract Composition, like many of Rees’ abstract works, employs spontaneity and improvisation to break away from conventions in technique and subject matter, giving viewers insight into Rees’ psyche and revealing that abstract art can be seen as a pious form of expression, one where artistic intention exists without any detailed illustration of reality. It uses a perceptible language in the manner of shapes, color, line, and form to create beauty with a degree of freedom from visual representation. Intuitively beautiful and beaming with lively energy, Rees’ foray into abstraction has led to the exploration of different styles, such as Abstract Expressionism and Surrealism.

Rees’ catalog of abstract artwork offers viewers an elegant discordance of striking colors and narratives. The manner in which colors blend or clash is in some ways reminiscent of Rees’ musical career as a solo and chamber musician. Wielding his artistic tools as his instruments, his abstract artwork serves as a visual account of an orchestral performance, one where harmony is revered and precision is made manifest.

Integrating different visual and perceptive languages, Rees describes his abstract artwork as that which “evokes raw emotions of a creative process, whether positive or negative, highlighting the duality of light and darkness, joy and sorrow, success and failure, our inner fears and inspirations brought together by the beauty of music and strength of faith.”

Abstract Landscape

acrylic on canvas

18 x 24 inches (45.7 x 61 cm), 2020

Portrait #1

acrylic on canvas

10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm), 2009

Portrait #2

acrylic on canvas

10 x 8 inches (25.4 x 20.3 cm), 2009

Dancer

acrylic on canvas

36 x 30 inches (91.5 x 152.5 cm), 2010

Composition #1

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76 x 76 cm), 2010

Composition #2

acrylic on canvas

4o x 30 inches (101.6 x 76.2 cm), 2009 63

Scherzo

acrylic on canvas

10 x 29 inches (25.4 x 73.6 cm), 2010

Andante

acrylic on canvas

10 x 29 inches (25.4 x 73.6 cm), 2010

Beyond the Line

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2011 65

Fight

acrylic on canvas

16 x 36 inches (40.6 x 91.5 cm), 2010 65

Once Upon a Time

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2014 67

Landscape #1

acrylic on canvas

10 x 12 inches (25.4 x 30.5 cm), 2008

Landscape #2

acrylic on canvas

10 x 12 inches (25.4 x 30.5 cm), 2008

Landscape #3

acrylic on canvas

14 x 18 inches (35.5 x 45.7 cm), 2009

Abstract Composition

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2018

Seascape

acrylic on canvas

11 x 14 inches (28 x 35.5 cm), 2010

Portrait of Artist M. Turovsky

acrylic, watercolor on paper

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2016

Meeting

acrylic on canvas

30 x 30 inches (76.2 x 76.2 cm), 2010

Vision #1

acrylic, watercolor on paper

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2017

Vision #2

acrylic, watercolor on paper

12 x 18 inches (30.5 x 45.7 cm), 2017

Creati0n

acrylic on canvas

22 x 24 inches (55.8 x 61.8 cm), 2010 73

Drawings “Drawing is not what one sees but what one can make others see.”

- Edgar Degas

English art critic John Ruskin argued that drawing was a meditation. In a world where humans have an innate tendency to respond to beauty and desire by seeking to possess it, drawing the things we observe allows us to truly see its essence. When we draw, we notice properly rather than gaze absentmindedly. Although it is the basis of all visual arts, its original form is often consolidated in the painting process. Formally, however, it offers a wide scope to examine emotional and physical expression on its own. It is in the realm of drawing and visual imagination that body, space, depth and even motion find visibility.

Drawn to produce paintings and sketches during his teenage years, Rees uses contrasting techniques to convey different moods, styles, and states of being. Often working with variations of ink, Rees’ drawings capture the depth of the human experience and highlight the medium as a touchstone of creative exploration and visual discovery. With an emphasis on drawing landscapes, Rees naturally observes beauty in his surroundings and translates this into a deep understanding of its essence and truth.

Take, for instance, Catskills Landscape #1 (p.75). Ever-present in all creative endeavors of mankind, the forest has long held symbolic meaning. For some, it is a place where life thrives and luxuriates. For others, it is a symbol of the unconscious or, darkly, the harbor of dangers and demons, enemies and disease. Rees’ rendering is simple, yet complex. Dark shades in the foreground give the forest its shape, with thick, obsidian lines of ink paving way for the imagination of cavernous trunks and twisted roots that grasp the forest floor with snake-like coils. The forest is ominous, abstract, and yet inviting. While one's mind may conjure a monster in the forest’s midst, they are still able to imagine its allure in the form of breathtaking aromas, mossy branches, and flutters of life—from the screech of the bat to the hoot of the owl.

Drawing is a contemplative process which allows us to see the perspective of others, or perhaps examine our own. It gives us space to sit, envision, and act. True art comes from the ability of artists to depict a hidden movement within their work, offering insight into the motion of the world around them that gives art its voice. In the case of Alexander Rees, his drawings are dynamic and life-giving. They are portals into his world, or at the very least, that which he sees.

Catskills

Ink on paper

22 x 28 inches (55.8 x 71 cm), 2013

Catskills. Landscape #1

Ink on paper