John Hrehov

Nexus - Squirrel Leaps Between Trees and Table Setting, Original Oil, Framed

2023

Mark Bowers- Artist Statement With the depiction of landscape playing such a central role in the history of North American art, it seemed to offer many of the critical possibilities I was looking for, and it felt more and more like something I have always known. Something I could easily apply, stage, and manipulate as a diary. My work consists of small-scale highly detailed landscape paintings. They are inspired by the comfort, trepidation, and beauty found in the mundane Chicago Suburbs. I combine nature, decorative house wares...

"True North - Orientation" is a worms-eye view of a jumbled sky bursting with both fireworks and a rainbow. The surreal quality of the imagery makes the viewer question reality. The ellipsed edges confirm the scene as an inner vision rather than a window on the world. The foreground billboards add another dimensional question to the landscape. The painting itself is painted on a handmade wooden panel with beautifully finished edges so no frame is needed. Mark Bowers True North - Orientation oil on panel 9h x 12w in 22.86h x 30.48w cm MJB012 TRUE NORTH PAINTINGS Unconscious systemic biases may guide our actions or direct us---similar to the human construct of “True North”, which holds to coordinate systems. The Earth’s “Magnetic North” moves over time according to polar shifts; flux and correction is enabled by polarity. In these paintings (Privilege, Orientation, Belief, Identity, Equity), I use compositional elements referencing nautical com- passes to suggest that society must navigate not within systems, but naturally through positive relationships and change. I hope that my art represents our present day - but also imparts a dreamful glimpse of hope and faith within. Explanation: A magnetic compass does not point toward the true North Pole of the Earth. Rather, it more closely points toward the North Magnetic Pole of the Earth. The North Magnetic Pole is currently located in northern Canada. It wanders in an elliptical path each day, and moves, on the average, more than forty meters northward each day. Evidence indicates that the North Magnetic Pole has wandered over much of the Earth's surface in the 4.5 billion years since the Earth formed. Mark Bowers- Artist Statement With the depiction of landscape playing such a central role in the history of North American art, it seemed to offer many of the critical possibilities I was looking for, and it felt more and more like something I have always known. Something I could easily apply, stage, and manipulate as a diary. My work consists of small-scale highly detailed landscape paintings. They are inspired by the comfort, trepidation, and beauty found in the mundane Chicago Suburbs. I combine nature, decorative house wares...

"True North - Privilege" is a dream-like view of a cloud filled sky yet nothing feels quite real. The ellipsed edges confirm the scene as an inner vision rather than a window on the world. The foreground gives a glimpse of a white structure but we must use our imagination to piece the scene together. The painting itself is painted on a handmade wooden panel with beautifully finished edges so no frame is needed. Mark Bowers True North - Privilege oil on panel 9h x 12w in 22.86h x 30.48w cm MJB011 TRUE NORTH PAINTINGS Unconscious systemic biases may guide our actions or direct us---similar to the human construct of “True North”, which holds to coordinate systems. The Earth’s “Magnetic North” moves over time according to polar shifts; flux and correction is enabled by polarity. In these paintings (Privilege, Orientation, Belief, Identity, Equity), I use compositional elements referencing nautical com- passes to suggest that society must navigate not within systems, but naturally through positive relationships and change. I hope that my art represents our present day - but also imparts a dreamful glimpse of hope and faith within. Explanation: A magnetic compass does not point toward the true North Pole of the Earth. Rather, it more closely points toward the North Magnetic Pole of the Earth. The North Magnetic Pole is currently located in northern Canada. It wanders in an elliptical path each day, and moves, on the average, more than forty meters northward each day. Evidence indicates that the North Magnetic Pole has wandered over much of the Earth's surface in the 4.5 billion years since the Earth formed. Mark Bowers- Artist Statement With the depiction of landscape playing such a central role in the history of North American art, it seemed to offer many of the critical possibilities I was looking for, and it felt more and more like something I have always known. Something I could easily apply, stage, and manipulate as a diary. My work consists of small-scale highly detailed landscape paintings. They are inspired by the comfort, trepidation, and beauty found in the mundane Chicago Suburbs. I combine nature, decorative house wares...

A sunset of explosive proportions is the subject of this surreal landscape entitled "True North - Equity". The brilliant light at the end of the end of the road illuminates the high...

David Cheifetz's "Reverie" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a golden vase and red apple situated within a landscape of a green leafing tree and a blue wave crashing...

Heather Neill's (US based) "Rocky Mountain High" is an original, handmade oil painting that depicts a teacup hanging off a cliff by a climbing rope. Artist Autobiography: Born in Ho...

Robin Hextrum's "Still Life with Wine and Glaciers" is an original, handmade oil painting that features a still life of fruit, Peony's and Red wine floating on icebergs in an arctic...

Wreath: ROME from artist Stephenie Peek who makes her home in California, is beautifully rendered with a sense of depth, intellect, timelessness and beauty. Inspired by a time the artist spent in Italy and found herself strongly drawn to the history and mystery of antique Roman laurels. Here, the golden wreath appears to float above the clouds in a surrealist, Magritte-like sky. The clear blue has an ethereal quality with glimmering gold. The painting's edges are painted white, so framing is not required. If framing is desired, we can provide it for an additional cost. Signed, dated and titled verso by artist: Artist's statement— The genesis of this oil painting, “Wreath,” is the classic laurel wreath fashioned in gold and awarded to victors, both athletic and poetic, in ancient Greece and Rome. From my studio at the American Academy in Rome, I looked out over the city and imagined these memorials to those who have crossed finish lines, so to speak, who have won their races. Suspended in silence, this wreath speaks for me not only of wordly success with its ephemeral nature, but also of a kind of lasting victory that art can remind us of. "Ars longa...