fruits and flowers

life to fantasy

John

I was extremely excited to be a part of this project!

The show took place at the Space Gallery, 812 Liberty Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15222, June 24- September 4, 2016.

In February, 2015, Brett Yasko asked 250 Pittsburgh artists to each do a portrait of the same person: John Riegert. What followed has been a journey through studios, restaurants, group sittings, museums, universities, parks, cemeteries, fishing holes, artists’ homes and John’s own home. The culmination will be an exhibition at SPACE in the summer of 2016 where, among the portraits, John will act as docent—telling stories of each artist and their work, as well as stories of his own.

A Tumblr of the project’s progress is here: johnriegert.tumblr.com

A full-color catalogue will be produced. It will feature all 250 portraits, an essay by Eric Lidji (who has followed the entire project as a fly on the wall), photos of the interactions between John and the artists, as well as a section dedicated to John’s art and writing.

Opening reception Friday, June 24 at 5:30 PM - 10 PM

goddesses

Modern Eve and Contemporary Venus were painted for my solo exhibition, Forbidden Fruit, held at Panza Gallery in Millvale in 2010. Iris joined this series a little later.

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All pieces are oil on canvas, 30"x40" and 20"x40".

the city

The two portraits of the city were commissioned by Renewable Manufacturing Gateway (RMG), a non-profit organization devoted to economic and job growth in the manufacturing, science, technology, and heavy industrial infrastructure space in Pittsburgh, for their Downtown office. These are the largest format paintings I ever made — The Point is 60"x48" and Pittsburgh Neighborhood 72"x60". Both painted in oils on canvas.

passion

Flamenco was painted after visiting Spain with my sons.

24"x48" oil on canvas

all seasons beauty

Autumn, Winter, and Summer are from a series I painted for a group women show at Red Door Space gallery in Pittsburgh in 2012 — just to show once again the beauty in all seasons, all ages, ever.

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All pieces are 24"x24" oil on canvas.

the gallop

The Gallop has a space of it's own. I love horses. When I was young, horseback riding was my dream. In a Soviet Russian metropolis in the 80s horses were as rare as the dinosaurs. I was drawing them instead.

This painting became my signature piece. The image is on my business card and my booth banner, the prints are my best selling item. Hope it conveys the energy and the music that inspired it. And my love for these gorgeous creatures.

story portraits

Portraits tell the story . . . a true story. Spring in Pittsburgh was done for Pittsburgh's Society of Illustrators juried exhibition. It made it in, and was even featured in a local paper (center page in color, my 5 minutes of fame.) Mister Fix-It from this piece — my very own husband who's been fixing houses in our area for almost 25 years.

My dear friend, wonderful violinist Galina modeled for Before the Concert. If you are in Pittsburgh and ever dreamed of mastering your musical skills, get in touch with her at www.galinaistomin.com.

Third portrait is of my twin sons who just love to play pond hockey right there on the Panther lake where it is not allowed. What can you do?

All three portraits are 36"x36", acrylic on canvas.

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fission of form

Fission of Form was probably the coolest group show I've ever been a part of. It was a collaborative exhibit organized by Pittsburgh Society of Sculptors, Pittsburgh Poets, and Pittsburgh Society of Illustrators. How did it work? 20 sculptors came in first, each creating an original sculpture. Then, 20 poets wrote their art, inspired by the sculpture they were given. After, 20 illustrators were each assigned a piece of poetry to illustrate. As a result, 20 sets of sculpture-poem-picture were shown. I did not see the sculpture before the show opening date.

The poem I illustrated was written by Mike Schneider and inspired by the Sean MacMillan's sculpture shown here, "Untitled Table Piece".

Untitled Copper and Steel
by Mike Schneider

Heavy metal creature hunkered in the corner
like a fighter as the cutman works to stanch the blood
and the bell rings — you coulda been more than
a contender, anything you wanted. What have you
become? — bug eyes feverishly bulged. You are both ends
of a bent stovepipe. Behold the androgynous garage band
desperado. What a piece of work is Stan I'd say if your name
were Stan, depraved as Kowalski, yelping for your Stella — gone,
gone, gone. You are cold coffee and leftovers. Raskolnikov,
talking to yourself rudely, wanted as criminal in every state
of anxiety. Scared and scaly, blasted in blue torch
flares of spark, you became violently yourself. Tiger,
tiger, you've been burned, spat on, learned to beware of rescuers,
strike first and run. Cruel as a shrapnel burst
you cry out in shameless joy, as if you are two penises
on one body, as if you are from a far galaxy of fire
and water, cloud forest volcanoes, fighting men
away at war, graveyards sprouting headstones like teeth.
And your spread eagled invitation says Nothing
is surplus, come out and play, conceive, bring
forth, fuck with your mind. You are virgin birth,
the moment of crowning. What fist-like thing
curdled with mother blood surges from your flanged
opening? — to life, l'chaim, say it and see what happens.