On Friday December 11th VAN DER PLAS GALLERY is featuring the art of Arnold Levine  and Allen Stamper, "Hudson Valley Landscapes and Figurative Paintings.”

The show explores the dialogue between the artists and their respective natural muses—landscapes and the human figure—as well as the seductive similarities of these natural forms.

Arnold Levine has been a professional painter for over thirty years. He has taught at colleges and universities in Illinois, California, Arizona, and New York. But while he has lived and worked in many places, from Italy to Vietnam, the Hudson Valley has always called him back.

Levine has exhibited in both group and solo shows across the country, and has received numerous awards for his artwork.  Arnold Levine has been compared favorably with the best painters of this genre, and names his influences from Tiepolo to Dekooning, with Courbet, Corot and Monet in between.

Allen Stamper was born on Oahu in 1947 and has spent most of his life between Hawaii and Nova Scotia, and currently resides in Kingston N.Y. The son of artist Willson Stamper and celebrated children's book illustrator and writer Martha Alexander Stamper was immersed in the arts early on.

Formally, he studied drawing with Joe Fehrer in 1964 at the Honolulu Academy of Art followed by a brief apprenticeship with sculptor Eddie Schillacci in New York in 1965, Stamper's primary focus was sculpture until 1978. In 2001 he studied the Renaissance painting technique with Snowden Hodges which prompted his shift to oil painting.

Van Der Plas Gallery is proud to announce an exhibition of Dutch Artists celebrating the historic voyage of Henry Hudson.

“On his now legendary third voyage, under the auspices of the wealthy Dutch East India Company, Captain Hudson, set sail unceremoniously from Amsterdam with a crew of no more than twenty Dutch- and Englishmen in the decidedly cramped, triple-masted vessel, the Half Moon (Halve Maen in Dutch), on April 4, 1609. It has been suggested that the inferior ship was an expression of the wariness of Hudson's new sponsors, who thought he was overpaying the crew. The Dutch and English were archrivals at this time.

Their suspicions were well founded, for Captain Hudson again proved unmanageable. This time. when he encountered ferocious weather near Norway, the ambitious Hudson, despite having received instructions to search only for a northeasterly route, instead of returning to port, made a three thousand mile detour in search of warmer weather and the passage he was convinced he'd find along the northeast coast of America. He never found it. But he did come upon "a very good harbor for all windes," a discovery that gave rise to the founding of Nieuw Amsterdam and, ultimately, New York.

The exhibition features a monoprint series of works by Hab van den Wijngaard created just for this celebration, along with works by other major Dutch contemporary artists, Arthur Klein, Jaco Kranendonk, Laan Irodjojo,

Livia Dencher and Marjori Lutter.

Please join us for the opening of our newest exhibit featuring a selection of artwork by Leonard Rosenfeld and Konstantin Bokov - two esteemed New York artists, who have gained acclaim both locally and abroad.  Through their talent, humour and unique world-views, the artists capture the nuances of New York City life as well as pose questions about contemporary realities.  Rosenfeld's 1957 Brooklyn Railroad Tracks drawings are amongst the highlights of the show, alongside Bokov's exquisite oil paintings and recycled pieces.

From 6-9 pm on Thursday July 30th, 2009, we invite you to have the first viewing of the exceptional art comprising the show, as well as to meet the artists, network with fellow artists and art enthusiasts, and enjoy a glass of wine and light nibbles!  The show will run through August 28th, 2009.

JOHN CARNRIGHT: J.M. Carnright's "PrimitiveFuturisms" concept originated in the mid 1970s in artworks created during this early period in his career. Stimulated mainly by the artist's pilgrimmage to Eastern and Western Europe, Carnright developed this concept much more thoroughly following 1987 and with the coverage of his artwork by Kunst und Kirche Magazine. Carinright's journey, inspired by European Art Critics/Art Historians and highly published authors (including Dr. Gunter Rombold and Dr. Friedhelm Mennekes), led Carnright to periods of earnest thought, reflection and discovery. This all occurred during his travels when writing, sleeping and dreaming near and within the primal.

ALLEN STAMPER: Allen Stamper was born on Oahu in 1947 and has spent most of his life between Hawaii, New York and Nova Scotia. The son of artist Willson Stamper and celebrated children's book illustrator and writer Martha Alexander Stamper was immersed in the arts early on. Formally, he studied drawing with Joe Fehrer in 1964 at the Honolulu Academy of Art followed by a brief apprenticeship with sculptor Eddie Schillacci in New York in 1965, Stamper's primary focus being sculpture until 1978. In 2001 he studied Renaissance painting technique with Snowden Hodges which prompted his shift to oil painting.