Wendt Gallery is pleased to announce the opening of their new exhibition, New York to California, a survey of contemporary American paintings. This coast to coast exhibition is on view in New York from June 24th through August 6th (Monday through Friday 10 am to 6 pm) and in Laguna Beach June 24th through August 31st (Thursday through Sunday 10 am to 6 pm).

Curated by Serina Manqueros, New York to California features 75 works by 9 contemporary artists. Mrs. Manqueros brings 12 years experience as a specialist in contemporary American Painting to this exhibition. She has selected landscape, figurative and still life works that represent the best of each artist in their respective genre.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the piece Napa Vineyards (24×24 inches, oil on canvas) by California landscape artist Karl Dempwolf. This work represents an important theme in the artist’s repertoire of subject matter. Dempwolf’s long running career, marked with gallery shows and various exhibitions, has earned him the distinction as one of the most significant California impressionists living today. In the spirit of the exhibition, Mrs. Manqueros will showcase six east coast landscapes which document some of the artist’s most beloved spots in New York and throughout the northeastern coast states. In 2008, the art world saw the release of Dempwolf’s long awaited table book, “Karl Dempwolf; A Painter’s Journey.” This 75 page publication is offered in hard and soft cover and will be available for sale during the course of the exhibition and online.

Further works featured in New York to California are landscapes by another of California’s painting gems, Lynn Gertenbach. Gertenbach has enjoyed an enduring career as one the most notable of the French inspired California impressionists. Her mood-colored blue and pink palette and the special attention her approach pays to the effects of light on landscapes make her paintings particularly striking. Six new works are on display by Ms. Gertenbach in the show.

Included in the exhibition will be several stunning landscape paintings by noted New York impressionist – Frank Mason. These works will include landscape paintings from his travels throughout the United States and Europe. Frank Mason passed away one year ago this month and Wendt Gallery is showcasing his works as a fitting tribute to an artist who gace so much to the World of Art.

Wendt favorite Ambi Bowo helps round out the Gallery’s exhibition. His new body of work is a turning point for the painter artistically. In New York to California we see the expansion of his signature theme of Bay Area inspired urban scenes to compositions of loose abstracted figurative pieces and images of his native Indonesian homeland. Thinking of You (18×24 inches, oil on canvas) deserves special notice with its marked influence of Dutch abstract Bay Area expressionism, seen in the works of masters such as William de Kooning. In Thinking, a deconstructed solo figure is broken into asymmetrical parts through color segmenting and abstract paint application. As an Indonesian artist influenced not only by bay area academia, Bowo is also infused with artistic influence from his native Indonesia. A short publication featuring the new works by Mr. Bowo will also be available during the exhibition.

New York to California continues its survey of art and artists stretching from coast to coast America with figurative works by prominent portrait painter Casey Baugh. Mr. Baugh has steadfastly grown amongst the figurative community as an artist with a compelling approach towards his composition and painting. One work in particular, Blue Tule (18×24 inches, oil on canvas), demonstrates a very personal moment between the subject and her viewer as she gazes pointedly in a decided and definitive manner. This year Wendt is pleased to announce Mr. Baugh’s upcoming coast to coast fall solo exhibition, Evoquer, in New York and Laguna Beach. Mr. Baugh’s new video, Sketching the Portrait with Casey Baugh, will be available for sale during the exhibition and online.

New York to California concludes with an inclusion of artists who have not previously exhibited with Wendt Gallery. New works by painter Paul Rafferty will consist of scenes depicting umbrellas and sea-goers frolicking on the beach. Orange Umbrellas, Juan les Pins (29×36 inches, oil on canvas) warrants special attention. In the spirit of the 19th and 20th century master artists such as John Singer Sargeant and Alfred Sisley, Orange Umbrellas is a paramount example of American painting at its best. The artist’s work will be on display in the Laguna Beach gallery during the course of this exhibition.

Wendt Gallery is a fine art gallery whose purpose is to create greater awareness of the importance the arts play in contemporary culture. By showcasing American Art the gallery hopes to bring special focus to the influence these contemporary painters play in upholding the tradition of fine American painting.