Phillips de Pury & Company is pleased to present Watercolors, a curated selling exhibition featuring a diverse group of contemporary works by artists who have moved beyond using watercolor paint as an auxiliary mode of expression to embracing it as their primary medium. The exhibition will showcase over 80 abstract and figurative works that challenge the romantic ideologies associated with historical watercolor.

Presently, many artists regard watercolor as an secondary tool reserved for simple sketches and impromptu figurative gestures too fickle and challenging to render complete works of art. However, a new generation of artists, utilizing contemporary aesthetic innovation and expertise, is turning to watercolor to establish a unique movement that explores the consequences of individual choice and social anonymity. Watercolors will not only focus on current uses of the medium, but emphasize the idea of individual experience and alienation through the study of everyday life. The collection of works will seek to replace modern depictions of opposition and sorrow born of social crisis with idealistic depictions of the humbler aspects of personal character unaffected by social influence.

Watercolors is curated by Kristin Sancken, a New York-based writer and curator. She graduated in 2011 from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art with a Masters of Art in Art Business and is a current employee at Phillips de Pury & Company. This exhibition was organized in conjunction with Active Ideas Productions, Inc. AI Productions serves the artistic community by facilitating awareness of emerging artists and educating the public about their work. Also in partnership are galleries 303, Ricco Maresca, Bravin Lee Programs, Greenberg Van Doren, Halsey McKay, Tripoli, Salomon Contemporary, Eli Ridgway, and Nicole Klagsburn.