Carl "Woolly" Hewitt and Eric Ginsburg at Gallery Onetwentyeight

MANHATTAN, N.Y. - July 4, 2018 - PRLog -- onetwentyeight

" PORTRAITS "

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​Wednesday,  July 11th, 2018 – Sunday,  July 22nd, 2018

Wednesday – Saturday  1pm-7pm and Sunday  1pm- 5pm and by appointment

Opening Reception : Friday, July 13, 2018 6pm-8pm

Barbadian Variations

by

Carl "Woolly" Hewitt

I am a Barbadian artist who calls himself "The King of Wool" or "The Wool Man" My "road

less taken" began on Nelson Street in Bridgetown, the capital of my country, Barbados.

My first portrait was of a local student.

The process of my work can take a few weeks. First I drew a sketch and then apply the wool in a manner that involves different colors, textures, and painting techniques.

Most of my portraits are of famous people such as Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela, former Prime Minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart, Larry Palmer, U.S. Ambassador to Barbados, and iconic sports celebrities like cricketers Sir Gary Sobers and Sir Wesley Hall. My portraits of Wesley Hall and King Dyal were sold as soon as they were presented to the public. I recently garnered international attention when I presented a portrait of Simon Cowell to the television celebrity. I intend to do portraits of Oprah Winfrey, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and John Lennon.

At the other extreme, I have honored my fellow Bajans with portraits embracing their differences and many struggles - financial, social and psychological, as well as their inner strength.

I teach younger people the "Know how" of my techniques so that they will employ them in creating their own artistic visions.

World of Eric Ginsburg

"Look into the eyes of dogs and cats" says Eric Ginsburg, who has been painting them for 15 years.

"They love you no matter what."

Known for the uniquely soulful and painterly qualities of his portraits, Eric credits Sol Lewitt as a patron who commissioned work, as well as a mentor, and along with Eric's "pen pal" William Wegman, as "Kind of a hero."

"He got his own start due to the friendliness of another artist, the late conceptual art legend Sol LeWitt.
"Sol LeWitt literally saved my life," Ginsburg says. Their relationship began when LeWitt, who was close friends with Ginsburg's gallerist, saw one of Ginsburg's shows. "And he just started giving me work with museums and collectors. Essentially, he gave me a career that I never would have had."

Though they had a close bond, Ginsburg and LeWitt never even met.

"It was very strange," Ginsburg admits. "In some respect we were pen pals. He would send me work and I would send him stuff and we spoke on the phone. We never met but we would literally write to each other every week. It would be snail mail. He sent me this book about dogs because I paint dogs. He was such an amazing man. He was the most generous. Why would he do that? A kid out of college? Artists don't do that. They should. And I don't think I'm alone as a person that he helped that way."

And about those dog paintings. They came about when Ginsburg was in college and painting images from his childhood. The first show he had his work in, "I put a dog in there and it sold. And ever since then, i've painted dogs and cats."

http://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/fridge-art-fair-to-brin...

gallery onetwentyeight
128 Rivington Street
(between Essex and Norfolk)
New York, NY 10002
212-674-0244

347-456-3424

galleryonetwentyeight.org