NEW YORK CITY (September 2023): Schoelkopf Gallery – specializing in 19th and 20th century American fine art – is pleased to debut its new Tribeca location at 390 Broadway, 3rd Floor, with an exhibition dedicated to pioneering American painter Arthur Dove (1880–1946), opening reception on September 28th. The exhibition – Arthur Dove: Yes, I Could Paint a Cyclone – will present a dynamic selection of increasingly nonrepresentational works that trace Dove’s evolution as a painter and reveal his unyielding interrogation of established artistic convention. The exhibition will open to the public on September 29th and run through December 1st.
"Schoelkopf Gallery's new location in Tribeca is the physical embodiment of many changes in our business and in the field of American art. The location offers distinct physical spaces to enhance the gallery's programming and it gives our team more opportunities to tailor personal experiences for the most active collectors of American art. Over the last five years, more than 30% of the buyers from our gallery are those new to the field or who have not worked with us previously. This figure is the highest I have observed in my career and indicates there is a growing community for American art that is eager to learn more about the American Modernist movement."
Helmed by Andrew Schoelkopf, the gallery presents innovative and important works of American art encompassing both abstract and realist movements, while also shedding light on American artists deserving of greater attention. The gallery’s robust program celebrates the entire sweep of the American modernist movement from 1875 through present day. Schoelkopf Gallery’s move to Tribeca marks a significant milestone in its storied history, bringing a rich array of American art to the vibrant neighborhood. The new 4,800-square-foot gallery space – designed by studioMDA, founded by Markus Dochantschi – will allow the gallery to share its commitment to American art with a larger audience, as well as to support collectors, scholars, museums and the public with a program that expands the canon and creates community.
The exhibition Arthur Dove: Yes, I Could Paint a Cyclone brings together over 70 significant works in various media, including oil, pastel, watercolor and charcoal. These pieces are drawn from distinguished foundations and private collections across North America, revealing Dove's profound influence and innovation in 20th century art. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue featuring an essay by leading Dove scholar Rachael DeLue, Professor in American art at Princeton and author of the monograph Arthur Dove: Always Connect (2016).
Arthur Dove's career began in 1903 as an illustrator in New York before his transformative experiences in France in 1908–09, when he participated in the Salon d'Automne in Paris. Inspired by French modernist master Henri Matisse, Dove began to experiment with a painterly approach that would redefine American art.
Dove's breakthrough came in 1912 when legendary gallerist Alfred Stieglitz exhibited his groundbreaking series of daringly abstract pastels known today as the Ten Commandments (1911–12). These works marked the earliest expressions of his unique nonrepresentational style, provoking both controversy and excitement. His art captured the essence of nature, light, sound, and sensation in a liminal zone between abstraction and representation.
Throughout his career, Arthur Dove challenged traditional modes of expression, cementing his status as a pioneering painter and thinker within the emergence of abstraction in twentieth-century modernism. In the late 1930s, Dove and his wife, fellow artist Helen Torr, settled in Centerport, Long Island, where Dove continued to redefine his style. Despite declining health, he created works featuring geometric and biomorphic forms, foreshadowing movements like Abstract Expressionism and Color Field Painting.
If interested in learning more about Schoelkopf Gallery, their reopening and the 2023 calendar, please visit their website and follow them on Instagram and Facebook.
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ABOUT SCHOELKOPF
Schoelkopf Gallery has earned a distinguished reputation for its commitment to preserving and promoting American art, spanning from 1875 to the present day. The gallery employs scholarship, market research and narrative context to provide visitors with a deeper understanding of each piece. This approach has not only facilitated newfound appreciation but has also expanded the discourse around American art, forging collaborative relationships with esteemed collectors, museums and artists' estates. Schoelkopf Gallery is a proud member of the Art Dealers Association of America and the Private Art Dealers Association.
The gallery's mission is to educate, engage and lead a dynamic international audience for American art. Through a diverse schedule of programming at its new Tribeca location, online and at art fairs, Schoelkopf Gallery brings the essence of the modernist movement in America to life.
