Competition Heats Up as Artists Celebrate the Nude at barebrush.com

Virtual exhibition attracting more and better entries as artists submit their work for the N*des-of-the-Month.

New York, NY – December 1, 2006 -- barebrush.com announces publication of its fourth virtual calendar cum art show, N*des-of-the-Month. The exhibition was curated by former museum president, artist, writer, and collector, Bob Mueller. “There is a lot of quality work on the site, and a great variety,” said Mueller during the process of selecting the show.

“Each month we’ve had more and better art on the site,” says CEO Ilene Skeen. “The artists’ response has been enthusiastic as the nude genre is an under-represented art form. The nude is news, the nude is controversial. The focus on the nude has serves as a meeting point for these artists, most of whom also do other types of work. The monthly exhibition keeps the site fresh and interesting.”

barebrush.com is a start-up website dedicated exclusively to the art of the nude. Membership on the site is free, and listing art on the site for 30 days is also free. The N*des-of-the-Month is a virtual juried exhibition of the art selected from the entries in the “Art Log” by a different guest art professional each month. The exhibition is presented on the web in a unique calendar format. Also on the site is an “Events & News” blog which presents opportunities, events and news in the world of the nude in art.

The N*des-of-the-Month exhibition series began in September 2006 with an exhibition curated by Brigitte Saint-Ouen, founder and director of Gramercy 32 Fine Arts. The October exhibition was curated by master pastellist, teacher and president of the Salmagundi Club, Richard Pionk. The November exhibition was curated by Chelsea art dealer, Christopher Henry of Christopher Henry Gallery. All of these calendars are still live in the archives of barebrush.com.

“I want to increase the acceptability and interest in the art of the nude. Unlike many other websites, barebrush.com recognizes the importance of the dealer in the art process. With barebrush.com, I am trying to widen public awareness of, access to and appreciation for the art of the nude. I want to help artists to find dealers, help dealers to find collectors, help collectors to find enjoyment and help us all find each other,” says Ilene Skeen, founder of barebrush.com. Ms. Skeen, artist, MBA, business systems designer, and graduate anthropologist, is a native of NYC. She is a resident artist member of the Salmagundi Club and chairman of the club’s curators’ committee.

About Bob Mueller:

Bob is an active and enthusiastic member of the Salmagundi Club’s Library Committee and has donated a number of historical pieces to the Club. He relates that his early love of art was fostered through visits to his grandmother’s house where she owned a collection of minor old masters. These paintings were the legacy of his grandfather, an art dealer who died when he was six months old and from whom, he believes, he inherited his connoisseur’s eye. When he was older, regular trips to the city’s museums honed this inheritance to a high standard. He says that he derives inspiration in his own painting through such great American impressionist artists as William Merritt Chase and Willard Metcalf and is wholly dedicated to the realist tradition in American Art. Other teachers and friends that have inspired him include Irwin Greenberg, John and Margaret Manship, Sam Adoquei and Furman Finck.

            Mueller also considers himself “a devout scholar of American Art history and in particular American Sculpture.” Until recently he was President of the Board of Directors of the Cornish Colony Museum in Windsor, Vermont and takes great pleasures in contributing to the expansion American Art scholarship. Mueller’s current writing projects include a definitive book on the women assistants of Augustus Saint-Gaudens and expansion of a talk on Edith Mitchill Prellwitz into booklet form.

            About his approach to the art at barebrush.com and the selection of the December N*des-of-the-Month virtual exhibition, Mueller wrote:

 
“When asked to judge a group of works, above all, I look for outstanding quality. Visual impact, composition, and handling of technique are equally important. Each work is judged on its own merits whether traditional or abstract. In addition to appreciating beauty, art is meant to make us think differently. Though a traditional artist and collector myself, I especially appreciate works that open my eyes and allow me to see things in a new way.”

When asked to describe the selection process on November 22^nd, Bob Mueller answered with one word, “Difficult. The process was difficult,” he elaborated, “because there’s a lot of quality work on the site and a great variety.”

About the Artists:

December N*des-of-the-Month artists (with dates): Oudi Arroni (19, 20), Gaye Elise Beda (31), Rune Froseth (22), Jackie Garrick-Waldman (8), Michael Hennessy (18), Kristopher Johnson (26), Linda Krieg (9), Nina Kuriloff (7), Moon Hi Lee (23), Lynne Levin (14-17), Lael Marshall (2), Chris Miller (21), Jacqui Morgan (1), Jenny Rosenbaum (10, 11), David Shuldiner (24), Emily Stedman (29, 30), Chanit Roston (27, 28), Arkady Roytman (3-6), and website host, Ilene Skeen (25). For the jury of selection, Bob Mueller chose two historical pieces by sculptor Frances Grimes, 1869-1963, (12, 13).

Contact information:

www.barebrush.com
dedicated to the art of the nude