Gerald Peters Contemporary is pleased to present an exhibition of works by Harvey Dinnerstein (b. 1928) on view online and by appointment at 24 East 78th Street in New York.
A National Academician and lifelong teacher, Dinnerstein’s devotion to representational art established him as a 20th Century master of realism. He came of age in an era that embraced abstraction above all else, but, from the beginning, Dinnerstein operated outside of this arena. His drawing and painting skills are derived from humanist traditions of the past, responding to the complexity of contemporary life.
The eight decades of his work encompass a remarkable range of subjects from figurative genre to epic compositions. This includes intimate images of his family, depictions of the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1956, Black liberation struggles and the Vietnam protests of the 1960’s and 1970’s. In addition to these cogent works are a series on the Seasons (based on views of Prospect Park, Brooklyn), and a group of life-size figurative portraits and images of urban life.
This exhibition focuses on a selection of subway images conceived in oil and pastel that probe beneath the surface of the subject to a deeper perception of the heartbeat and diversity of the city, Underground.
The monograph Underground Together: The Art and Life of Harvey Dinnerstein, with essays by Pete Hamill and Gabriel Weisberg), is available through the Gallery.
