Friends and Patrons of The Studios of Key West are invited to the opening reception on Friday, December 11 from 6 to 9pm. The artist will also be present on Saturday December 12 for a champagne reception in the gallery from 10am to 2pm.
Nowak’s new “Faces” continue the artist’s original project to paint citizens of Key West, including street performers, police officers, artists, and politicians. COmpleted over a four year period, Nowak’s Faces of Key West series included over 100 portraits, ranging in size from nine by six inches to five feet.
Since those initial portraits, Nowak’s style has evolved considerably. Her new work focuses on the dynamics of paint while also presenting a portrait that reveals the character of the sitter. Creases or wrinkles or mussed up hair become facial landscapes. As a result, the viewer encounters a canvas to be explored and enjoyed while also entering into a close relationship with the subject.
Letty Nowak moved to Key West in 2000 after graduating from Michigan State University. Soon after, Nowak opened the Lemonade Stand Art Studio, a renegade gallery and open artist’s space that welcomed adventurous artists and collectors to a common meeting ground. The space became famous for its many innovative events, including 24-hour Artist “Lock-In” exhibitions, in which invited artists shut themselves in, working together for a full day/night, then exhibiting their creations.
Nowak’s summer work is currently on view at Hal Bromm Gallery, 90 West Broadway, in New York City. Featuring large Faces, that exhibition is on view through December 18. Nowak has also shown at the Customs House Museum, The Studios of Key West, and galleries in Connecticut and Michigan. Her upstairs studio in the Historic Armory, and all the creative spaces at The Studios of Key West, will also be open to the public for the monthly Walk on White on Thursday, December 17 from 6 to 9pm.
For more information about ART612 Gallery, please call 292-1577 or email: art612.kw@gmail.com
