Varied Works from 1962-2004

At 758 Humboldt Street (beside The Marriott Hotel)
May 7 - 28, 2011

 Opening Reception
Saturday, May 7, 2011
2:00 – 4:00 pm

3:00 p.m.  Tzenka Dianova, internationally acclaimed pianist,
 performs two works by John Cage (1912-1992):  ‘In a Landscape’
1948 (10 min.) and ‘Dream’ 1948 (8 min.)

Toni Onley, best known for his watercolour landscapes, is also known in fine art circles as an important abstract artist.  In the 1960s he created the Polar, Zone, and Limit series, of which Limit 22 in this exhibition is an exemplar. 

The titles of most of the 1960s works were concepts derived from the topography of landscape: "Polar," "Zone,"  "Limit,"  "Edge," "Massif.”  One can see it as an effort to make visible the essence of these concepts. 

During the 1980s, Onley gradually acquired celebrity status as a landscape painter for the recognizable places he painted impressionistically with varying degrees of abstraction.   In 2002 and 2003, he also produced a series of vibrant, intriguing large magazine collages, several of which are in this exhibition.  Of his technique he said: “Like prehistoric insects trapped in amber, the ephemeral fragments of glossy magazine paper are preserved by coating them with many layers of acrylic medium.”

A year before his death Onley wrote:  “Alongside of my abstract work in collage, I continue to paint watercolors out of doors and oil landscapes in my studio.  I have always painted landscapes and always will.  All my ideas come from landscape.”

The present exhibition brings together Onley’s abstract works and his landscapes, so we may appreciate both sides of this versatile and prolific artist.