Larry Philips' "A Free Soul in a Union Square" Debuts at Gallery OneTwentyEight in New York

Gallery OneTwentyEight at 128 Rivington St. (in Manhattan's historic lower East Side) is pleased to present "A Free Soul in a Union Square", a show of sculpture and paintings created by artist Larry Philips over the last quarter century. The show opens on June 3, 2009 and runs through June 29th.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 2, 2009 -- Gallery OneTwentyEight in Manhattan's historic lower East Side is pleased to present "A Free Soul in a Union Square", a show of sculpture and paintings
created by artist Larry Philips over the last quarter century. The show opens with an early evening reception on Wednesday, June 3, 2009 and runs through June 29, 2009.

Philips has an art studio on New York's Union Square, which partly informs the title of the show. His art intends to engage the viewer's eye and then the mind, asking the viewer to enjoy the color and design of the painting, then discover the "rush" of seeing something more -- the spiritual center, the art -- evoked by the action, color and content.

One new and unusual work combines painting and sculpture. Titled "New York Sound Off", it uses a mixed medium, paint on a 6'x1 foot wooden plank, laden with computer components and other tools of current sight and communication. On the other side, there is an interpretation of life as it was before society wired up.

One larger painting titled, "Immaculate Conception Rejected, Intelligent Designer Dejected", deals with art and society, purity and grace and comments on a current political issue.

A smaller painting, "The Guggenheim Underwater", expresses the wonder created by a museum show, in a direct, but unconventional setting.

"Nina, in the Sky With Love" is a homage to Nina Simone, who Philips knew and worked with professionally in the latter part of her singing career.

Philips was a lawyer with extensive experience in the artistic world, with clients such as sculptors Claes Oldenberg, Philip Pavia; Igor Mitoraj, Arturo DiModica (the creator of Wall Street's famous "Charging Bull"); painters Bob Beauchamp; Charles Hindman; and Gianfranco Ferroni, a well known Milanese painter, among others. He also represented musicians such as Simone, Spanky & Our Gang, Melissa Manchester, rap pioneers The Last Poets, Oliver ("Good Morning Starshine") and others.

Philips notes that having proudly represented great artists, it was the process of becoming a sculptor and painter himself that allowed him to become "a free soul". He began the process in the early 1980s by working primarily with marble during extended trips to Pietrasanta, Italy; and more recently has focused on oil canvases in his New York studio.

Since becoming an artist, Philips has participated in several group shows and has placed a large marble sculpture called "Down the Nile" on the grounds of the University of Virginia Law School, his alma mater. In the early 1990s, he also supervised the restoration of the famed Columbus Circle Monument for the Municipal Art Society and the City of New York.

Gallery OneTwentyEight is located at 128 Rivington St. (in Manhattan's historic lower East Side), between Essex and Norfolk Street, two blocks south of Houston Street. Under the guidance of director Kazuko Miyamoto, the eclectic Gallery has showcased neighborhood artists for the past two decades.

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