(New York, NY – July 27, 2022) On Wednesday, July 20th, Chris Concannon filled in for Artist Robert Cenedella (b. 1940) in front of the newly exhibited So Many Roads (Grateful Dead 1965-Forever) at Carlton Fine Arts Ltd. for the opening night of the gallery’s newest exhibition: Rock & Roll Art. Throughout the evening, guests enjoyed light bites and champagne as they admired Cenedella’snewest oil on canvas, a triptych mural sized painting honoring the Grateful Dead’s extensive legacy spanning over six decades.
Also on display were Andy Warhol’s Mick Jagger (1975), Kelly Sullivan’s Rock and Roll Voodoo (2015), and other works by artists highlighting the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, and the Rolling Stones.
Those in attendance that evening included Peter Thomas Roth, Linjie Deng, Cathy Soref, Dusty Wright, Terry Hill, Miranda Lee, Margie Beck, Jean Ziperski, Sara Beth Shrager, Shelby Hannan, & Nicole and Natalie Meir.
Although the Grateful Dead started their storied career as a band in 1965, Artist Robert Cenedella only recently boarded the proverbial ‘bus’ as a Deadhead. In this massive interpretation of the band’s journey across the years, So Many Roads, also known as Grateful Dead 1965-Forever, leaves your eyes scrolling from one panel to the next, all while pondering about the deeper meaning behind all the imagery within the painting. Just like Robert Hunter and John Perry Barlow were able to do with their lyrics, Cenedella paints a story that is open to interpretation and resonates with the viewer however they deem fit in this Deadhead’s utopia.
In honor and celebration of Jerry Garcia, on what would have been his 80th birthday, So Many Roads will remain on display to the public until August 1st, 2022. On August 2nd, So Many Roads will exit the Rock & Roll Art exhibition due to prior filming obligations for an upcoming documentary; however, the 26″ x 39″ Fotiou Framed Digital Archival Print will remain in its place at Carlton Fine Arts until August 12th. Exhibition hours are Monday – Thursday: 10 AM – 6 PM; Friday: 10 AM – 4 PM; Saturday: Closed; Sunday: 11 AM – 6 PM. For those interested in seeing the exhibition outside of open hours, appointments can be scheduled by calling (212) 593-2800, or by emailing: info@carltonfa.com. Visit http://carltonfa.com/ for more information.
ABOUT ROBERT CENEDELLA
Robert Cenedella was born in Milford, Massachusetts in 1940. He received his formal education from The High School of Music & Art in New York, and from The Art StudentsLeague of New York. From 1988-2020, he inherited the George Grosz Chair at The League where he was invited to teach his Life Drawing Class and a Painting Workshop. Following a definitive tradition in art, like Brueghel, Daumier, Hogarth, and Grosz before him, Cenedella has devoted his art to chronicling the changing rituals and myths of contemporary American society.
In the last 40 years, Cenedella has amassed considerable international praise as well as inclusion in numerous public and private collections. His commissions include works for the famed Bacardi International and Absolut VODKA, a theater piece for actor Tony Randall, two murals of historical significance for Le Cirque 2000 Restaurants in New York and Mexico City, and most recently a visual jam to commemorate the history of the Grateful Dead.
In September 1985, Cenedella exhibited at the Bagatelle in the Bois de Boulogne in Paris, a show sponsored by Mr. Jacques Chirac, then mayor of Paris. In 1988, he held a one-man show at Saatchi & Saatchi’s headquarters in New York, and in 1990, he was included in the prestigious Amnesty International Exhibition in SoHo, New York. In December 1994, he had a major retrospective at the Galerie Am Scheunenviertel in Berlin, Germany, which was a tribute to his former mentor and ran concurrently with the George Grosz Centennial Exhibition at the Berlin National Gallery. That same year, Cenedella’s concept of selling shares of stock in his painting 2001 – A Stock Odyssey was disclosed in a New York Times feature article. The idea prompted Leo Castelli, the SoHo gallery owner, who once compared the art boom of the 1980s to the rise of junk bonds, to call the experiment “a conceptual work of art.” Cenedella was also featured in Norbert Bunge’s award-winning documentary film George Grosz in America: Life’s Fine in the Labyrinth presented at the Berlin Film Festival in 1995.
From 1995 to 2000, Robert Cenedella exhibited and lectured around the United States. From March to May 2003, a full retrospective of the artist’s political works was sponsored by The Nation Institute. This exhibit, The Nation Hangs Cenedella, was held at the New York executive offices of The Nation magazine and covered subjects ranging from the Selma riots to the preemptive war on Iraq. It was the first exhibition given to an American artist by The Nation. On March 11, 2004, Cenedella unveiled “The Easel Painting Revival” at Le Cirque 2000. In the spring of 2005, Robert Cenedella had a solo exhibition at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, and conducted a lecture entitled: “WHAT isn’t ART.”
Cenedella’s art and life was the subject of a book, “The American Artist as Satirist,” by M. Kay Flavell. Cenedella was also the protagonist in Art Bastard, a historical documentary film on his life and work, which was released in the spring of 2016 by Concannon Productions, Inc. to critical acclaim. It was written and directed by Victor Kanefsky, produced by Chris T. Concannon, and edited by Jim MacDonald.
Robert Cenedella maintained a studio for 60 years in Tribeca and Midtown Manhattan; In August 2020, Cenedella moved from New York City to Maine with his wife, Liz, where he paints full-time. During the summer, Cenedella spends his time on his private island in Maine in a rustic cabin he personally built many years ago. He uses this time for reflection and inspiration. He is currently working on a coffee table book that revolves around his art and life story, which is due to be released in 2023, titled Robert Cenedella | 60 Years of American Art.
For more information about Robert Cenedella, you can visit his website at RobertCenedella.com, or follow him through social media:
Facebook: @RobertCenedellaArt
Instagram: @RobertCenedella
Twitter: @RobertCenedella
ABOUT CARLTON FINE ARTS
Carlton Fine Arts locations are nestled on Madison Avenue and 5th Avenue in the Upper East Side of New York City showcasing the highest quality Pop Art and Modern Masters from across the world in their three-level flagship gallery. Gaining their start in 1969, Carlton Fine Arts is a family owned and operated business. Carlton Fine Arts Ltd. is located at 543 Madison Ave and 689 Fifth Ave in New York, NY. Exhibition hours are Mondays – Thursdays: 10 AM – 6 PM; Fridays: 10 AM – 4 PM; Saturdays: Closed; Sundays: 11 AM – 6 PM and by appointment. For those interested in checking out the exhibition outside of open hours, appointments can be scheduled by calling (212) 593-2800, or e-mailing: info@carltonfa.com. For more information visit carltonfa.com or @carltonfinearts
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Thank you for reading!