River House Arts Opens with Works Paul-Henri Bourguignon
River House Arts in Historic Downtown Perrysburg is pleased to kick-off its 2011-2012 exhibition schedule on September 9th with an extraordinary selection of paintings and drawings by the late Paul-Henri Bourguignon. Special guest for the gallery's opening reception will be Erika Bourguignon, a reknown anthropologist and widow of the artist.
Born in Belgium in 1906, Paul-Henri Bourguignon studied at the Brussels' Académie des Beaux Arts and at the Université Libre de Bruxelles . His first solo exhibition was at the Galérie d'Egmont in Brussels at age 22.
As an art critic and journalist throughout the 1940's and 50's, Bourguignon had an insatiable curiosity about the diversity of human culture and traveled extensively through Spain, Corsica, France, Italy, Yugoslavia, North Africa, Peru and the Caribbean. He eventually settled in Columbus, Ohio in 1950 with his wife after she landed a position at Ohio State University. From that period until his death in 1988, the artist was prolific in producing paintings that vividly recalled both the scenery and the people he encountered during his decades of travel.
Though clearly influenced by his European contemporaries as well as Cezanne, Dufy, and Matisse, Bourguignon successfully infused his work with personal experience as well as a deep admiration for the "primitive" works he observed in Haiti and Peru. The figures and landscapes that are central to his compositions - ink drawings, pastels, gouaches (and later acrylics) - shift across the the frame in subtle, fluid movements of tonal changes and spontaneous brushstrokes.
Today, Bourguignon's works can be found in public and private collections through-out the U.S. and Europe.
River House Arts was founded in late 2009 to offer a local showcase for strong modern and contemporary works of accomplished and emerging artists. The gallery is honored to be among the very few U.S. galleries presenting Mr. Bourguignon's work.
Fall Gallery Hours are 11-6 p.m. Tuesday thru Saturday and by appointment.
www.river-house-arts.com
Paul-Henri Bourguignon (1906 - 1988)
September 9 - October 14
Opening Reception with special guest Erika Bourguignon
September 9, 6 - 9 p.m.
River House Arts
115 West Front Street
Perrysburg, Ohio 43551
Press Release Contact Name: Paula Baldoni
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: River House Arts