ROBERT LOBE AND NEIL JENNEY: AMERICAN REALISM TODAY

Venus Over Manhattan opens "American Realism Today: Robert Lobe and Neil Jenney".

September 18 – November 16, 2024

Lobe and Jenney first met in New York City in 1967, and for more than 50 years, they have pursued their distinct artistic visions, shaped by and in contrast to the prevailing movements, trends, and styles of the city’s art scene. Their careers and friendship capture the spirit of innovation that has always made New York a creative epicenter and hub for some of today’s most celebrated artists and thinkers.

The Bad Paintings represent a pivotal moment in Jenney’s career and the vision of Realism he would continue to pursue for decades. The exhibition also includes the 2023 painting Texting and Talking, highlighting the trajectory of Jenney’s style and approach into the present moment. The painting is among the artist’s recent interpretations of his Good Paintings, which reflect Jenney’s refined use of paint and line in his depictions of nature and landscape as well as his growing engagement with issues of social progress.

The contrast of natural and man-made materials reflects on the realities of nature in which different living organisms fight for resources and depend on each to maintain a thriving ecosystem. In this way Lobe’s work is both poetic and deeply real, engaging with subjects profoundly intricate and necessary to survival. Offering insights into environmental issues and human interactions with natural landscapes, Lobe’s practice is a meditation on the interplay between nature, culture, and technology.

“Robert Lobe and Neil Jenney have a long history as artists, friends, and icons of New York’s ever evolving and thriving artist community. Their careers and creative lives are deeply interwoven, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to bring their work together in the forthcoming exhibition, to engage new and existing audiences with their practices, past and present, and with the incredible impact they have on the history and continued evolution of art,” said Adam Lindemann, founder of Venus Over Manhattan.