From a genre of celebrated 1960s realist painters, William B. Hoyt has carved out a unique place in contemporary art history for his relentless attention to detail and unabashed commitment to nostalgic realism. Unlike other realist painters of his generation, such as Ralph Goings and Richard Estes, Hoyt addresses nostalgia though the art of the everyday, presenting it as a living, evolving moment that invites the viewer to join in and to share an experience through the eyes of the artist.

William B. Hoyt’s career spans over 35 years and his paintings demonstrate an unparalleled level of craftsmanship and vision. As a fine art student at Yale in the late 1960s, Hoyt studied under Walker Evans who greatly influenced Hoyt’s sense of composition, eye for detail, and passion for a kind of documentary art-making that reflects not only the moments in time within which works are created, but also represents the artist’s subjectivity in those moments. Like Walker Evans, Hoyt edits the viewer’s experience, allowing one to travel along his path and to experience quotidian elements of life in extraordinary ways. Through Hoyt’s paintings, we learn to see versus simply look.

While his subject matter is quintessentially American, Hoyt always steers clear of Route 66 clichés or quotations from “Night Hawks.” Rather, Hoyt draws from the quaint, quiet and peaceful moments of rural New England life as the seasons pass and the bright colors of spring give way to browns and grays of fall and winter. His kitchen interiors are warm and inviting, protecting us from the cold outside as snowdrifts cover the fields beyond. Within Hoyt’s work we feel the calm, contemplative temperament of an observer whose paintings slowly and softly demand as much rigorous attention from the view as he gives them with the brush.

This exhibition will include more than fifteen original painting by William B. Hoyt. Please join us for this important moment in contemporary art history.

Opening reception June 25, 2009 7 PM
Through July 25, 2009