For Immediate Release

NEW YORK, NY – Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature an Long Island artist, Wayne Croner, in A Maze of Milieu. The exhibition is scheduled to run from July 26, 2011 through August 16, 2011 (opening reception: Thursday, July 28, 2011).

About the Artist

As an artist who seeks to express the ineffable through a complex system of geometry, Wayne Croner’s work will dazzle your eyes while inspiring your soul. His stylistic approach varies between hard-edged kaleidoscopic forms and supple dream-like impressions. This is inspirational art, personal and expressive yet highly evolved on a framework of inner logic. “Sacred Geometry is my soul’s language and expressing that in a form which is my art,” Croner explains. The circle, an enduring divine shape and symbol of perfection, is heavily employed throughout his body of work. The shapes act as building blocks, repeating and overlapping to create new forms such as stars, arcs, and half-moons in the negative space. This is a plane that is alive and bursting with energy. Intricate linework and spirographs act as metaphors for the artist’s inner visions. Using oil pastels, color pencils and markers, Croner’s color pairings evoke particular moods, as icy hues recede and soothe us while crimson and canary pulse with vigor.

Wayne Croner lives and works on Long Island, New York.

Exhibition Dates: July 26, 2011 – August 16, 2011

Reception: Thursday, July 28, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gallery Location: 530 West 25^th St, New York City

Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Wayne_Croner.aspx

About the Exhibition:

The artists whose works make up A Maze of Milieu use their art as a primary means of communication with and about the world they experience. Interpretive Realms presents the power of artistic creativity and flexibility combined, with works that sweep the audience away through their passion and purpose. A delicate simplicity and a carefully poised perfection define the works in The Portal of Tranquility, an exhibition in which talented artists achieve a beguiling balance between what we know and what we would like to perceive.

Featured Artists:

A Maze of Milieu: Sevega Adriano, Akram Azmi, Wayne Croner, Tamara Dimitroff, Ben Feldshuh, LeRoi, Teri Levine, JC Morgan, Rumen Sazdov

Interpretive Realms: Rubi Assa, Søs Beck, Pilar Fernandez Duarte, Anti Liu, Danielle Scheffer, Chris Spuglio, Baeza Stanicic, Randi Strand, Stephanie Rado Taormina

The Portal of Tranquility: Ronald DeMuth, Younghee Hong, Tristan Pauli, Debra Trafton

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery, established in 1984 and located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district. It is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. Gallery II, an elegant adjacent gallery space, gives artists the ideal area for a solo or group exhibition of their own, organized and publicized by Agora Gallery. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of international talented artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of ARTmine, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art. The gallery also runs Agora Art Blog, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK, NY – Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature an Australian artist, Robyn Hills, in Altered States of Reality: an Exhibition of Analog and Digital Fine Art Photography. The exhibition is scheduled to run from April 19, 2011 through May 10, 2011 (opening reception: Thursday, April 21, 2011).

About the Artist

Robyn Hills’ photographs present us with a unique look at the world, peering through abstractions caused by the interplay of light and water. An everyday vista is transformed into a memorable visual experience through Hills’ camera lens. Beads of water spotting a glass surface act like prisms, intensifying the color that lies beyond, while other atmospheric effects such as fog or steam create soothing impressionist scenes, blurring details and capturing the essence of a location. In this sense, Hills has a creative partner in water, which provides endless inspiration that is nonetheless fleeting. “Precisely formed droplets are there for mere moments before they blur, creating movement and asymmetry,” she explains. Her photographs display a flair for composition and color, finding unique tableaux in the most unlikely places, from the bottom of a drink to the floor of a pool.

This game of capturing the moment has been a lifelong affair for Robyn Hills; throughout her travels the camera has never left her side. She lives in Caloundra, Australia.

Exhibition Dates: April 19, 2011 – May 10, 2011

Reception: Thursday, April 21, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gallery Location: 530 West 25^th St, New York City

Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Robyn_Hills.aspx

About the Exhibition:

Altered States of Reality: an Exhibition of Analog and Digital Fine Art Photography provides a glimpse of the world as captured through the lens of a camera, technology, and through the artists own inner vision. The gifted artist’s participating in Altered States of Reality offer us a perception of the world, as seen, through a complex, enigmatic fusion of emotions and technical mastery. The old boundaries have come tumbling down and the new reality has been altered and is forever changing. This exciting exhibition allows us to challenge our ideas, parables and perceptions that constitute our own reality.

Featured Artists:

Altered States of Reality: an Exhibition of Analog and Digital Fine Art Photography – Jeanne Anderton, Luis Beltrán, Carlo Di Giacomo, Jose A. Gallego, Valdemaro Grifoni, Robyn Hills, Kelly Hunt, Michael Katz, Debra Kayata, David LaBella, Guy Marino, Lennette Newell, Denis Palbiani, Yvonne Ribes Zankl, Carolyn Rogers, Shifra, Caryn Singer, Rainer Maria Stark, Martin Zalba Ibáñez

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery, established in 1984 and located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district. It is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. Gallery II, an elegant adjacent gallery space, gives artists the ideal area for a solo or group exhibition of their own, organized and publicized by Agora Gallery. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of international talented artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of ARTmine, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art. The gallery also runs Agora Art Blog, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.

Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature a Lebanese artist, Rita Aad, in Passages. The exhibition is scheduled to run from March 25, 2011 through April 15, 2011 (opening reception: Thursday, March 31, 2011).

About the Artist

Rita Aad’s oil on canvas paintings utilize abstract figuration, effectively merging human and plant forms in vivid, plentiful color. Her tactile, indulgent use of paint verges on the sculptural and conveys an abundant sense of energetic motion, interconnectivity and balance. A spontaneous, impulsive recorder of life, Aad cultivates a profound sense of experiential joy which she crystallizes during her creative process. An expert of textural variation, Aad methodically builds up the canvas with thick layers of oil that she reshapes anew with palette knife and brush. Her neo-primitive motifs, inspired by the colors of Fauvism, portray a beguiling illusion of radiating warmth. Within each work lies a tender and whimsical manifestation of our collective emotional, physical and cultural landscape.

Rita Aad was born in 1967 in Lebanon and currently lives and works in Beirut. She studied Business Administration at the American University of Beirut and worked in fashion as an image consultant for four years.

Exhibition Dates: March 25, 2011 – April 15, 2011

Reception: Thursday, March 31, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gallery Location: 530 West 25^th St, New York City

Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Rita_Aad.aspx

About the Exhibition:

Celebrate the spring with Agora Gallery’s new series of exhibitions. Through Contemporary German Art: The New York Experience you can get in touch with the energetic talent of some of the best of German art today. Full of personal insight, yet containing universal understanding and appreciation, these artists use their cultural heritage to create unique and innovative pieces of art. In Degrees of Abstraction you can view the works of artists who get to the heart of the complex mysteries of the world as they treat everything they meet with gentle but creative respect. Delightful but thought-provoking, these images will resonate with something deep within. Passages presents artworks which speak of the life-changing and perception-altering power of journeys both personal and physical. Reflective of the artists’ experience, they will also help viewers themselves to gain a new perspective on everyday life and humanity.

Featured Artists:

Degrees of Abstraction – Did Dontzoff, Jack Cymber, Domingo Martín, Concha García de Pablos, Andreas Hessman, Clive Rowe

Passages – Hanna Westerberg, Rita Aad, Neslihan Ozdemir, Richard Griffith, Jin Hwan Cho

Contemporary German Art – Amalia Gil-Merino, Christian Gipp, Christine Haehner Murdock, Eberhard Marx, Iva Milanova, Corina Schmidt, Renate Thalhammer, Petra Thoelken

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery, established in 1984 and located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district. It is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. Gallery II, an elegant adjacent gallery space, gives artists the ideal area for a solo or group exhibition of their own, organized and publicized by Agora Gallery. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of international talented artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of ARTmine, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art. The gallery also runs Agora Art Blog, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.

Chelsea’s Agora Gallery will feature Sherry Ruden in The Rhythm of Color. The exhibition is scheduled to run from February 4, 2011 through February 25, 2011 (opening reception: Thursday, February 10, 2011).

About the Artist

There is a playful elegance to the decadent swirls and curves of Sherry Ruden’s figurative abstractions, a harmonious rhythm and lyrical flow as her sweeping linear loops reveal arching forms and the bodies of women relaxed in luxurious repose. Blending acrylic and oil paints on canvas, the artist infuses her art with a richness of hue and texture, her use of patterns and metallic sheen recalling the works of Gustav Klimt. As she paints, Sherry searches for beauty and perfection with a boundless freedom of self- expression, bringing to life the artistic dreams of her consciousness.

Born in Shanghai, China, Sherry began her studies in traditional calligraphy and scroll painting before attending the prestigious Shanghai University of Fine Art where she was inspired by Western art and culture from the Renaissance to modern masters. Sherry now lives and works in Seattle, WA where she continues to explore the limitless possibilities of her unique creative vision.

Exhibition Dates: February 4, 2011 – February 25, 2011

Reception: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.

Gallery Location: 530 West 25th St, New York City

Gallery Hours: Tues – Sat, 11a.m. – 6 p.m.

Event URL: http://www.agora-gallery.com/artistpage/Sherry_Ruden_%28aka_Sherry_Ying%29.aspx

About the Exhibition:

Sensitivity, intelligence and vision shine through the works on display, with the collection as a whole an example of creativity at its energetic best. The artists come from widely differing backgrounds and a range of countries, and as such each bring their own personal perspective on life and the world at large to their work. Yet they are united by a shared commitment to the importance of artistic development, and the real and lasting effect that art can have on those who see it.

Featured Artists:

The Manifestation of Milieu

Vera L.P. Cauwenberghs, Ivan Radman, David Segeta, Thomas Ab-e, Peter Sherman, Thanh Mai-Charles, Heather Everett, Younghee Hong, Hyejin Kim

The Rhythm of Color

V. S. Ajayan, Yunkap Jung, Laurence Steenbergen, Sherry Ruden (aka Sherry Ying), Yvonne Maloney, Michael Grine, Adka (“Andrea Jones”), Gisa Elwazir

Unbound Perspectives

Jorge González Velázquez, Gary Hong, Brian Kelly, Fred Gemmell, Shenna Vaughn, kBlanchard, Paloma Bernaldo de Quirós, Jane Sandes

About Agora Gallery

Agora Gallery is a fine art gallery located in the heart of New York City’s Chelsea art galleries district that was established in 1984 and is famous for showcasing a spectacular array of talented artists from around the world and around the corner, while providing quality and original art to collectors. The gallery also publishes ARTisSpectrum Magazine, a bi-annual magazine that is distributed to museums, galleries, art institutions and art schools around the world. It provides artists, collectors, museums, galleries, art organizations and enthusiasts with access to the work of internationally talented artists as well as feature articles, reviews and interviews. Agora Gallery is also the sponsor of ARTmine, one of the most comprehensive resources available worldwide to view and purchase fine art. Most recently, the gallery launched Agora Art Blog, a blog designed to provide helpful information and advice for artists while providing a forum for artists to help one another by sharing their experiences and thoughts.

Miami – December 12, 2008 – The Cintas Foundation and the Frost Art Museum at Florida International University today announced the start of the annual competition for the 2009 Brandon Fradd Fellowship in Music Composition administered by the foundation and the Cintas Fellowship Program at The Frost.

Established in 2006, this fellowship is generously endowed by Brandon Fradd of NewYork City.  Managing director of Apollo Medical Partners, Fradd, a graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, grew up in Miami among Cuban friends from whom he learned Spanish and developed an interest in Cuban music.

The only one of its kind in the nation, the program has honored some of the world’s most talented Cuban musicians. Past music fellows include Armando Bayolo, Sergio Barroso, Mario Bauza (known as the father of Afro-Cuban jazz), José Bernardo Aldo Rafael Forte, Julián Orbon, Tania León and Orlando Jacinto Garcia. Last year, the first William B. Warren Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Bebo Valdes. The Cintas Foundation awards fellowships annually to creative artists of Cuban lineage who are currently residing outside of Cuba. Winners will be announced in May 2009.

“Endowing a specific fellowship for music composition is a visionary gesture which supports the rich heritage of Cuban music for the enjoyment of all. The music community is indebted to Brandon Fradd for his generosity,” said Hortensia E. Sampedro, president of the Cintas Foundation.

Applicants for the music fellowship must submit original musical compositions and recordings of their work by January 30, 2009.  Cintas fellows are awarded $15,000 and the opportunity to pursue an art project outlined in their applications. Since it was established in 1963, the Cintas Fellowship Program has honored more than 300 artists. FIU and the Cintas Foundation Board have been administering the awards program since 2005.

The Cintas Fellowship Program encourages creative development in architecture, literature, music composition and the visual arts, and awards annual fellowships in creative writing and visual arts as well. The foundation was established with funds from the estate of Oscar B. Cintas (1887-1957), former Cuban ambassador to the United States, a prominent industrialist and patron of the arts.

Application forms and competition requirements are available online at www.cintasfoundation.org or by contacting Stephanie Guasp at the Frost Art Museum at [email protected]