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Selected Works

Damian Loeb, Aurora Borealis, 2017

Damian Loeb, Aurora Borealis, 2017

Oil on linen, 48 x 48 inches

Damian Loeb, Penumbra, 2016

Damian Loeb, Penumbra, 2016

Oil on linen, 60 x 60 inches

Damian Loeb, Scorpius, 2016

Damian Loeb, Scorpius, 2016

Oil on linen, 60 x 60 inches (152.4 x 152.4 cm)

Damian Loeb, Sagittarius, 2016

Damian Loeb, Sagittarius, 2016

Oil on linen, 60 x 60 inches (152.4 x 152.4 cm)

Installations

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

The Big Dipper, 2016

 

Mercury Transit, 2017

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

Mercury Transit, 2017

 

Aristarchus, 2017

 

Jupiter and 4 Moons, 2016

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

Sol (with Mercury), 2017

 

Cygnus, 2015

Private Collection

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

Hoth, 2014

 

??

 

Sol (with Mercury), 2017

 

Penumbra, 2016

 

Aurora Borealis, 2017

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

Sol (with Mercury), 2017

 

Penumbra, 2016

 

Aurora Borealis, 2017

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

Sagittarius, 2016

 

Scorpius, 2016

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

Orion, 2016

 

Jupiter, 2017

Sgr * A Damian Loeb Installation View

Installation view of Damian Loeb: Sgr A* at Acquavella Galleries from March 3 - April 4, 2017.

 

Left to right: 

Luna, 2017

 

Hoth, 2014

 

??

 

Sol (with Mercury), 2017

Press Release

Acquavella Galleries Presents
Damian Loeb - Sgr A*
On View March 3 - April 6, 2017
Opening Reception with the Artist: March 2nd, 5:30-7:30pm

New York, NY, January 11, 2017 - Acquavella Galleries is pleased to announce Sgr A*, an exhibition of new paintings by American artist Damian Loeb, on view from March 3 – April 6, 2017. This is the artist’s fourth solo show at Acquavella, and will feature twelve new landscape paintings, all depicting astronomical objects and events as seen from Earth. This landscape exhibition continues Loeb’s exploration of how our understanding and assimilation of firsthand experience is affected by our constant exposure to new media.

Acknowledging the history of astronomical illustration and informed by the advancements in digital imaging, the artist’s work employs the language of classical landscape painting, complemented by an obsession with new media and technology consumption. The monumental compositions and meticulously specific depictions of celestial tropes are infused with a contemporary cinematic vocabulary. Dedicating several months to each painting, the artist’s work reflects a fascination with two worlds – the analog and the digital, and expresses a forebodingly fatalistic view of nature and the universe.

“The paintings appear to be the product of advanced technology,” explains Nick Acquavella. “As marvelously detailed as the works appear, Damian’s goal isn’t to create perfect reproductions of outer space. Rather, he wants to convey the universal and ultimately humbling sense of awe he experienced when he was first looking through his lens.” All of these paintings are based on images from Loeb’s many ‘amateur' photo safaris. He has captured the aurora borealis flying 50,000 feet over the Dakotas, the depths of the Milky Way from the beach in Maui, and constellations and clouds from a backyard in Long Island. From the artist’s rooftop in downtown New York City, he has photographed planetary conjunctions, the position of Jupiter and its moons, the rings of Saturn, a lunar eclipse, solar flares, and both Venus and Mercury passing in front of the Sun. The show's title is taken from the standard abbreviation for Sagittarius A*, the supermassive black hole at the center of our galaxy. Understanding the hierarchy of our place in the vastness of our possibly infinite surroundings inspires this body of work. Grand and graphic, these paintings celebrate the play between the micro and macro forms within each scene. Scale and composition are used to elicit a particular emotional understanding of each tableau.

Damian Loeb (b. 1970) has had solo exhibitions at galleries and museums worldwide, including a 2006 Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art retrospective of his work. He lives and works in New York City. The exhibition will be accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue.

MEDIA CONTACTS

For interviews, background and images, please contact:

Kat Mills
Blue Medium, Inc
Tel: +1-212-675-1800 kat@bluemedium.com

Emily Crowley
Acquavella Galleries
Tel: +1-212-734-6300
emily@acquavellagalleries.com

Damian Loeb, Jupiter and 4 Moons, 2016
The Art Newspaper
Damian Loeb's Starry Skies March 2, 2017

Need to put things into a cosmic perspective? Head to Acquavella Galleries in New York for Damian Loeb’s solo exhibition, Sgr A*—after Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the centre of our galaxy—which opens tonight, 2 March (until 4 April). The show features a dozen new oil on linen works based on the artist’s digital photographs of the skies and astronomical phenomena, including the bright green swirl of the Aurora Borealis, caught on a plane ride over the Dakotas, and the depths of the Milky Way. Many of the images, such as the tiny black spot of Mercury in front of the sun or Jupiter and its moons, were, surprisingly, shot from the rooftop of the downtown Manhattan building where Loeb lives and works. The autodidact artist transforms the images into meticulous paintings in his basement studio, a tech and gadget lover’s dream, with live video feed of the city (which can zoom in on buildings to an almost disturbing degree), drawers full of digital cameras and lenses and a nook outfitted with recording studio equipment that the artist has rejigged so that faders can be used to flip through or manipulate images. Observing and shooting the sky is a cathartic experience for Loeb. “The Earth and all of the BS on it is a very small part of the universe,” he says.

Damian Loeb, Scorpius, 2016
1st Dibs Introspective Magazine
Damian Loeb's Paintings are Truly Out of This World March 20, 2017

By Hilarie M. Sheets

The New York artist has been studying astronomy and high-tech photography to produce works that reveal the wonders of space.

Damian Loeb, Cygnus, 2015
Financial Times
How to Spend It March 2, 2017

By Christina Ohly Evans

Out of this world: Damian Loeb's celestial paintings at Acquavella Galleries. The artist's new series explores visions of the universe.