20 North Gallery Presents “Holiday Trinkets: Fine Art Gifts for the Holidays”

Oct. 23, 2011 - PRLog -- Toledo, OH—October 23, 2011.     20 North Gallery welcomes David J. Eichenberg and more than thirty other local, regional and international artists exhibiting at the gallery's annual holiday exhibit, “Holiday Trinkets”—featuring unique, fine art gifts for all budgets.  The exhibition includes paintings, jewelry, glass, sculpture, ceramics, mono-prints, drawings, collage and photographs by recognized leaders in each media.  The “Holiday Trinkets” exhibit continues through January 14, 2012.

Exhibiting artists include: Painters David J. Eichenberg, Barbara Brenner, Walter Chapman, Steven Conine, Adam Grant, Jan Luras, Philip Hazard, Andrei Rabodzeenko, Ivan Rabodzeenko, Ruskin Stone, Joseph Sheppard and Robert Turley; Jewelers Kimberly Arden, Chelsea Hall, Regina Jankowski, Julia MacLachlan, Rhonda Oertli and Robin Schultes; Glass Artists Vernon Brejcha, Fritz Driesbach, Dominick Labino, Kazimir Pawlak and Kelly Sheehan; Wood Sculptor Skot Horn; Ceramicists Edith Franklin and Julie Schnell-Madden; Printmakers, Drawing & Collage artists Philip Hazard, Richard W. Hanson and Earl VanDerZee Gordon; and Photographers Molly Corfman, Daniel Steck, Jr. and Harry Sandler.

20 North Gallery and many exhibiting artists will be welcoming friends and collectors at the free public Opening Reception on Friday, November 4th from 6 – 9 p.m.  Reception attendees can enjoy light refreshments and conversations with local and world-renowned artists.

David J. Eichenberg—Toledo, Ohio & London, England:     After David Eichenberg received his BFA from the University of Toledo in 1997, his primary focus was sculpture until 2002.  It was during 2002 that Eichenberg returned to painting.  “In 2002 I decided that it was time that I built on what I was taught in college and really get serious about painting.  I locked myself in my studio and had to re-teach myself all that I had forgotten since my painting days in college.  I wish I could say that painting is like riding a bike but it was much harder to regain the hand-eye coordination and technique required than merely jumping on a bike and pedaling.  I read every technique book I could get my hands on, especially those from the early part of the 1900s.  I visited every painter that I could find locally and drilled them on their techniques, taking bits and pieces that worked for me and disregarding the rest.  Or taking the parts that did not seem to work at first and altering these techniques through experimentation back in my studio.  Through trial and error over a 6-month period I finally came up with a series of techniques that I felt worked for me and enabled me to start painting on a regular basis.  I took what I had learned during this intensive study and have continued to build on it ever since.”

Mr. Eichenberg spent many years getting to know local and regional artists and building his reputation in the greater Toledo area.  This lead to his being sought out in 2005 by the Toledo Museum of Art to spearhead the transition of their historic glass-working program formerly located in the TMA Glass Crafts Building into its newly constructed home in the award-winning Glass Pavilion.  Eichenberg spent the next two years almost exclusively focused on the transition and daily running of the School of Art & Design’s public art classes at the Glass Pavilion.  Along with the day-to-day operations, Eichenberg was also the organizer for the visiting artist program which allowed him the ability to work with glass artists such as Lino Taiglipietra, Fritz Dreisbach and Richard Ritter.  “Although my time spent at the Toledo Museum Art was a life changing experience, I knew after two years it was time to get back to my painting. So once again I returned to painting and know now that this is where I will remain.”

Eichenberg has continued to hone his painting skills and his efforts have earned for him inclusion into many prestigious exhibitions in the past three years, notably the prestigious “Outwin-Boochever Portrait Competition 2009” at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.  “It is an honor to have my work included in the "Outwin-Boochever Exhibition.'  It is humbling to be one of 49 artists to be accepted into the show, out of 3300 artists applying—and the only artist from the State of Ohio.”  His award-winning painting, “Duchess of Toledo,” remained in the Smithsonian through 2010.

His world-class work in the arts continues—Eichenberg’s highest honor to date is receiving the 3rd Award in the “BP Portrait Competition” at the National Portrait Gallery in London, England in June of 2010.  His work continues to hang in London’s National Portrait Gallery as part of the 2011 BP Portrait Competition which has broken all previous attendance records for that institution, becoming the most-visited show in the history of the London National Portrait Gallery.  He has been enjoying critical success and frequent exhibition of his paintings in commercial galleries through out England and Scotland, as well as being inducted into IGOR, the International Guild of Realists, which has only 250 members worldwide, and is open only by juried selection.  In the US, Eichenberg is currently participating in the invitational “International Beethoven Festival 2011” in Chicago, Illinois.

Eichenberg’s primary focus at this time is to redefine contemporary portraiture.  He is working on accomplishing this through the study and manipulation of the relationships that exist between the sitter and the viewer. “The art of portraiture for so long has been dominated by stagnate representations of the sitter. Images that go no further than to simply record a physical likeness—that, in most cases, is no better than a cheap, poorly staged photograph.  The art of portraiture can say much more about not only the sitter’s physical characteristics that are being depicted but should also capture any emotional energy or defining traits associated with the sitter.”


To view a virtual tour by GreaterToledoVirtualTours.com of “Holiday Trinkets: Fine Art Gifts for the Holidays” visit www.20northgallery.net

What: “Holiday Trinkets: Fine Art Gifts for the Holidays” art exhibit
Where: 20 North Gallery, 18 N. St. Clair Street, (Downtown) Toledo, Ohio 43604, 419-241-2400
When:  November 4, 2011 – January 14, 2012

Exhibit Hours
Thursday – Saturday:
Noon – 4 p.m.
and By Appointment

Free Public Opening Reception — Friday, November 4, 2011, 6 – 9 p.m.

For More Information Contact: Eric Hillenbrand (Owner) or Peggy Grant (Art Director) at 419-241-2400, or visit www.20northgallery.net

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Representing local, regional and international artists in Downtown Toledo's historic Warehouse District, 20 North Gallery offers traditional to contemporary work in all media. The gallery also serves as a unique venue for private and corporate events.