FroLick

BUFFALO, NY - As the end of another glorious Buffalo summer approaches, Benjaman Gallery will celebrate the best parts of the season with their newest exhibition FroLick: Modern and Contemporary Views of Recreation.

Gallery Director and curator Emily Tucker has selected an array of pieces from the 1900’s through today which depict recreation and the outdoors. The focus of this exhibition will be work from two recently acquired estates. The first, a collection of impressionist paintings by Western New York artist Julius Richter, and the second the estate of Buffalo born Israeli outsider artist Robert Sellers. The Richter collection is comprised of scenes of local waterfronts, tranquil pastoral landscapes, and forest interiors from the 1920’s - 1940’s.

In addition to being an accomplished painter Julius Richter, was a physician, surgeon and educator. He was born Dec. 19,1876, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania but was educated in Buffalo public schools, and graduated from the University of Buffalo with his M.D.

Richter studied painting with Volney A. Richardson, Mildred C. Green, and Emile Gruppe. He was a member of the Buffalo Society of Artists, and served as lecturer about Anatomy in Art at the Albright Art School in Buffalo, N.Y. from 1924-1934.

Unlike Julius Richter, Robert Sellers never studied art making or art history in any school or with any other professional artists. He never belonged to any artistic societies and lived a majority of his life off the grid. The style, subject and techniques crafted and expressed by Sellers are captivating and raw. His brightly colored acrylic paintings on board are filled with humor and intrigue.

Robert (Bobby) Sellers grew up in Buffalo before leaving on a birthright trip to Israel in his early twenties. Before his recent death he lived and worked in Jerusalem, Israel and Palm Beach, FL. By the end of his life he had grown distant from friends and family leaving behind an entire estate to a friend who cleaned the main house adjacent to the garage apartment he rented.

Alongside the estate collections and a selection of historical inventory will be contemporary works by local contemporary artists including Bruce Adams, Gary Wolfe, Ryan Arthurs and Rachel Stenclik.

This unique exhibition opens with a reception on September 9, from 8 - 11 pm at Benjaman Gallery on Elmwood Avenue and will run through October 7, 2017.